Marketing Your Business During an Election Year with Josephine Agrawal & Megan Griffith

Episode Transcript
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(00:00):
How do we market our business when the election is
happening? Because if you missed it, it's an election
year and social media seems full with political chatter. And
so today, I have a 2 special guests coming on the show so we can
talk about how we're marketing our businesses during
these times and how we can prepare ourselves for what's to

(00:22):
come. Let's get into the show for those of you who are new. Hi. Hello.
Welcome to the Mindful Marketing podcast. My name is Andrea Jones, and this is
episode 325. I have 2 special guests today
who I wanna introduce you to. First up, Megan Griffith.
Megan, welcome to the show. Hello. Thank you for
having me. Yes. Y'all have heard Megan here before. But if you could give

(00:45):
us the 60-second version of who you are and what your business is, that would
be great. Absolutely. Okay. I am a multi passionate business
owner. I have, I think, 3 businesses right now. But
my main, business is, being an
auDHD life coach. So autistic ADHD life coach for people who
are also autistic ADHD or both. And I'm also a

(01:06):
business coach because I've been in business for about 4 years, and I've learned
a lot. And being multi passionate, I have tried a lot of stuff,
gotten really good at some of it, not so good at some of the other
stuff. And, so now I I help people build their businesses as
well. Yay. Thank you so much, Megan, for that introduction. And,
Josephine, over to you. Tell us a little bit about yourself and your business.

(01:28):
Hi. Thanks so much for having me on the podcast. I'm
Josephine Agrawal. I own a social media agency called Pomona
Creative. We work with companies who wanna build and grow social
media communities that are easier to sell to. I've been in social for
about 10 years, mostly on the in house brand
side. And in 2020, I went out on my

(01:50):
own and started Pomona Creative. I have a business
partner who lives in Maine, and, we work with all different
kinds of brands, b to b, b to c, small to
large across, across the gamut. And I did
Andrea's, fun fact, mentorship program in 2020.
So that's how we know each other, and it was it was awesome. Yay. Awesome.

(02:12):
Yeah. I'm really excited to have this conversation with both of you because of your
experience in business and in marketing and because
both of you are kind of like on the front lines and you see a
lot of what's happening on the Internet these days. So one of the questions is
actually, came from what I'm calling the mailbag. I feel like this is
the 2nd episode where I've done this where someone asked me a question. I was

(02:32):
like, oh, oh, turn it into a podcast episode. But
the question is, how do I make sure my posts don't get lost
in the sea of, like, election content? And
as I was preparing for this podcast, I was oh, I have my thoughts, but
I would love to have other people's thoughts because it is
loud out here with all of the election stuff. And,

(02:54):
I carefully curated my bubble online so that I
don't see things that I generally don't see things that I don't want to. However,
I know a lot of people don't. And then they're seeing everything. They're seeing the
rage bait. They're seeing they're seeing the, like, political discourse.
They're seeing things and they're looking at their business going. How do I fit in
with all of that? So, Megan, I'll go over to you first. What do

(03:16):
you think? How how do they stand out in the sea of election stuff?
I think the key word here is, like, potency.
You wanna make your content really concentrated.
So like sometimes when I'm making a post, I'll be like, well, I'm gonna
make like 3 posts out of this and I'll spread the idea out.
And sometimes you just have to do that because a concept is complicated.

(03:39):
But other times, especially during election stuff where
there's just a sea of content, I think one of the
best ways to stand out is to, like, make sure your your content really packs
a punch. And I don't mean that in, like, being controversial for the sake of
being controversial. I more mean it in the sense that, like, use
action verbs and, like, all the classic copy advice, but

(04:01):
you just kinda wanna take all of that advice and concentrate it into
each post. So instead of trying to keep up with the election
content by making tons and tons of content to, like, override it,
You wanna make sure everything you put out is, like, just really
concentrated. It's exactly your message, and it's speaking specifically to your
people. You don't wanna try to win over the people who are

(04:23):
talking about politics to be interested in your stuff. I don't think that's helpful.
You want to win over your people who are gonna buy from you because that's
the point. Yeah. Yeah. I think I love the word potency.
I I think that's just a generally a good piece of advice for
social media content is, like, make it something that people feel like
they they got sustenance from it instead of it feeling like light and

(04:46):
fluffy. Love that. Josephine, what about you? I'm interested in hearing about
how you're also approaching this with your clients as well, but for your
business too. How do we not get lost in the sea of electric
content? Yeah. I would say,
Megan's word is potency, and I would add to that consistency.
So, we are planning on staying really nimble for our

(05:09):
clients around election day and thereafter given kind
of how the 2020 election went. We know there's gonna be a lot of
anxiety, and, also, who knows what's gonna
happen with uprisings or whatever. We are,
like, loyal to astrology in our business, and,
there's a lot going on there. So, we

(05:30):
are really trying to stay nimble with clients' content,
and, election time is also gonna be competing with holiday noise.
And, so we're we're staying consistent.
We're putting out potent content, as as Megan said,
speaking to the right people and our people, but
not necessarily expecting tons of gains in q 4. We're not

(05:53):
doing big campaigns. We're staying consistent and knowing
that we might need to push content at any point. And, luckily, our
processes give us lots of room to do that. So as we're thinking about q
4, we just did strategy brainstorms and content planning for all of our
clients. November and the beginning of December is definitely there's
a lot of flex room in there for whatever needs to happen. And, also,

(06:15):
we'll add around, January with the transition
of power, with the new person coming in. We're also
planning for flexibility around that time too. Yeah. I think this
election is an interesting one too because initially,
we thought there could be like a renewal, right? Like,
oh, there could be the same guy, but literally, it'll be different people. Well, I

(06:38):
guess it's the same. But it's it's unique. It's
like a unique situation. So like, brace ourselves for what happened. I remember what
happened in January or was that 2021 or 2020
with the yeah, that was wild.
So it is all about I love the word nimble. I love
that because I think that's just the name since 2020, that's just

(07:00):
been the name of the game because we can't just preschedule our
posts like we used to. Right? I used to see ads all the time that
was like, we'll create 365 pieces
of content in one day, And then you preschedule it and that's your content for
the year. You can't do that anymore because it'll be
out of touch and it could be insensitive. So you kinda have to have your

(07:21):
ear to the ground for a lot of these things.
So you mentioned being nimble, but I'm curious. This is a follow-up, Josephine, for
you. And then, Meg, Meg and I love to get your opinion as well.
So when something happens, what are we doing? Are you
joining in the conversation? Are you just pausing content completely?
Like, what's your approach when something happens in the

(07:44):
news? Take a recent example,
the assassination attempt on former president Trump.
Are we still posting? Do we take a break from posting? Like, do we join
the conversation? Do we release a statement? What's your thoughts?
Yeah. We gotta take it day by day, around here.
I think, when I was preparing for this, I was thinking about

(08:07):
the debate, and how coming out of the debate,
there were so many memes and,
clips that, even brands were were capitalizing,
especially Kamala's face. I saw social media
agencies using that to say, like, when they tell you they want the whole year
scheduled out, and then she has, like, a smirk, on her face. You know? Like,

(08:29):
that kind of thing, lighthearted, in the moment, on
trend, great. Assassination attempt, that's a
whole other ball of wax. And, I mean, for our
clients in particular, none that does not relate to their content or
their business area at all. So, we continued
on as, as grim as that might

(08:51):
sound. It's kind of attempt number 2, and the the
craziness of where we are right now with politics,
it, we didn't even have a conversation about that. But
I I do think that there are we we are having conversations
regularly on Slack about especially with the uprising at the
capitol in January, we paused all post that day. So

(09:14):
it it it kinda depends, And if it's
relevant to the business, I would say, and the values of the business, we would
comment on it or put out a statement. But, like, we have a 10 fish
brand that's actually Norwegian that wouldn't make any sense for them.
Yeah. And that's I love the Norwegian example too because
we're so US centric, in even,

(09:36):
like, I live in Canada. And even in Canada, Canadian
politics is so focused on US politics. Like, we're watching
over here because we're about to have an election too, and it
totally impacts how people vote when, like, the US election results
come in. So it's so wild to think that. And also social media is
global. Content is global.

(09:58):
So, yeah, this is such an interesting conversation. Megan, for your clients,
like, as you're going through especially your business coaching clients, how
are you telling them to approach these topical things that pop
up, and how do they adjust their their strategies based on that?
Well, I think for my business coaching clients, I I tell
them they should do what feels right for them. I'm never gonna tell a client

(10:22):
like you have to be political or you can't be political. Like, that
doesn't feel aligned to me at all. But something I have been
doing a lot of, in the last year of the ongoing genocide
in Palestine is I've really been urging my fellow business owners to use their
influence in order to speak out about this. Because I'm sort of
coming at it from an influencer point of view where I have 1,000, like tens

(10:44):
of thousands of followers on Instagram and on YouTube. And I
do have influence. And I think to not use that
influence to encourage my community to speak
out about something horrific that's happening is kind of
irresponsible. That's that's how I feel for me. And I
want to make sure that other people who also have influence understand

(11:07):
what's going on and can make an informed decision about whether or not to speak
up on it. For instance, I reached out to somebody I'm I'm pretty close to
and hadn't said anything for months about Palestine. And I was
like, hey. I really like you, but I I don't know if I can I
don't know if we can keep hanging out because this is really important? And she
was kinda like, yeah, but, like, it's not my brand. And I was like, they

(11:28):
found concentration camps. And she's like, what? Wait. I didn't know that.
That changes everything. And so sometimes people just don't
know. And so I have found my job is to
even though, like you said, there's so much election content, so much political
content. There are some people who don't have any of that. And
like sometimes that's just the way they want it, but sometimes it's just an

(11:50):
accident of the algorithm, kind of. And sometimes
I just like to let people know if you can influence people to buy your
program, you can influence people to have an opinion about politics as
well. And that's a huge responsibility that I think we should take really
seriously. Yeah. I I like this conversation
because I take a little bit of a different approach, and I

(12:13):
like to share the varying approaches. And this is something that you and I talked
about, Megan, which is there's so many
terrible, awful things happening in the world that I
actually find it very challenging to speak to many of
them. Because in my opinion, if I start speaking about
1, I do feel the responsibility to speak about all of them. And

(12:35):
also, I speak to about them in safe spaces for me. I do
not think social media is a safe space for me. I would
never post something where I know that people are going to get
heated about it for me personally, But I will talk about it in my
communities. I will talk about it on, you know, paid client calls or I will
talk about it, you know, on maybe even podcast conversations because it

(12:57):
feels a little bit safer than the TikTok
algorithm, for instance. I am not that brave. There
people in there are too heated. And so I love that
you have such a strong stance on it because
the value systems are there. And I think, both of you have
mentioned leaning into values as a piece of

(13:19):
this. So why why like, how do
we how do we establish our value system there? Like, what are some of the
things that you think about when you're like, is this something I wanna share,
or is this not something I wanna share? I'll start with you, Justine.
Yeah. That's a perfect segue because I was thinking
my kind of approach between Andre, you're saying, like, take

(13:42):
it offline, talk about it in your safe spaces, and advocate for
the things that you're really passionate about, and Megan, you're like, I wanna
use this platform and that feels safe to you and and important
to you. Those are both, you know, you're sticking to your individual values.
And I I I kind of am a medium between that
where I encourage, well, our own brand, but also

(14:06):
our clients that we are not marketing to everyone. And
so if we say something that is political, it's gonna bring in the right
people, and it's gonna take out the wrong people, and especially if
it's through the lens of your value or your values. So, like,
for an example, one of our clients is, a
local farmer's market, and they when I was

(14:28):
writing their, social media brand voice guide, we were
going through the question of, do we talk about politics? But they
feel really strongly that food is political and especially local food and
farming is political. And in the state of Colorado, water rights are a
huge thing and and water in general, like, we're advocating
for farmers to have access and all that. So there's so many political aspects

(14:51):
of food. And we put in the brand voice guide, we are
political. We talk about politics. And it's not necessarily we talk about
Donald Trump and Kamala Harris. It's we talk about the local
legislation of what's happening with farming and water rights. And
so and, we had a regenerative agriculture certification,
same kind of thing, like food and and the environment are

(15:13):
political. So let's take that angle and show our values, attract the
people who, we know want to be a part of our
community, and really repel the other people that
aren't aren't gonna be a good fit, which, in such a
noisy atmosphere on social media, I think, is, like, the best thing you
can do. And can I jump in real quick too about

(15:35):
what is considered political and what isn't? Right.
I saw an amazing post on threads the other night that said, okay, so
white women can listen to podcasts about white women being murdered, and it's like a
fun hobby. But like, when I stand up for missing and
murdered indigenous women, that's political. Like, why though?
And I think what is considered political is hugely dependent

(15:59):
upon the identity of the person speaking and the identities of the people you're speaking
about. And that's why it's so controversial to say that what's happening in
Palestine is a genocide, but like, it wouldn't be controversial if it
happened in New York City. Right? Like, so yeah,
I just think it's interesting to talk about what is political and what isn't.
Kelly Yeah, 100%. Just like living in

(16:22):
a black body is suddenly like, things are unintentionally
political where I'm like, I'm just sharing my experience over here,
right? And people get heated about it. And I think it is one of
those things where that is the question. What exactly
becomes political? And to me, it's like other people
are starting to get uncomfortable about the conversation and

(16:44):
then they start lashing out in their discomfort. And that's
sometimes when you you feel like you hit on it. And I am I will
be honest. I avoid it at all costs to protect myself
and my own mental health. And also, it's almost entirely
unavoidable because of just the state of the world, how I
live, and my belief systems and my values. They just show up in a

(17:07):
certain way. So I love that we're that it's in the
brand voice guide of your clients. It's like, this is the stance we
take, and we firmly believe this. Beautiful. Love that.
Anything else to add for either of you? I I wanted to say
for our own personal brand, I Slacked my cofounder,
Alina, the other day and said, should we do a a social post about

(17:30):
truth social, like, as a joke? And we made this
meme that says when our clients ask if we're on truth social and it's like
someone puking, and we and we were like, do we post
it? But Alina Alina just had a gut feeling like, well, yeah,
I think this is this is good, and it's funny. And it's one
of our best performing posts that we've ever done. So that's the perfect example of,

(17:52):
like, that pulled in the people that we wanted, and not necessarily
that we don't want Trump supporters or we do want Kamala, you know, all
that. It's it's like, the values of of,
of our, company. So, I think
listening to your gut on on and it's lighthearted, but on that kind of
content comes in handy. Yes. I love

(18:15):
the lightheartedness. And this is actually my next question about
staying lighthearted when things get serious.
Megan, how do you approach, like, the balance
of, yes, we're talking about serious topics,
genocide, concentration camps, and yes, we can also
be like a human on the other side of it and have lighthearted

(18:36):
experience. How do we balance that? I think that's a bigger question
for like a day to day basis, but for the very least in our marketing,
how do we balance that? I think I've got a lot of practice
doing this as, like, a disabled person. Right? I'm autistic. I have ADHD,
and those are disabilities, and they come with very real limitations and
struggles day to day. And at the same time, sometimes it's

(18:59):
really funny when I find my car keys in the freezer, like, you
know, so it can be both.
And I think I'm I've had a lot of practice with, like, dialectical
behavioral therapy, which is where, like, you hold opposing truths at the same
time. And so personally, I don't go
lighthearted when things are heavy, and I don't go heavy when things are lighthearted. I

(19:21):
just let everything mix together. So, like, yesterday, for example, on my
stories on Instagram, I posted just a black
background, and it just said had another nightmare about Palestine. My subconscious can't make
sense of this. And then the next slide, I was like, come to my open
house for my program. It's gonna be fun. And, like, that's
that's my vibe. That that's what it is to be alive right now, and I'm

(19:43):
not gonna try to sugarcoat it or change it. Yeah. This is just the
reality of it all. And I think while the Internet is a
beautiful thing to find positive things, I also think it's
beautiful that we're aware of what's happening in the world because of the Internet. Right?
Like, go back, what, 30, 40 years ago, and we may not
have this, like, this quick of an access to some of the news cycles.

(20:07):
I this is such a beautiful thing. So let me talk about, like,
pausing social media because I'm a huge fan of
it. So whenever anything anything slightly
contentious or hot topic y or,
newsworthy hits, my first instinct is like hit the big old

(20:27):
pause button. And I think there's often repercussions
of that as well. But that's my go to first instinct.
So something happens, upheaval happens. What are
your opinions on going silent when it's like a major
world event? Josephine, let's start with you.
Yeah. Unfortunately, we've had that conversation so many times, too many

(20:50):
times with mass shootings, that that's that comes to
mind, especially, like, we've worked with in mental
health, and, that feels very value
aligned to talk about that. And I remember after Uvalde, with
our mental health client, we did a notes app,
of, I can't remember exactly what we wrote, but it was kind of

(21:12):
like, take a minute, get off social media if you need to,
Bree. That was like a prompt to help people, and there was another shooting.
I think it was like on a subway in New York City, which is where
the client was based. So there were multiple times where we made content. We didn't
pause, but we were we were trying to be the therapist, you know, for
for these people or at least give them some,

(21:34):
something to help them rather than pausing. So I think that's a that's a
pretty unique situation where,
we felt like we needed to provide guidance in a way or help in a
way, but I'm also very pro pausing, if
there are, like, on other accounts for the
Uvalde shooting and other mass shootings. We have paused

(21:57):
all content because no one needs, you know, no one needs
extra that day. And, so we usually
evaluate it if we can help or if we have resources for that
particular, like, a big event, that's happening,
then we share it. If not, we can step back and and be quiet. And
this happened I mean, I launched my business in 2020 in the midst

(22:18):
of June, you know, the the the summer of Black Lives
Matter, and has continued on, but, we did
a lot of of talking. And I honestly I was working with clients at the
time who were like, nope. Let's just keep posting. And I was like, I
can't I can't work for you, you know? That's just a that's a personal line
for me. If you're not gonna acknowledge what's going on or do something

(22:41):
and continue to post about your newsletter, like, I can't I can't personally
be involved in that. Yeah. Yeah. We, we lost some clients
too, June of 2020, because of that. We're like, so this
is happening, and we posted about other things that are happening in
this thing. You're just like, does it matter? Okay, cool. Great.
Nice to know you. Okay, Megan, what about you? Like,

(23:03):
how do you feel about pausing or going silent during major
political or social events? I have
mixed feelings. So first, there's like my general,
it really doesn't have to do with my beliefs. It just has to do with
my nervous system. I tend to,
whenever something freaky or scary or whatever happens,

(23:25):
I want to post about it because for lots
of reasons, but like my attachment and nervous system is just
like, I need to do something I need to be seen and I need to
be held and like, I want attention
so that I can, like, be safe. And that's
how it works in my head. That's often not how it goes. That's

(23:47):
I think pausing is actually a really good idea. It's something I'm working on doing
more. But my instinct, if I'm being honest, is like, no, I should
post. No, I should be part of this. No. I, like, I shouldn't look away.
I shouldn't breathe. But I think that comes from a very naive place of social
justice where it's like, oh, if I just post and get really outraged, this will
fix itself and everything will be better. But, like, in reality,

(24:08):
social justice is a lifelong civilization long
thing. And, like, if you don't breathe, you're
gonna not be part of the movement anymore. And so that's something I
have learned the hard way over and over. But I also think there are
pauses that go a little too long. There was, you
know, this creator I've really looked up to and really liked, and

(24:31):
they had spoken up on all kinds of social justice issues. And then everything started
happening in Palestine, and they were saying nothing, they were saying nothing. They were saying
nothing. And people started to ask, like, hey,
and their response was, we've responded too quickly in the past. We don't wanna
do that again. We're taking a moment. And I was like, okay, I think I
disagree. But okay. This went on for months,

(24:53):
this pause, and they finally started
getting involved. But then with the first Trump assassination
attempt, they put content out 6 days later. I'm sorry, you need
to be consistent. If you're gonna pause, pause. And if you're not, don't, but it
really lets us know what's important to you, I guess. And yeah,
so I'm working on pausing more because I think

(25:15):
I lean too far the other way.
Yeah. Okay. So this brings me to my next question because I feel like as
business owners, sometimes we are so worried about getting it wrong.
Because social media is so freaking public, everyone sees our
content, and we're opening ourselves up to feedback and to
criticism with every single thing that we post. So how

(25:37):
do we navigate this idea of, like, should I, shouldn't
I? What if I get it wrong? And I know, Megan, we talked
about this on our episodes because you have had
this history. So I wanna start with you. You know, how do we
like, what do we think about when we're like, is this the right thing to
do for me? I think I used to

(25:59):
feel a lot more lost about this. I used to be very
reactive. I still like, my nature is to be reactive, but I'm
able to handle it a lot better now because I did get canceled. And,
like, I very much learned my lesson in that I learned a couple of
lessons, not everybody who says they're there for you is. But also
I learned like, hey, not every opinion you have is a good one.

(26:21):
Sometimes you need to hush and learn and be a little more humble.
And so when I got canceled, one of the first things I did was I
need to outline my values because I'm not sure what I even value anymore. I
think I'm just chasing likes, which is something I never wanted to do.
So I outlined my values. And now before I post something, I just
kinda run through those values. And if I'm not sure if it fits

(26:44):
my values, I'm explicit about that. So I will say stuff all the time like,
hey, please let me know if I am wrong about this,
but here's where I'm coming from. Does anybody else see it this way?
And that's that's how I phrase my opinions now instead of the super clickbaity,
like, you know? Yeah. Yeah. The
value system, again, comes up again. We just did this exercise

(27:06):
in my membership where we created our POV statement. So it was,
like, here is what I believe about me. Here's what my
people believe about the world around them. And then you can check yourself every
time you post and go, does this post align with the beliefs of
my business? And I do think that's a very powerful exercise
to go through. And it's one that I took my clients through back in

(27:29):
2020 when Black Lives Matter was happening. People were posting
statements out of a reactive place instead of a
values aligned place. And sometimes those statements just happen to align.
But the people who missed the mark were the people who didn't even
take the time to think about their business values or their personal values first.
And I do think that's, that's a really good starting point.

(27:52):
Josephine, what about you? Like, you and your clients,
when we're worried about getting it wrong or stepping in it, how do we
navigate those feelings? Yeah. It's super
interesting hearing about, Megan, your experience as a
creator, you know, and a business owner, thinking through
your personal values. And on our side, we're working with,

(28:15):
businesses that have a, a lot of times, have a a chain of
command. It's not just one person making the
decisions, which can be frustrating, and it's hard
to get a quick reaction. And and in some cases, we net
we never get a quick reaction, out of,
like, a an an event or something going on. It's

(28:37):
too corporate for something like that. Or, like, for
example, we actually had 2 clients, earlier this
year that we weren't allowed to use the term sustainably or
sustainable in their marketing for two different reasons.
One was a climate client that was,
saying, we are not we are not trying to make, the earth

(28:59):
sustainable. We're already we have to we have to, like,
go go one step beyond sustainable and and regenerate the
earth. So that was one side. And then a really corporate client that
was like, we can't technically say that our cans are sustainable, you
know, on that side of things. So, the and and sustainability
is also a bit political, or very political depending

(29:22):
on how you look at it. So those are our chains of command
that we are, I don't know if that's the right term,
but, we're hearing from our clients that and we're
pushing back, from whatever we're seeing online. We're getting peep
people asking, asking, are your tins recyclable or things like that? And
we're giving the social listening piece of it to help inform their

(29:45):
top down, communication or marketing approach,
which I love. I love the piece where we get to show them what their
community is saying, for all of our clients. It really helps
inform their values even in a way and make, like, the top
down change from the people they're serving. Yes. Again, the
values come into play. And even with the bigger companies, it may take longer

(30:08):
to, get there with the values, but they like, in both of
the examples you shared, there is a decision that's being made and a
stance that's being taken. And I think the
challenge becomes if you don't if you don't take a stance, then the
assumption will be, your your community will make assumptions about
your stance. And so I love that came up in both of your examples.

(30:30):
Both of you also mentioned instances where
you used the levity of the situation or
you transition into promoting your offer,
in spite of whatever was happening in the world. And one of the questions that
I often get is, is that opportunistic? Right? Like, are we taking
advantage of something that's happening? For so for example, with the debates, the

(30:53):
comma memes, I posted a comma meme. I love it.
I think it's I think it's, fun. It's a fun way to kind of
integrate the election content into what I'm already
talking about, and there is this little thought like, am I being
opportunistic? What are your thoughts on this? I'll start with you, Megan.
Oh, I love this question. I kinda think yes and no.

(31:16):
I I think I see both sides of it a lot because I think
it could be considered opportunistic because it it makes me think of
the bread and circuses thing where it's like, we're just contributing to this
huge political circus that's going on in our country
where it's entertainment more than it's sticking up for people. And I
don't love that. Like, I don't post about Trump anymore. I don't post anything about

(31:38):
Trump anymore. People can gain how I feel about him based on
everything else I support and don't support. Because that's what he wants.
That gives him what he wants. And I'm not interested in that. So I just
don't post about him. Like anything that happens with him is just not my
business. But when it comes to people
I am considering supporting and stuff, it's like, well, I

(32:00):
just, to me, it doesn't I don't know if
opportunistic, that's such like a heavy word to me. Like, it feels really, like, aggressive.
So it's more just, is it a distraction from what
politics should be, I guess, is the thing I worry about. Now at the
same time, I think
that people who are trying to make a living, people who

(32:22):
are not wealth hoarding billionaires don't
need to worry about being opportunistic as much as, like, these horrible
corporations that are destroying the world. You know? So, like,
I I'm torn. Yeah. It's how I feel about, like, the the
use of plastics. It's like, well, I I feel personally, it should
start with the big corporate people, not me in my trying to save a penny

(32:44):
over here, you know? And, yeah, I I like that stance as well.
Josephine, what do you think about this this idea of being opportunistic
with social and political events? Yeah.
Megan, you had really good points on both sides, not contributing to
the circus of it. But also as a marketer, I
look at it as really good top of funnel content. Like, it's it's

(33:07):
that mean content really is the it's what we
use for most of our clients for, the top of funnel
and gets the most reach and all of that. So, I
like it from that perspective. I've seen it work really well.
And if your business stands for great

(33:28):
things and you're trying to make people's lives better, you're only bringing in
more you're bringing in more sales for your client or yourself, and
you're delivering and making people's lives better through your offer
your offerings. So in that way, I can, like, spin
it for myself to say, like, yeah. This is a good thing, and
and we can capitalize on it as long as it's not at someone else's

(33:50):
expense. I definitely think,
I guess I I was using the word lighthearted earlier, but I would say
I'm not here to put people down even if it's someone that like,
a candidate or something that I don't really like. I might
personally post about people in politics
that I don't like or have contempt for, but, on brand

(34:12):
pages, I think as long as it's kind of a a positive,
and it's it's bringing in sales and, help
and viewers and, community members for
clients, and it's not at someone's expense, I'm I'm all for
it. Yeah. Yeah. I love this. And I
think it's part of a larger conversation too. Did y'all hear

(34:35):
about the Sticker Mule Insta incident?
So the founder of Sticker Mule, who's it's just like
a sticker company. Right? It's like one of the top ones, posted
his, I don't know, thesis on why people should
vote for president Trump. And it was
very aggressive for some reason, and he sent it out to everyone on the

(34:57):
mailing list when they're just they're used to just the sticker
stuff. Right? And people did a bunch of, like,
conversations around this because as the
head of the company, he technically like, he's not doing
anything wrong, and a bunch of people very verbally
chose different sticker companies because they didn't agree with what he was

(35:19):
saying. And so I do think that there's this fine line
between, for a brand specifically, there's
a fine line between taking a stance on something.
Megan, you said something earlier about, like, not trying to change people's minds. I don't
think that's the brand's job. I think it is your job to, like, call
in your people. And there's a way he could have done that, I believe.

(35:41):
Maybe just like some Trump stickers, you know, keep it
aligned. And instead, he went very aggressive. The if y'all haven't heard
this, look it up. It's it's a fascinating case study in
brands that that are taking a stance on something. But I'm curious, like, with
that in mind, do either of you have examples of brands that have done it
right? Right? Brands who come to mind where you're like, yeah, they have this

(36:02):
balance of, you know, taking a stance on something
and also promoting their stuff.
I have a a a personal example, actually. When I
was working in house at, a
natural grocery store, we were up against
Publix, a huge conglomerate grocery store, and

(36:24):
we were moving into Florida, which Publix,
like, really owns, the grocery market in Florida.
And, it was around the Parkland shooting, and the
kids from the Parkland shootings were going and doing they were
staging die ins in Publix stores where they would go and lay on
the floor because Publix was, contributing money to the NRA.

(36:47):
As far as I know, they still are. And so we were a a
smaller competitor, but, people started this, and this
was a customer led campaign on Twitter. It was tweet the receipt.
So people would say, I just drove past Publix to go to Walmart or I
went to Whole Foods or what whatever grocery store they went to,
they would tweet their receipt to show Publix this is how much you're missing out

(37:10):
on. And we started going in on Twitter and giving people
we we did, the grocery store did, like,
you could drink beer and wine as you were I can't remember what we called
it. You could drink beer and wine as you were shopping. So we would give
people a beer or a kombucha coupon, and we would say thank
you. And we didn't create that campaign at all, but we jumped

(37:30):
in. And I guess some people could call it opportunistic,
but really really, we were just, like, reeling in the value aligned
people in in a moment where they were already kind of self selecting.
And it was a really interesting way to, like, reward
them and and bring them into our kind of value circle.
Yeah. That's such a beautiful thing. I like, I love all of

(37:54):
that campaign. The the idea that you went in and just
joined the conversation that's already happening. To me, that's actually
the best use of social media for both businesses,
creators. Like, it feels more like a community
when we're all having similar conversations instead of, like,
saying completely separate things, which is why I also don't believe joining in is

(38:16):
opportunistic. But I do think that they this is the way to do it. It's
like listening to the people you're you're in community with
and participating actively, which is beautiful. Love that. Megan, do you
have any examples of brands or creators who you think have a really good
balance of, you know, activism or standing for
something and kind of doing their thing? 3rd I

(38:39):
really love a lot of business owners I know
have a, like, values alignment
check-in on a lot of their sales pages where it's like, hey,
this is a place where we support trans people, we believe black
lives matter, you know, like, and I've started including it on my stuff
that I know is gonna see a broader audience, people who might not know me

(39:01):
as well. I have started including it as well, and I think that's just a
really good way to, like, just just make sure that
people know what they're getting into. To me, it's just transparency.
Right? Yeah. Yeah. Right off the bat. I think Becky
Mollenkamp does a good job of that on, threads a few times.
She's posted, like, hey. So a lot of you are new here,

(39:23):
and the comment section is not in agreement. So here's what I believe,
just so you know, and you can, like, click on follow if you if you're
not cool with this. And I think that that is a really great way to
just remind people of of your value system and what you believe in.
Okay. Last question is, for me, election season is very
stressful. I find it,

(39:46):
it feels like I'm I'm tiptoeing a little bit
around, like, what to say, how to say it, what do I
think. And especially because my family believes
it, like, my family is very divided as well. So, like,
extended family. I'm like, we're from Atlanta, Georgia. I'll just give you I'll give you
that. From Georgia. There's it's divided. Right? And so

(40:08):
I feel like I'm walking on eggshells a little bit and it, like, makes my
anxiety go through the roof. So I know for me personally, I end up just
doing a lot more mindless things. Reality TV, reading romance
novels. I need the time to, like, chill out
when emotions are high, and I'm very grateful I have that privilege.
What are some of the things that you recommend to listeners when

(40:31):
we need a break from elections and
everything else that's happening in the world? Josephine, I'll start with you.
Yeah. I am also from the South, so I I
feel you on that anxiety. I'm, like, constantly trying to dial
myself back personally from rage commenting on
family or otherwise, misinformation.

(40:54):
But I definitely think that giving I mean,
again, it goes back to depends on the type of business that we're at
least working with from a client perspective on how we can
help. But or or like like I said, if it's a
mental health, client, we can actually give some therapist
tips on how to chill out or post

(41:16):
some cat videos, post some, like, dog videos, you know, that kind of
here's your moment. We've done that personally too with our brand. We're
very nature based and, like, our branding and
personally, myself and my founder, my cofounder.
So, posting some, like, pear orchard videos and
saying, take a break and get off or, you know, get off social for a

(41:38):
few minutes. Just reminding people to be mindful and
intentional about how they're using social media from
whatever lens we have, is is pretty much and and
or providing humor, is kind of how we approach
that. Yeah. Beautiful. I love that. Thank you, Josephine. Megan,
over to you. What would you like to share with listeners

(41:59):
about taking a break when the stress is too high?
Okay. So I really like completing the stress
cycle. If you have read, I haven't read the book yet,
but I've watched their TED talk, the women who wrote Burnout.
Yes. Right? So good. Yeah. So I think you
need to complete the stress cycle. Sometimes taking a break

(42:22):
is the answer to that, and sometimes it's not. So, like,
for me, whenever my hands get shaky
and my chest gets hy vee and I'm like, oh, okay. I'm upset. My nervous
system is going. That's when I'm like, what do I
need in order to complete this feeling and be done with it and
then take a break? Sometimes what I need in order to complete the

(42:44):
feeling, there is no resolution. And a lot of times that's what it is for
politics because we only have so much power as individuals. So
what I will do is I have an ice roller, like a beauty roller. I
roll my face in the back of my neck and that really, whoo,
very soothing. Definitely helps complete the stress cycle for my nervous
system. Sometimes that looks like drafting a

(43:06):
post, but not hitting post yet because I don't I try
now to not hit post from that shaky hand space. I can draft
it, but I post it later when my hands are stable.
But I still need to make the post because I need to get my feelings
out in order to complete the stress cycle. What else have
I done sometimes just taking actions? Sometimes I just have a list like,

(43:28):
especially when it comes to causes I'm really passionate about. Like,
sometimes when I need to complete the stress cycle, I just call my representative and
yell at them a little bit. Like, hey, what are you doing? You're not getting
your job. And that helps, you know, so
sometimes you just need to take an action that'll help, your nervous system feel
safe again. Okay. I need this TED talk and book

(43:50):
immediately because you totally blew my mind here because
I can see myself avoiding. I'm avoiding my feelings.
I'm avoiding it. I'm like, I'm not gonna deal with that right now. Let's get
lost somewhere else. There is so much power
in distraction. But the purpose of distraction is to give you
a beat so that you can come back not to like keep

(44:12):
distracting so you don't have to go back. Yeah. And in
in that book, they also talk about, removing the stressors,
like you have the stress, but what is causing the stress are the stressors.
And so that's a really interesting way. And I would encourage people
listening even to just think about what are the stressors that are putting
pressure and giving you the stress. And, as business

(44:34):
owners, there are so many of those, but I have found
that sometimes clients aren't aligned and you need to let that
stressor go. Or sometimes you're trying to create an
offer that is not really aligned with what you're thinking or your audience
you're pushing it and your audience isn't grabbing onto it. So let that go.
You know? Just think about the stressors, both personally and professionally,

(44:57):
that you can let go of in order to move forward and complete the
stress cycle. But, yeah, that book is amazing. Okay. I think it's
called burnout, the secret to unlocking the stress cycle. Emily
Nagasaki and Amelia Nagasaki. I'm gonna put the
link to that in the show notes, and maybe we should do, like, a read
along because I need to read this one. Thank you

(45:18):
both so much for being on the show. This has been absolutely fantastic. Can
you share with listeners what's happening next for you and your business? Megan, we'll
start with you. Absolutely. Okay. So,
you can find me on Instagram at the chaotic entrepreneur. That's my
business coaching account. And something really cool that's coming up in
October is I am starting a group coaching program

(45:41):
specifically around anti capitalist business practices.
It's called making money as a leftist. I'm really excited for it. There's gonna be
10 folks. We're gonna do coaching and some course stuff, and there'll be,
like, Voxer chat hours, and I think it's gonna be really powerful.
So, all of that is you can find that on my Instagram.
Awesome. Thanks, Megan. And, Josephine, what's next for you and your business?

(46:04):
Yeah. Well, you can find us on,
Instagram at pomonecreative and also on LinkedIn
at Pomona Creative. We are in October doing a
social that sells workshop that's for anyone,
particularly marketers, who want to increase
their, strategy knowledge and learn how to tie

(46:26):
their social to ROI and to business goals.
So that's happening October 9th, and, you can find it on our website,
Pomona, pom0nacreative.com. Beautiful.
And I'll have all of the links in the show notes, onlinedre.com/32
5. Thank you dear listener for tuning in to another episode of the Mindful

(46:46):
Marketing podcast. Make sure you stay tuned next week. I have
Jessica Lackey on the show. We're going deep into her
perspective on marketing outside of social media, which I always love this
conversation because there's so many other different ways you can market.
Until then, I will see you in my community space. Thank you so much. Bye.

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.css-14f5ked{margin:0;word-break:break-word;display:-webkit-box;-webkit-box-orient:vertical;box-orient:vertical;-webkit-line-clamp:2;overflow:hidden;}Marketing Your Business During an Election Year with Josephine Agrawal & Megan Griffith