Use this Black History Month Social Media Toolkit to honor Black History Month on your company’s public platforms.
Posting about Black History Month on social media is a great way to demonstrate your commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion while supporting Black creators, businesses, and more.
A few of our favorite Black History Month social media ideas:
- Include your team in the planning process
- Share quotes and interesting facts to educate audiences
- Re-share (with permission!) posts from Black influencers, leaders, and creators
- Collaborate with Black content creators
In this list, you’ll find:
- Steps to plan a successful social media campaign to educate and engage audiences during Black History Month
- Ways to amplify Black voices and creators
- Examples of other companies’ Black History Month social media posts
- Tips and best practices to brainstorm, plan your content calendar, and create posts
Find Black History Month ideas and activities for work in the short video below!
Black History Month Social Media Kit
Step 1: Define your purpose and goals.
It’s important to define your overall goals for the campaign before you begin creating your content. Outlining the purpose of your posts will help clarify your messaging and overall reasons for sharing throughout the month. Plus, your plan will help to ensure the success of the campaign and the authenticity of your social media efforts.
For example, maybe your goal is to support Black-led causes and amplify Black voices. In that case, you might re-share content from Black creators, influencers, or community figures. In addition, your content could include sharing work by Black authors and artists and highlighting Black-owned businesses and organizations.
Or, your primary goal might be to highlight your own company’s Black History Month efforts. If so, your content might include photos of your team learning about Black History together, showcasing corporate initiatives, and team-building activities.
With your purpose in mind, you can create additional metric goals. By looking at engagement or click-through rates, you can determine whether your Black History Month social media campaign is resonating with your followers. This insight can help you steer your content in the right direction throughout the month.
Step 2: Brainstorm ideas with your team.
Campaigns amplifying diversity, equity, and inclusion topics like Black History Month should showcase a broad range of voices and lived experiences. For that reason, it is important to include lots of voices in the planning process.
Begin your planning by meeting with a variety of team members for an open brainstorming session. Incorporate voices from your company’s leadership, marketing team, DEI committees, or the entire team. Together, you can explore a range of ideas and topics to promote throughout your Black History Month communications.
Great for virtual teams, plan a video call that everyone is welcome to participate in. When sending out the calendar invite, be sure to include a clear description of meeting expectations. This may emphasize the meeting being a welcoming space and sharing a brief overview of your selected campaign purpose.
Prep for a great and effective brainstorming session with ActiveCollab’s 7 Tips for Effective Brainstorming Sessions before your meeting!
Step 3: Build your content calendar.
Once you have brainstormed your campaign goals and themes, you may want to plan your content calendar for the month. Determining when and how often you want to post can help you dive into creating your content more strategically.
Tools To Help You Create Your Content Calendar
- Opt for free tools like Google Calendar, Outlook Calendar, or a simple spreadsheet.
- Use social media planning tools like Later or Hootsuite. Or, take advantage of the built-in post scheduling tools from Facebook and Instagram.
- Plan in project management systems like Asana, Monday, or Trello.
Grouping your calendar according to the type of communications you’re planning is a great starting point. For example, you might want to color-code your content. This can include one color for all your e-newsletter topics, another color for social media posts, and so on. Or, you might group your communications by topics throughout the month such as quotes, resharing, or recurring themes.
Check out HubSpot’s in-depth guide to social media calendar tools to find the right platform for your team to build and organize your content calendar!
Step 4: Create your social media posts.
Once you build out your content calendar, it’s time to create your Black History Month digital marketing content!
While your communications should reflect Black History Month, you’ll also want to stick to your company’s existing brand standards. This includes your brand colors, fonts, logo, and tone. Be sure to review all final content to ensure that your company’s overall tone and personality are present throughout your content.
Begin to gather photos, quotes, links, and captions you will need for your posts. Collecting all your content ahead of time can ensure a cohesive campaign throughout the entire month. Find more social media ideas for your content calendar to add to your brainstormed list below.
Content Ideas For Your Social Media Content Calendar
- Post quotes about Black History from noteworthy historical figures or influential people. Pro tip: browse our blog post filled with Black History Month quotes!
- Highlight historical facts about Black History Month.
- Promote local Black History Month community events and activities.
- Repost news articles relevant to your industry or location highlighting Black history and futures.
- Share photos of your team celebrating Black History Month.
- Promote internal voices from your company speaking about the importance of Black History Month.
- Use interactive social media features, like polls and questions to create dialogue.
- Highlight a Black organization your company is supporting during the month or year-round.
Tips for Social Media Content
1. Amplify Black Voices
It is important to amplify Black voices during Black History Month. Giving Black content creators a voice in your audience is a wonderful way to honor and celebrate the month. By re-sharing content from Black creators, you not only broaden your social feed but that of your audiences.
Before sharing others’ content, take steps to gain permission to share on your own feed. Implementing this best practice ensures that your company is not stealing content. Plus, you will ensure Black art, activists, and figures are seen and gain the recognition they deserve.
In addition, be sure to set clear standards that hateful speech will not be tolerated in your company’s comment sections. Dialogue and comments on your platforms should be monitored to provide only respectful conversations.
2. Use Hashtags for #blackhistorymonth
To boost your Black History Month social media posts to reach audiences, be sure to use Black History Month hashtags. Hashtags help social media users to search for posts and related content. This can help you gain new viewers and followers by simply being part of the conversation.
Try Using These Black History Hashtags To Boost Your Visibility
- #blackhistorymonth
- #blackhistory
- #blacklivesmatter
- #blackexcellence
For more insight on using hashtags, check out Bluehost’s how-to guide for social media hashtags for business marketing.
3. Collaborate with Black Content Creators
These days, content creators are great partners in promoting your brand to current and new audiences. Consider hiring and collaborating with a Black content creator during Black History Month. This is a great way to reach audiences of any age and background.
When choosing which creators to reach out to, consider who your desired audience would like to see on your platforms. A content creator can help you reach new audiences or continue the follower base you’ve garnered trust with for years. Plus, this is a great way to support Black creators locally in your community or on a national level!
4. Be Respectful of People Who Don’t Want to be Highlighted
When you think of Black History Month, you may picture people outwardly displaying pride in their Black heritage and culture. While this is true for many, it is important to be aware that not all people wish to be spotlighted for this part of their identity on social media. This is especially true for the workplace setting.
With this in mind, respect your employees’ privacy. Be sure that any opportunities for employees to be featured on social media during Black History Month are completely optional. Plus, make sure to allow employees that will be featured ample time to approve images or text. These steps will help to prevent any issues and create a more welcoming campaign.
5. Compare Your Ideas to Other Brands
When brainstorming effective social media posts, it can be helpful to see inspiration from other brands and companies. For example, check out these 2022 Black History Month posts that feature authentic branding and honor the month in a multitude of ways.
Microsoft: Black History Month Social Media Post Example
Microsoft highlighted three Black employees covering the moments that defined them and how they are community change-makers today. The company created individual posts for each person, along with a collective link to read all the stories at once.
Barnes & Noble: Black History Month Social Media Post Example
Book retailer Barnes & Noble celebrated Black History Month on their social platforms with a highlighted list of classic books written by Black authors.
DICK’s Sporting Goods: Black History Month Social Media Post Example
Dick’s Sporting Goods highlighted a Black community leader at a local youth sports organization. Not only did the company collaborate with the organization, but they also donated a grant to the ongoing efforts of the group. Plus, the brand directed followers to the organization’s website to learn more.
By utilizing the tips in this post – plus the ingenuity of your team – your company will be the next great example of successful Black History Month social media posts!
Planning Black History Month activities and learning events with your team? Unexpected Virtual Tours has you covered with a unique, live virtual experience! Book our Black History Month session to learn and connect with your team while sparking important conversations.
