Add Diversity to Your Brand with Integrity & Honesty
In recent years we’ve been hearing more and more about diversity and inclusion (D&I) in the workplace. The words “diversity” and “inclusion,” are similar, but they don’t have the exact same meaning.
The well-known diversity advocate VernÄ Myers explains it as, “Diversity is being invited to the party. Inclusion is being asked to dance.”
Inclusive brand marketing is similar to D&I, minus the HR department. It refers to how you represent people from various backgrounds in all forms of your advertising. That means considering factors such as:
• Age
• Ethnicity
• Gender
• Sexuality
• Appearance
Beyond making your customers feel represented, inclusive brand marketing can help you:
• Reach more potential clients
• Build loyalty and trust
• Boost social media and website engagement
• Increase leads and sales
From your website to your Instagram feed, inclusive marketing can be an integral part of your marketing strategy-but only if you’re doing it authentically.
Let’s look at three ways to add diversity to your brand in an honest, approachable way.
1. Cater to your target audience, not to everyone.
Inclusive marketing isn’t about trying to find a stock photo with every possible demographic crammed into it.
Instead, it’s about knowing your business inside and out, and making sure that your target audience is well-represented in your marketing campaigns.
Remember: Your customers can tell the difference between a forced attempt at inclusion, and one that’s genuine.
And if they feel represented in a real way, they’ll likely be more motivated to support your small business. According to the 2019 consumer survey by the Google and The Female Quotient, 64% of all respondents took some action after seeing an ad they considered to be diverse or inclusive.
2. Stay true to your brand.
You may remember the Dove Real Beauty campaign. Their first ad featured a fresh-faced woman sitting down and having her hair and makeup professionally done before her images were digitally retouched and put on a billboard.
Of course, she looked incredibly different from start to finish, with the idea being that what we see in magazines, on TV and online is not reality.
Dove has since built their marketing upon this concept, using women of all backgrounds, shapes and sizes in their campaigns and vowing not to digitally retouch images.
I’m using this example not because I want you to be like Dove. I want you to take a long, hard look at your business’ identity.
If you don’t sell plus-size clothing, including a bigger woman in your advertising will fall flat. If you do sell plus-size clothing, using a thin model will alienate your customers.
Again, it all goes back to having a deep understanding of who’s engaging with your business.
READ: The Importance of Brand Messaging for a Successful Website Redesign
I’m sure you’ve landed on someone’s website and felt like something was just… wrong; or maybe you were suddenly turned off without even knowing why.
Chances are, you quickly clicked back to find a competitor’s website, where you felt more comfortable and secure.
Your visitors could feel the same way if you don’t pay attention to how you come across to your target audience.
In this article, I’m going to share 5 questions you need to answer to determine your business identity and create the most effective website possible.
Read more on our website.
3. Always be empathetic.
In order to reach your customers, you need to tell relatable stories, not just sell products or services.
Discover what your target customers’ likes, needs and pain points are. How will your product or service make a difference in their lives?
Once you’ve got an idea of what makes them tick, tell that story through empathetic marketing. Empathetic marketing means putting yourself in your customers’ shoes to better serve them.
And unlike sympathy, which is feeling compassion, empathy means imagining yourself in another person’s situation.
Your audience wants their needs to be understood and acknowledged. And that goes beyond a multicultural stock photo.
Maybe it’s interviewing an expert who is from the demographic you want to represent, or highlighting testimonials from real people who use your product or service.
How to Add Diversity to Your Brand Every Day
As marketers, we need to continuously evolve our strategy (or pivot completely!) Going forward, that will also need to include more inclusive marketing.
Your customers want to feel like you authentically understand them. More and more, consumers are interacting with companies not just because they want to buy something, but because they share that brand’s beliefs and values.
So research your target audience. Dive deep into your data. Listen to what your customers are saying, whether it’s online reviews or social media comments.
Make a commitment to try and do better each and every day to help your customers believe in your brand!
To your business success,
Susan
Susan Friesen, founder of the award-winning web development and digital marketing firm eVision Media, is a Web Specialist, Business & Marketing Consultant, and Social Media Advisor. She works with entrepreneurs who struggle with having the lack of knowledge, skill and support needed to create their online business presence.
As a result of working with Susan and her team, clients feel confident and relieved knowing their online marketing is in trustworthy and caring hands so they can focus on building their business with peace of mind at having a perfect support system in place to guide them every step of the way.
nodeguide
intell-vision
flashcomponents
trucaretrust
oakhillct
tibelly
floorplaza
freelocalmappers
sandisk
threeonline
correspondence
lincolnshireecho
iviet
ozwebsite4u
powerscribe
sf-helper
bash
elem
allo-ortho
doernenburg
cdrunning
globalhack
hardi-international
cosential
opf-labs
dunsi360
jennystrom
usd259
artsytoad
hitchedmag
gcgwcqlj2
youngcarer
selfix
zollege
sjbdb
nwbc
brightlightmedia
motorcyclenice
tarkettsportsindoor
vvog
catalysis
guqin
hitku
caritas-dicvdresden
herdskasper
ashishthakur
zkhthb
holbi
parstovors
mglatas
apmedien
dozapartner
lluc
atscsolutions
f2e
minegociocreativo
eurodigwiki
vibromount
racingpointf1
arthurrogergallery
kireipass
giardinodininfa
diffpetingsapcontvan
online
futurefinance
investinhamilton
sprintseosolution
hpv100
ogmagvimape
posilkiwchorobie
pdir
helpforhoarders
krouli
restaurantweek
enokorogusa
buywith
ceceliasgoodstuff
ampg-it
apnm
bostonvirtualimaging
slize
cellarexperience
aso
bortarzeytinyagi
vidaxl
vknowledge
topspyapps
kingpolis
thecliffsclimbing
perspektiva24vdk
sailarena
flixfry
yqdj
brooke
catchdesignweb
makrobulut
usenetmodelsindex
horizononline
tablasdemultiplicar
new-gen
isuzusverige
moviegoods
redtallin
winsharethermalloy
ologicalbodywork
curn
delphine39
clappifieds
wavetec
flyjs
themetropreneur
schach-nrw
fim
taixiu
bsnewline
contourengineering
liquid
orbit-ed
patakes
vintagetube
zefbbq
uvstudiotech
kns
uuzhufu
digitalfreedomfighter
wes
leaderexpo
howtocookthat
after
detroittrading
hotelnatureoviedo
simplemondays
chardonnay-du-monde
radfood
mavim
housedailyuse
sakura-kokusai
nutricionsinmas
thepunterspage
islaserver
mcm-europe
schuldnerberatung-berlin
powerfulonline
machineryzone
lux39club
amiguruthi
xtime
uitgeverijboom
artevarese
rosesetseslaines
nilp
yycolor-me
bmproduction
sklerometr
haokuais
mosaicsgarden
algida
qooqie
bestwaterdamagedirectory
dulsietran
deutscher-verlagspreis
hamvefopor
vods
ainsleyabouttheworld
jsrailway
zmiiv
explaindiovideocreator
biotuesdays
aeva
paint-me-pink
bunte-klein
scroll
austpost
yunbang
jahshaka
flourish-ious
southwestfarmpress
566333f
sprints
loesloodts
talkingmental
random-meet
dermapharm
sarugapackfreestore
elixusagency
claimsecure
matrixdigi
lecroc
f-facts
getwirefy
mids
framecad
dictumgroup
netmediaart
safety-compliance-dept
electroniccigarettesreviews
focustech
eugcc-cleanergy
wrtgolf
wir-versichern-alles
valeo
973526
mora
elcito
wskisoft
wordpoints
jojomoyes
durhamwt
olathetoyota
karen
nm-baidu
tf88x
htco
skykingdigitalservices
ficnocom
e-assist
ignitermedia
blogesctiv
net-auskunft
evansvilleliving
changjiang
votreplusbeaumarche
lusticabay
linkda
sxram
westeggcafe
chenhanquan
groupe-efire
targetmol
corcrm
telaidemontreal
bjornproductions
planet-tracker
daiichi-sankyo
serengeti
cst-group
premiumdomains
