Inclusive Marketing Is Values-Based Marketing
4 ways to make your marketing more inclusive.
Inclusive marketing appeals to a broad range of people without making anyone feel left out or unrepresented. Unfortunately, oppression is laced throughout many marketing strategies in the form of racism, sexism, ageism, cisgenderism, nativism, heterosexism, and more. Marketing should never be rooted in a form of oppression. When inclusivity in marketing is only used to attract more customers, it fails to be meaningful. Inclusivity is a value. If your brand values inclusivity, your marketing should reflect that value, just like with any of your other values. Here are 4 ways you can improve your marketing to make it more inclusive:
#1: Feature Inclusive Images
Images take center stage in marketing campaigns. A social media post, email, website, or blog post just wouldn’t be the same without well-captured photos. The images your company uses to promote its products or services serve as a direct reflection of your brand and its values. If your images aren’t inclusive, this gives the message that your brand isn’t either.
Any photos you use should reflect your ideal audience and existing audience. This might mean representing people of color, people with disabilities, or queer couples. Progress has been made in the media to show women with varying body types, partly because women have been more vocal about body positivity. The topic of male body positivity still remains a somewhat taboo subject because our culture hasn’t created a comfortable space for men to express their thoughts and views about male representation in the media. If you sell products or services to men, remember that not all men are white, thin, and able-bodied!
Also, it’s important to ensure the people in your advertising pictures are being paid for their participation or are a part of your team. Featuring people solely for their “differences” is called tokenism—simply showcasing a person who belongs to a minority group only to give the impression of inclusivity is bad practice and the opposite of inclusive.
#2: Use Inclusive Language
Using inclusive language is an important part of being unbiased and non-discriminatory. Inclusive language avoids biases, slang, and expressions that discriminate against groups of people based on their race, gender, or socioeconomic status, allowing us to speak to a broader audience in impartial ways.
Any written content that comes from your brand should reflect your inclusive values. Here are some examples:
Pregnant patients vs. pregnant women
Happy Holidays vs. Merry Christmas
Person with a disability vs. disabled person
Diversity is not the same as inclusivity. It’s one thing to talk about how inclusive your company is, and another thing to show how you’re inclusive. For example, talking about how your brand believes Black Lives Matter is not the same as donating a portion of your profits to racial justice initiatives and showing up to march in solidarity with Black Lives Matter activists.
#3: Don’t Forget About Accessibility
Inclusive designs are just as important as inclusive messaging. Not everyone experiences technology in the same way, so it’s important to make yours as inclusive as you can. Here are some recommendations:
Use alt-text for the visually impaired
Make email content easily readable for the visually impaired
Review your brand colors. Can they be seen by people who are colorblind?
Provide captions in videos
Include transcripts for audio or video interviews
#4: Retain a Diverse Staff
Everyone has implicit bias, whether they’re aware of it or not. Implicit bias means having an unknowing preference for a group of people who share the same identity as you. Working with a diverse team can help us recognize our implicit biases and move past them to create inclusive content. Diverse teams bring in multiple views and perspectives that enrich content creation.
In an inclusive, diverse workplace, employees will hopefully feel safe enough to voice their creative ideas and bring them to life in a way that makes your ideal audience feel seen and heard.
Every brand should market in a way that reflects their values and resonates with a diverse audience, regardless of their age, appearance, ethnicity, or gender identity. If you’re ever unsure about how to refer to your audience or what they might like to see, just ask them! This will show you’re making an effort to market to them in a way that makes them feel included.
Reach out to our team if you need help creating a marketing strategy that mirrors your inclusive values. We work hard to ensure that our clients’ content represents their passions and viewpoints.