Which Media Publishers Are Audiences Responding To?
7 Ways Brands Can Speak Out Against AAPI Hate On Social Media
It shouldn’t be necessary to publically point out that hating people because they’re Asian is unacceptable, and yet here we are. In the past few days alone, Jeremy Lin was called “coronavirus” by another player during a basketball game, Alexi McCammond had to resign as the editor of chief of Teen Vogue for Tweets she made in college disparaging Asians, and most horrifically someone in Atlanta murdered 8 people at massage parlors in a hate crime targeting Asian women.
While racism against Asians in America isn’t something new, given how the pandemic has been used as an excuse for scapegoating, at this moment it’s especially important for brands to speak out against racism directed at Asian people. ListenFirst has identified the 7 ways that brands are most frequently and effectively spreading that message against hate on social media.
#1. Express Solidarity
The most frequently used tactic used by brands on social media to address xenophobia and discrimination against Asians is to publically state they stand with the Asian American and Pacific Islander community. Brands that shared these types of messages include SalesForce, Allstate, Buffy, Xerox, Kroger, Yum! Brands, ColourPop, Ilia Beauty, Ubisoft, and Walmart. It doesn’t take much for companies to post denounce violence and express empathy, and taking that step fosters a more inclusive environment.
#2. Direct People To Specific Resources
Another popular tactic is including a call to action, directing the audience either to a place where they can take a specific step or learn more information. Examples of brands using this form of outreach include IGN linking to a blog post they wrote about how to help Asian American Communities in Atlanta, Hervé Léger directing people to StopAAPIHate.org to report hate crimes, and Neutrogena sharing a variety of websites and social media accounts to follow for more information. Overall, brands have been most likely to advise readers to visit StopAAPIHate.org for more information, with IPSY, Morphe, OleHenriksen and Fossil among those sending over their audience.
#3. Lend Your Platform To Asian Voices
When people who have been targeted by anti-Asian discrimination or are at risk of it happening to them speak out, it puts a human face on what can otherwise feel like an abstract issue. Brands amplifying Asian voices on the their social channels around this issue include ESPN sharing a screenshot of a Tweet from Jeremy Lin, Netflix sharing a message from actress Lana Condor that your Asian friends need you even if they’re not publicly grieving on social media, and the Drew Barrymore Show posting an interview with actress Ashley Park about the attacks on the AAPI Community on YouTube.
#4. Donate Money
Giving money to nonprofits advocating for the rights of the greater AAPI community not only is giving to an important cause in a time of need, it also reinforces for the social media audience how seriously your brand takes the issue of stopping the spread of anti-Asian racism. Brands who have announced such donations on social media include Playstation contributing to Stop AAPI Hate, Banana Republic and Gap giving to both Stop AAPI Hate and National CAPACD, Etsy giving $500,000 to the Asian Pacific Policy and Planning Council and Asian Americans Advancing Justice, and Target contributing to the Asian American Justice Center.
#5. Share Specific Data Points
Sharing hard data is an extremely effective way to draw attention to the urgency of the problem. For example, Pigeons & Planes pointed out a report that Anti-Asian Hate Crimes rose nearly 150% in major U.S. cities last year while VideoAmp talked about how from March 2020 to Feb. 2021, Stop AAPI Hate received a total of 3,795 hate incidents reported in the United States.
#6. Share A Personal Connection
Company owners or employees of Asian or Asian-American descent who share their personal feelings and stories about recent events, connect to their audience and make the message against hate resonate more. For example, Cool Mom Picks publisher Kristen Chase shared how her mom was a post WW2 baby who felt the need to hide her Asian-ness as much as possible while Tatcha founder Vicky Tsai expressed how heavy her hear felt about the Atlanta attack, as the daughter of Taiwanese immigrants and the mother of an Asian child. Being Asian, is not the only way that attack struck people personally, for instance, Delta denounced the hate attack in Atlanta which as they pointed out is also their hometown.
#7. Call For Better Representation
Nielsen made the great point that how Asians are portrayed in the media, negatively contributing to narratives that involve harmful stereotypes. For example, TV has a tendency to portray Asian characters as “good immigrants” that are simply “hard working” or “good for the economy”. While that may be well intentioned, those stereotypes lack depth and feed into the “perpetual foreigner” bias. Better reflecting a broader range of Asian American experiences in TV and film can only help combat anti-Asian stereotypes.
A Statement On This Week’s Tragedy In Atlanta
The following statement is from ListenFirst’s cofounders, Christian Anthony and Jason Klein.
As we approach the close of another tragic week, we feel the need to acknowledge the recent attack on three massage businesses in the Atlanta area that stole the lives of eight people, six of whom were of Asian descent. Since Tuesday, we’ve read, listened, and watched with horror as details of the shooting have become public. There is no doubt that this horrific incident is the direct result of the rising amount of Anti-Asian sentiment in this country.
At this time, we would like to emphasize our commitment to the safety, security, and well-being of our AAAPI (Asian, Asian-American and Pacific Islander) colleagues and friends, whose extraordinary leadership and contributions to ListenFirst help to shape our amazing business and employee culture.
The Center of Hate and Extremism at California State University recently published a study revealing that in 16 of America’s largest cities, hate crimes against Asian Americans have spiked nearly 150 percent in the last year. New York City and Los Angeles are the two largest epicenters of anti-Asian reported incidents.
This data is deeply disturbing to us and we want you to know that we are staying vigilant, and we are listening. We also want to acknowledge while this alarming trend has been tied to the blatant hate speech of blaming Asians for the coronavirus, this racism hasn’t appeared out of thin air. Our country has a long and problematic history in its treatment of Asian citizens.
Below are several resources for those who may be seeking ways to support the AAPI Community. We’ve also made a donation on behalf of ListenFirst to Stop AAPI Hate specifically, as the organization’s mission to stop hate against Asian American and Pacific Islander communities has never been more critical.
Asian American Federation Anti-Hate Safety Resources and Bias Reporting Form
Playbill-Stop AAPI Hate: A Resource Guide to Support the Asian-American Community
Buzzfeed: 9 Ways You Can Help Prevent Asian American Hate Crimes
7 Social Media Insights Around The Oscar Nominations
ListenFirst just launched our new YouTube channel, and in our inaugural video, we used our social media analytics to determine the audience response to the recent Academy Award nominations. Without further ado, here are the Top 7 social media insights you should know about the Oscar nominations.
Insight #1. Expect Interest To Be Way Down Around The Oscars This Year
There were 269,820 Tweets mentioning the Oscar Nominations on March 15, 2021 which was a -45% decrease from the 493,448 Tweets that mentioned the Oscars nominations on January 13, 2020. While it’s not shocking considering how many movie releases have been delayed in the past year, and how many theaters have been closed, there’s a significantly lower level of interest in the awards show in 2021.
Insight #2. With Theaters Closed, People Don’t Care About Nomination Snubs As Much
In a year when most movie theaters were closed, there was much less discussion over what films or performances were overlooked around the Oscar Nominations. There were 1,008 Tweets mentioning Oscar Snubs on March 15, 2021 compared to 3,904 Tweets mentioning Oscar Snubs on January 13, 2020, when the Oscar nominations were announced last year.
That’s not just about people watching less movies however. With so many serious Oscar contenders debuting on streamers like Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, and Hulu in past year, likely more people have already seen these films than would have if they had more traditional theatrical runs. That said, a performance is probably not going to hit the same way, if you watch the film over a couple of sittings while distracted by your phone, as opposed to at once with an auditorium of other people.
Insight #3: Minari Was The Biggest Winner On Social
Minari was the Oscar nominated film that had the biggest lift in social engagement because of the nominations. It had a social engagement score of 65,272, which was an increase of +1,066% comparing March 15 to March 14, 2021.
Insight #4: The Best Actor Race Drove The Most Responses On Twitter
Most of the top performing Tweets mentioning the Oscar Nominations on March 15, 2021 brought up the history being made in the Best Actor category. For instance, a Tweet talking about how Steven Yeun becomes the first Asian-American actor to be nominated for Best Actor at the Oscars got 11,268 responses while another Tweet congratulating Riz Ahmed on making history as the first Muslim to be nominated for a Best Actor Oscar got 10,396 responses.
Insight #5: The Women Got The Audience’s Attention Around the Best Director Race
On March 15, 2021 there were 5,118 Tweets mentioned that for the first time, two women were nominated for Best Director in the same year: Chloé Zhao and Emerald Fennell.
Insight #6. Mank Ruled The Day In Terms Of Wikipedia Performance
David Fincher’s Mank may have gotten the most Oscar nominations this year, but its great performance was expected and without the element of surprise it wasn’t as talked about on social media as you might expect. However, Mank did get 167,179 page views of their Wikipedia page on March 15, 2021 which was the highest total for any nominated film on the day.
Insight #7. Don’t Expect A Huge Immediate Lift In Social Media Followers From A Nomination
Minari got 2,614 new fans or followers on their social media accounts the day the Oscars nominations were announced, and that was the highest such total for any nominated film. If a movie isn’t already on someone’s radar, getting Oscar nominations alone is unlikely to be enough to lead to a follow.
Want more insight into how ListenFirst helps brands track the social media audience, film related or otherwise? Request a ListenFirst demo today!
Measuring the Brand Impact of Influencers Webinar
Influencer marketing has moved from the latest social media trend to a key budget item in advertisers’ social media plans. While the need to effectively analyze the full impact of this investment has never been greater, measuring success is a challenge. Is the impact of influencers for product placements, public appearances and sponsorships working?
7 Strategies For Brands To Talk About COVID-19 Vaccines
At this time a year ago, when the prevailing wisdom was that the general population didn’t need to a wear masks to protect themselves and that the only defense against the worst pandemic in a century was just washing your hands more, it would have been unthinkable to assume that we’d have a vaccine by now. Yet here we are a year later, with not one but three different vaccines proven effective and approved for use. That said, we won’t be out of the woods until the vast majority of adults have been immunized, and brands are taking it upon themselves to use social media to nudge that process along a little faster.
So what are brands doing on social media that’s actually moving the needle around vaccine awareness? Using our social media analytics, ListenFirst identified 7 different approaches that are proving successful.
Strategy #1. Outline Why Getting Vaccinated Is Both Safe And Necessary
According to a February 2021 poll, a third of Americans say they definitely or probably won’t get the COVID-19 vaccine; meaning it’s still important for brands to use social media to communicate that vaccinations are both safe and actually work. The audience seems most responsive; when their fears are addressed in detail, point by point. For example, a Banner Health infographic separating COVID-19 Vaccines myths vs. facts generated 81,570 responses on Facebook while a Walgreen video with a doctor explaining why it’s important to get the vaccine got 15,441 video views.
Strategy #2. Show Your Employees Are Vaccinated To Make Your Business Seem More Safe
Emirates Airline got 131,404 responses to an Instagram post announcing their first flight with fully vaccinated frontline teams servicing customers and as more people become inoculated this type of brand post is going to become more common. Customers don’t want to frequent businesses where they’re worried about catching the coronavirus, and being a company where all your employees have already gotten their shots could turn into a big competitive advantage.
Strategy #3. Share How Your Helping With Community Outreach Around Vaccinations
In reality even when people aren’t afraid of getting vaccines, there are still logistical obstacles, and brands are sharing on social media how they’re addressing those challenges. For example, Chase Bank got 845 responses to an Instagram post talking about how they’re teaming up with Lyft, Anthem and the United Way to provide 60 million rides to COVID-19 vaccination sites. Meanwhile, TOMS posted about how their charitable fund has been used to provide PPE supplies and vaccination needs moving forward for underserved, at-risk communities in a post that got 674 responses on Instagram. The social audience appreciates when brands show they’re interested in taking care of people, as opposed to just focusing on the disease.
Strategy #4. Motivate Your Own Employees To Get Vaccinated
Often companies are taking to social media either to speak to their employees directly about getting immunized, or to illustrate to the general public how much they’re incentivizing their employees getting vaccinated. For example, the US Navy got 45,701 responses for an Instagram video singing all shipmates should get their vaccine shots. Additionally, Kroger got 3,514 responses to a Facebook post that they’re giving $100 each to employees who get vaccinated while Mondelēz International posted a video on how they are supporting their colleagues getting vaccinated which generated 106 responses. The social audience responds extremely favorably to seeing companies prioritizing the health of their employees.
Strategy #5. Use Celebrities To Promote The Importance Of Vaccines
Nothing will convince people the vaccines are safe more effectively than seeing people they know successfully getting vaccinated and nobody is more known at scale than celebrities. The NBA especially has been proactive in making sure their famous faces are advocating for inoculation, for example they shared a message from Kareem Abdul-Jabbar showing him getting vaccinated that received 101,304 responses on Instagram while Bleacher Report got 452,244 responses for a repost of a Bill Russell meme saying “This is one shot I won’t block.”
Strategy #6. Showcase Your Brand’s Role In The Vaccine Supply Chain
This single most common type of brand post about vaccines at the moment is companies highlighting their supply chain contribution to beating the coronavirus. For example, looking at airlines alone, Delta received 8,091 responses to an Instagram video showing them delivering the COVID-19 vaccine with United getting 3,816 responses to a Facebook post about how they flew vaccinated healthcare workers to the Super Bowl. Around ground transportation, UPS had 8,491 responses to an Instagram post how they and FedEx might normally be competitors but they’re on the same team in delivering life saving vaccines while FedEx got 1,825 responses to a video Tweet about the chief pilot who flew out the first doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine in December.
Meanwhile, IBM got 3,792 responses to an Instagram post discussing how they developed an open source platform that facilitates the delivery of vaccines, with 3M getting 368 responses to a Facebook video talking about how to enable vaccine production, they’re ramping up manufacturing biopharma products.
Strategy #7. Vaccine Manufacturers Providing Updates
While it’s a small subset of brands this is applicable to it’s critically important that in order to build trust, that the companies actually making the vaccines are using social media to communicate. For example, Pfizer got 6,827 responses to an Instagram photo showing President Biden visiting their Kalamazoo, Michigan site that is part of the vaccine supply chain while Johnson & Johnson has used social media to update their audience on the progress of their vaccine, getting 2,818 responses to a Facebook post sharing the topline data to their clinical trials. Given the trust issues some have around getting vaccinated, it’s important that these drug companies be as transparent as possible on social media.
Want a more personalized assessment of how your brand should handle social media in this transitory period? Request a ListenFirst demo today!