It’s World Mental Health Day and I wanted to talk to you about mental health and marketing. 📣📣📣

Let’s face it, marketing can have massive negative effects on your mental health – whether you’re consuming it or creating it. 

And I think it’s important that we, as marketers, recognise we have a social responsibility to look after our audiences. Let’s be kind – and make each other feel good! 💜

For World Mental Health Day I’d like us all to think about the effect our marketing could be having on people’s mental health. 

Here are 3 things we should all consider:

Representation 

Representation in marketing matters.

When people see themselves represented, they feel validated and valued. However, if you never see yourself represented, it can leave you feeling less than. 

“When you start creating worlds where entire races don’t exist, people with bigger body types don’t exist, people with different sexual orientations don’t exist, you’re creating a lie that does damage to viewers that internalize what they see,” said Re: Stock artist Jasmine Leyva. 

As advertisers and marketers, we have a responsibility to play a positive role in how the world sees the people around them, and how people see themselves. We’re in an amazing position to be a force for good through the messaging we share. Let’s embrace that and become even more badass! 🤘

If you need more diversity in your imagery but can’t afford to commission a photoshoot, check out nappy.co for free stock photos. 👏

Toxic social media 

We’ve all heard about the negative effect social media can have on our mental health. 

Spending too much time on social media can lead to anxiety and depression. How can we, as marketers, help minimise the risk?

We should try to foster a sense of community, have a zero-tolerance for bullies, and make sure we’re listening to our followers. 

We should also avoid editing photos and promoting unrealistic body standards. 

Down with body shaming and unattainable standards! 

Let’s lead with kindness first, and make social media a fun and enjoyable place. 

Manage motivations 

There are a number of reasons why people buy or convert. As marketers we try to tell stories that compel people to take action – whether that’s buying, signing up, contacting etc. 

Some marketers do this by crafting stories that make you feel guilty and anxious. 😡

“If you don’t buy this now, you’re a bad parent”

“Your health is suffering if you don’t buy this”

“When you die, you’re family won’t be able to afford your funeral”

Everyone feels shame and guilt throughout their lives but if we’re constantly bombarded with marketing that tells us we’re bad, we’re going to start believing it. 

And is that how we want to gain success, by making people feel shit?
I sure as hell don’t! ⛔

So there you have it! 3 things to consider this World Mental Health Day to help you look after your teams and your audiences, and generally make the world a little less shit. Nice one! 👍