What Businesses Can Learn From Watching the Facebook Elevate #BuyBlack Summit

Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) has to be 360 degrees.

Arian Simone of the Fearless Fund talked about how consumers have been showing their support of Black-owned businesses and shopping small, but from the business perspective, the way to capitalize on this momentum and growth requires more widespread attention.

"My message to corporate America is that DEI has to be 360 degrees… you have to see it at the board of directors level,” Simone said. “You have to see it at the C-Suite leadership. You have to see it in the marketing spin. You have to see it in supplier diversity. You have to see it in the external facings, [and in] what you're doing in the communities.”

Understand your “why.”

FUBU CEO and investor Daymond John answered the most pressing community questions from business owners in the Facebook Elevate Group, advising entrepreneurs to work “smarter and not harder.”

“The key is to understand your why,” he said. “Why are you doing this? And understand your customer — what is keeping them up at night, and how are you either solving a problem for them or transitioning them into a better place? And constantly educating yourself, and educating yourself on everything and anything you can. You have to grow and be smarter every, every day.”

Turn your platform into profit.

How do you make the most of your audience, turning loyal followers into loyal customers? Jamila McGill and Ali Wright from Brooklyn Tea, plus Nai Packnett from Hair by Nai, shared their strategies and paths to success — and explained how they’ve embraced and navigated new-found customer demand for their products and services.

“Our approach, really, is to be our authentic selves as much as possible, but also to be kind of a glossier version of our authentic selves,” McGill and Wright said about how Brooklyn Tea shows up on social media. “During the pandemic, one of the things we learned was we wanted to entertain people. People were kind of nervous and afraid, and there was bad news everywhere, so we went from being more [educational] and just product photography to us doing little skits in our apartments. And it's having a good time with it. We find that, because we're doing teas

and it can be a little wonky, that making it lighthearted, making it fun, and really engaging with our customer base is a great strategy for us to let people know we're here and we're listening to you."

Feeling inspired? Watch the summit videos on demand, now.