Digital Analysis of #BlackLivesMatter
Breaking down the organization’s social media strategies and glass ceiling-shattering dominance.
Black Lives Matter is a non-profit organization founded by Patrisse Cullors, Alicia Garza, and Opal Tometi in 2013 as a response to the acquittal of George Zimmerman in the Trayvon Martin murder case. The social movement that started with a hashtag on Twitter, has since grown into a political global movement that aims to eliminate white supremacy, and denouncing all mistreatment of Black people, to ensure black joy and prosperity for future generations.
Taking a look at their Instagram page, they have 4.6 million followers and an engagement rate of 1.1%, according to heepsy.com. Their audience is a diverse group of people, with the majority 52% living in the United States, and the rest of their audience living in countries like Canada, Haiti, Mexico and the UK, all at 6% each or fewer. Their organization reaches people of all ages, and various interests like “mommy”, “music” and “fashion”. Their audience is very positive in response to the brand, though they do limit their post comments to followers only, likely due to racists trolls.
The type of content they post mostly all branded content, with a few other posts mixed in. It ranges from videos and IGTV’s to text graphics and original series. Their “Artist Series” for example, highlights artists from different disciplines and their contributions to the movement. All of their content revolves around the movement, protests and education of the issues that the organization focuses on. Their content is effective because it is always relevant, interesting, and visually engaging, which is probably another reason why their audience responds to it so well. The tone in their social copy is always a form of “call to action” using active phrases to continue to make their followers feel a part of the movement, and actively participate in it in some form.
@Blklivesmatter does not seem to choose any specific “influencers” for their brand. This likely stems from the fact that the organization is so large and directly talks about and influences black people, that they do not need to hire influencers to help grow their brand. Unlike many other organizations, this one started on social media as a hashtag and soared to popularity, thus prompting the founders to organize into a foundation. They have many celebrities like Nick Cannon, Yara Shahidi and more, to the founders, and followers of the movement representing the brand and their image. Often, anyone who is Black or an ally of black people likely represents the brand in some fashion.
Last month, one of their founders Patrisse Cullors was in a controversy where rumors alleged that she was taking embezzling funds from the organization for personal use. The rumors spread around social media like wildfire, with followers demanding an explanation. On their Instagram page, they released two IGTV videos totaling about 12 minutes, where Cullors sat down with Marc Lamont Hill of BNC News to discuss the allegations. She was able to clear up that she did not and never has taken from the organization, and that all of her income comes from her other jobs aside from running the organization, such as being a college professor, TV producer, book deals and more.
