How to Authentically Diversify Your Marketing Strategies

As marketers, it’s incredibly important to make sure your audience feels seen, understood and accurately represented. Diversity and inclusion should be kept in mind when it comes to all marketing efforts– from public relations, to website content and everything in between. Viewers are more likely to positively respond to brand messaging when they see diverse representation in advertisements, on websites and in other forms of outreach. Customers come from many different backgrounds and have a variety of unique qualities, and should all be met with authentic, diversified content that speaks to them. There’s no one-size-fits-all approach to creating inclusive content, so it’s important to really know your audience to make sure that your key messages can resonate with them.

If you’re looking for tips to diversify your marketing strategies and make your content more inclusive, you’ve come to the right place! Take a look at our suggestions below:

1. Transcreate Content

At MHP/Team SI, we provide transcreation services to help our clients make meaningful connections with their audiences. It’s important to ensure that your client’s message isn’t getting lost in translation, because everyone in your audience should have the opportunity to understand a message’s true intent. For example, if you’re appealing to a Spanish-speaking audience on your website or in your ads, it’s best to have Spanish speakers on your team for seamless communication. This goes for all other non-English-speaking audiences as well. The more diverse your own team is, the easier it will be to effectively communicate with diverse audiences.

2. Use Inclusive Language

Inclusive language should be incorporated into all of your communications, from website content to email copy. Carefully consider how your key messages and content could be interpreted by a range of audiences. You should also be careful with the words you choose and the adjectives you use. Do your research to ensure that the words and phrases you’re using are acceptable and don’t have negative connotations you might not have thought of. For example, the word “lame” is commonly used, but it has a negative connotation and it’s offensive when used to refer to something or someone as “meaningless,” “uninteresting” or “a drag.” At MHP/Team SI, our DEI Committee collaborated to create an inclusive language guide to serve as a live document to promote inclusive language across all departments. Consider creating one for your team as well.

3. Be Authentic

Consumers often sense when a brand is trying too hard to show diversity. The key is to be authentic. Show your diversity because you are diverse and truly value diversity, not because you’ve staged people in place to paint an impressive picture in an effort to diversify. According to Forbes, Adobe conducted a research report on more than 2,000 consumers in 2019. Results revealed that 66% of African-Americans and 53% of Latino and Hispanic Americans “feel their ethnicity is portrayed stereotypically in advertisements.” Be mindful of the content you create and how it could make your audience feel, and be sure to avoid stereotyping.

4. Diversify Leadership

Train and utilize spokespeople and leaders of varying races, ages, genders, abilities and communication styles to represent the makeup of your organization. Keep diversity in mind when it comes to how you present your organization to the public, whether you’re making an event guest list, taking photos, pitching the media or organizing event speakers. You should also include and pitch media focused on diverse populations. 

5. Be Mindful of Visuals

You’ve likely heard this advice before, but the images and videos you choose are essential when it comes to reaching your target audience. Your audience very likely consists of a diverse group of people, and if your imagery lacks inclusivity, it can deter customers from making a purchase.

Choose visuals with a variety of different people in them, particularly when it comes to:

• Age
• Race
• Gender
• Socioeconomic status
• Sexual orientation
• Ability
• Culture

Diversify the images you use on your website, social media profiles, email newsletters, advertisements and every other applicable area of your marketing strategy. You should also keep color vision deficiency in mind when you create graphics and web pages, and ensure that website designs aren’t too crowded, confusing or overwhelming.

6. Create Accessible Content

Depending on your specific audience, you’ll likely want to use words and phrases that are easy to understand. Keep in mind that some members of your audience may not speak English as their first language, or may live with cognitive or learning disabilities like dyslexia. You should diversify your content, making it simple to understand and accessible for all. 

When you create audio or video content, be sure to provide captions or a transcript when possible. If you don’t, you can easily miss a variety of people who could benefit from your product or service. For example, you may miss people with hearing impairments, employees in busy offices, parents at home with kids, etc. Also, add captions and alt text to your images to make content accessible to a wider range of people.

7. Select Influencers Wisely

When you’re selecting influencers for a campaign, make sure you select a diverse group of influencers who can create relatable content to reach all types of groups within your target audience. Consumers want to see people that they can genuinely relate to, so make sure there’s a solid mix. 

At MHP/Team SI, we believe that diversity drives innovation, which is why we are proud to have an award-winning team that are experts in helping our clients identify and reach new audiences, while also identifying opportunities for them to continue growing their inclusive marketing efforts.  If you are ready to take your marketing campaign to the next level, reach out to a member of our team today at hello@mhpteamsi.com or give us a call at 501-381-5023.

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