Pride Month is here and Facebook celebrates it with a range of new features. This is what makes Facebook stand out. It promotes inclusion and diversity globally. This Pride Month, Facebook celebrates and elevates the LGBTQ+ voices.
Curated Pride Collections
Facebook Live Shopping Fridays will focus on featuring LGBTQ+-owned businesses. Live Shopping Fridays on 11 June will feature LGBTQ+ founded brands on Sephora. While Live Shopping Fridays on 18 June will feature a showcase of wristbands from Zox to support The Trevor Project. The National LGBT Chamber of Commerce (NGLCC) will also hold a Facebook live network training in the US on 23 June 2021. This event aims to support LGBTQ+-owned small businesses. Similar live events will also happen in Brazil, France, Mexico, and the UK. Curated #Pride Collections will also be showcased on both Facebook and Instagram.
Mental Health and Well-Being Resources
Facebook is also partnering with experts and NGOs to provide free mental health and well-being resources among LGBTQ+ communities in Africa, Europe, and the Middle East. Some examples are the Campaign Against Homophobia (KPH) in Poland, Pride Berlin’s Messenger chatbot campaign in Germany, and other initiatives from @pflag, @empoweringpi, @mpjinstitute, @Utopia PDX, Utopia WA, etc.
New Celebratory Features
Facebook adds new celebratory features to highlight Pride Month. These include custom avatars, backgrounds, hashtag feed, and stickers for news feeds and Stories. These highlights design for asexual, gender-fluid, gender non-conforming, and trans identities. Rainbow-colored hashtags are back to highlight authenticity and confidence in each character. The platform also partnered with Jasmina El Bouamraoui (EL BOUM), a German Illustrator, to create the Pride logo for this year.
Facebook celebrates “Pride Month” with a range of new features on 01 June 2021.
Implications for Marketers:
The new features enabled by Facebook that celebrate Pride Month show authentic support to LGBTQ+ communities. For marketers, this is an opportunity to target a large marginalized community. In the Facebook Group named LGBTQ@Facebook, there are more than 20 million followers. So, brands and businesses should not take such a group for granted.