How do you communicate with a community without working with and through the leaders of that community? That’s a question we may soon be asking ourselves if the current buzz in the blogosphere turns into an actual trend. In the wake of the passage of Proposition 8 in California, some bloggers are openly questioning the effectiveness and relevance of the “professional gay rights movement.” Others are suggesting that November 4 was a turning point in the gay rights community in which the “grassroots” (aided by New Media) will become equally (or more) important than the well-known LGBT advocacy organizations that are currently the acknowledged leaders of the community. LA Weekly ran a story last week about the role of young LGBT people in moving advocacy issues forward.
What does this mean for communicators attempting to reach LGBT audiences? Potentially quite a bit. Many of the leading corporations engaged in our community are connected to our community via partnerships, sponsorships and other programs with many leading organizations. For example:
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HRC’s Corporate Equality Index is fast becoming the de facto standard for measurement of a company’s commitment to equality in the workplace.
- GLAAD’s Annual Media Awards and the Trevor Project’s Cracked Xmas are now star-studded events that attract Hollywood A-listers and corporate sponsors that want to be seen in that increasingly powerful context.
If these organizations become less relevant and their activity is overshadowed by individual activists and others online, what does that mean for the future of those organizations? If it’s not clear who the leaders of the community are, how do you know whom to talk to and with and what to say?
This is a question that many marketers have been pondering for several years, given the continued rise of the blogosphere and the fracturing of the “communications voice” into millions of individual voices online with different interests and agendas. But it will take on new urgency in our community if the democratization of communications continues to spread.
We already know part of the answer: marketers must do more to understand the audiences they are trying to reach. Yes, it’s important (and likely will be for some time) to work with major LGBT organizations, but that can’t be the only thing you do if you want to continue to be successful in gay and lesbian communications and outreach. You need to have your own channels to the community and you need to know how and when to communicate with the community in your own voice and in a way (and with words) that are authentic and honest. Working with organizational leaders of the LGBT community should be your starting point, not your end point. It’s one of the first things you do, and shouldn’t be the last thing.
Regardless of what happens (if anything) with the latest blogosphere buzz, knowing who you are talking to and what to say to those audiences will continue to be the most important aspect of communications. That’s what we’re going to continue to say to our clients as the marketplace evolves and communications challenges continue.
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