Different Ways to Diversify and Make your Marketing Inclusive

Diversity & Inclusion (D&I) is having a huge momentum right now and it should! The spotlight is in these areas and it will be ongoing, so how can you contribute? It’s a wide topic in itself and can be applied to many areas of a business however I’m going to help you in how you can specifically think about D&I in the content you put out there.  

Some of these points may be obvious but due to our unconscious bias we have to unlearn previous thoughts engrained into us about Diversity. Thinking deeper about each piece of content you publish is another step towards D&I being the norm whether it’s to another business or customer. 

Blog posts 

For any readers I guarantee you have created a blog post or even a post online which states a fact. There’s possibly a stock image and the source you’ve stated. A few questions to take into consideration when creating this type of content;  

• Have you looked over previous images? Is there a consistent type of person you usually pick to feature? Have a quick scan to see if you can switch this up to represent wide LBGTQ+, ethnicity, gender, disability and age.  
• Sources may not have crossed your mind but this is important. You might want to find the first credible website or paper to quote but dig a little further to see who wrote the piece. Finding a Black or POC may give you a different angle on a thought and plus it provides support that their work is being shared.  

Video  

Video content is able to capture attention a lot more and is increasing. If you’re a creator or anyone in marketing creating content, have you thought of these things?  

• Sourcing diverse talent to be in front of the camera. There are a fair few BAME agencies you could connect with. I.e. BAME Model agency.  
• To be truly inclusive, think about your production crew. Behind-the-scenes talent is just as important as who is shown to your audience.  

Social Media Imagery 

Social Media is part of all of our lives and we know the consequences it has had on our daily lives. Therefore, I'd take an extra precaution when posting any type of content here. Social is a gateway to opinions, ‘cancel culture’ and sharing which can either enhance your brand or put you in decline. When I say extra, I mean;  

• Using a variety of influencers/ people in any activity and taking the time to seek them out.  
• When it comes to seasonal activity, questioning why you’ve chosen, for example, a white person for a wedding look instead of an Indian or only using an Indian person on your feed during Diwali. This is a niche example but expanding your thinking in actively & consistently being diverse can appeal to various types of audience. If you’re unsure, it’s safer to ask.  
• Captions. If you want to connect more, look deeply at the content. Could you make this more personalised in captioning? E.g. a Black hair tutorial – talking about the type of curl they have, 4C etc.  
• Commenting. If you do reply to selective comments, do consider who you are interacting with. Are you being non-biased? Online audiences are witty, have a deeper way of thinking and much more observant now than ever.  

The above points are not limited to only Social channels but other areas of marketing too such as in-store, CRM, websites or internal communications.  

Product development 

This is an interesting area to delve into and unique but if you’re in the product development side of marketing or work closely with the teams then this could be useful.  

• Clinical trials. There is a history of trials not being as diverse as they could be and this hosts a whole plethora of bias issues. Aim to challenge the status quo.  
• Diverse team. This would go for all areas but in particular with this area, a team member who matches the target audience is likely to have more of a deeper understanding, e.g. ethnicity. Feedback around the business is also an option to really gather varied insights.  

Written by Shrima Patel