If you carefully watch the news, you quickly notice that there are so many different tech companies that issue statements about different political events or about topics that are considered to be controversial. Nike is a great example of that as it publicly talked about racism and more in the past months.
The truth is that consumers now expect well-known tech leaders and entrepreneurs to respond to world and country events. This includes personalities like Mark Zuckerberg or Brian Chesky. Facebook’s CEO was even under fire recently after a targeting voter firm used data from around 50 million social media users without consent.
Responding to the political issues that do not directly involve the business is not something that is simple for entrepreneurs. However, Cielo Gonzalez Villa says that it is something that is expected and a necessity these days. When you decide to respond, make sure you remember the following.
Stand Up For Company Values
You should never focus on political debates. What you should do is focus on company values. Entrepreneurs basically need clear value statements that can resonate with consumers. This is needed for building relationships and brand recognition. As an example, in the case of Airbnb, the focus is always put on how people feel and equality. Because of this, Chesky always talks about how the US government needs to do something that is right. He never personally attacks Donald Trump.
Communicate With Personal Social Media Accounts
Remember that there is no real separation between your business and you as an individual. This is why need to take advantage of your personal social media accounts. News outlets are going to catch that and associate your statement with the business that you own. Political views should always be posted on personal accounts while only controversial topics that relate to brand values should be discussed on business accounts.
Make The Message Personal
You want to make your statement personal, talking about how the specific issue affects your customers, employees and you. In many cases we see entrepreneurs responding as immigrants, citizens, parents and so on. Remember that your personal story as an entrepreneur will be known and will reflect many things about how you run your business. Both customers and employees expect something. A completely impersonal message cannot make any really valuable statement.
Find Solutions To Problems
One of the best responses you can have is to find a solution to the problem you talk about while also being able to promote the services of your company. For instance, Lyft’s founder, John Zimmer, tweeted on his personal account about how Lyft offers free rides to people that support the migrant families affected by the current immigration problems.
Conclusions
To sum up, it is always important to have a response to the really important issues that affect your customers, partners and employees. Your response should be on-par with the core values of the company you lead. If you do this and you take a personal approach, brand recognition increases.
