Taking social media stories beyond bias

Living collaborated around this challenge with our professional services client Crowe Global. Looking to share supportive dialogue around this year’s International Women’s Day (IWD) and its theme of #breakthebias, Crowe wanted to take the conversation beyond gender equality.

In collaboration with Crowe’s team, we explored what bias can look like in its broadest context – starting with gender but expanding to include bias against mental illness as well as visible physical conditions. We rallied behind the idea that, to ‘break a bias,’ you need to tell the stories of the individuals who suffer it first hand.

We connected with individuals inside and outside of the Crowe network who have encountered and overcome instances of these biases. We learned their personal stories and crafted them into articles that celebrated their success to inspire others to think more carefully about bias.

To frame the story for each article, we interviewed the featured participants with a series of thoughtful questions:

• What were the workplaces challenges you had to overcome, and how did you change emotionally on your journey?
• How do you think employers can play a part in “breaking the bias”?
• What does support from employers look and feel like when breaking biases?
• How powerful and liberating does it feel to know you have the support of your employer?
• What advice would you give to employers about why it is important to break the bias and what steps should they take?
• What advice would you give to employees who might feel as though bias is working against them?
• How do you think others can draw strength from the steps you have taken?

The three articles were posted to Crowe’s LinkedIn page for three consecutive days, starting on March 8^th, IWD. In addition to LinkedIn, we promoted each article through bespoke social tiles via Twitter and Facebook.

The engagement rates for Crowe’s #breakthebias thought leadership campaign were particularly meaningful, surpassing recent post engagement levels by more than 1,000% and reaching an audience of over 40,000. But the firm’s objectives were not about celebrating Crowe’s own brand or professional accomplishments. Crowe sought to use its social media space to spotlight the achievements of three individuals whose personal revelations elevate the overall understanding and value of being part of a connected online community looking to grow and do better.

If you’d like to learn how to deliver meaningful messaging through your corporate social media, please contact Duncan Shaw in New York, Greg Hobden in London or Gigi Yung in Hong Kong.