Why You Need Diverse and Inclusive Content in Today’s Economy

As a brand, you need to be producing diverse and inclusive content. And no, I don’t mean just slapping on a picture of a queer couple on a hero image and calling it good. I mean representing and writing to people of different backgrounds.

It’s important. It’s so important that the first time I saw a car commercial about two gay women I cried. Big, sloppy tears. I had never seen something that saw who I was as a person and incorporated it seamlessly into their content brand strategy.

Even today, as a full-grown woman who runs her own business, when I see businesses highlighting people like me I smile, take note, and am more likely to spend money at their business. And I’m not alone.

The Future is Multicultural, Embrace It

For decades now, we’ve seen a trend in America that being a white, straight person is becoming less and less of the norm. A recent study by the census bureau determined that 51 percent of children under the age of 15 are part of a minority community.

Suddenly, appealing to the generic white-washed majority isn’t appropriate anymore. The majority is changing and your content needs to change to accommodate that.

Content for minorities shouldn’t be packaged the same way as packages for the majority – and as different minorities increase, your content should change to reflect that.

This practice is going to look different according to your industry. In the financial industry, you need to have articles that address different challenges people of color and queer people face. In wellness, you might approach your content with a queer-friendly voice, instead of being heteronormative. Each small change you make within your content is going to be substantive in making that broad sweeping change.

Millennials and GenZ Spend More For Socially Diverse Projects

Companies that have inclusive content make 25 percent more than companies that do not. Read that number again. Twenty-five percent. That’s a huge differential between companies that have inclusive content and companies that don’t.

Why? Millennials and GenZ are more socially conscious than other generations. And GenZ, in particular, holds a propensity for finding the truth. Between the two cohorts, people are 75 percent more likely to boycott brands that aren’t diverse or inclusive and brands that are exclusive.

On the other hand, inclusive messaging positively affects how much people spend, according to Google. Sixty-four percent of people clicked on a diverse ad, and their spending trended appropriately.

What is Inclusive Marketing?

Inclusive marketing is marketing with diversity in mind. Diversity comes in all shapes and sizes. Showing people of different socioeconomic backgrounds, ethnicities, cultures, family backgrounds, and sexualities all contribute to diverse and inclusive marketing.

But unfortunately, this is not enough. It’s not enough to simply display queer couples and say that you’ve checked the box.

In fact, queer people can tell if your company is playing at being diverse to get money out of us. It’s not wrong to use diverse marketing imagery to appeal to the queer market. But you need to tell our stories in your marketing. You need to show how your product solves problems specific to us.

Showing our faces versus telling our stories is the difference between pandering to our demographic and highlighting how your company cares about our demographic.

And that’s what marketing is all about.

Telling people you care about them and then showing them how your problem solves a problem.

What Does Diversity and Inclusion Marketing Look Like?

Telling Our Stories

Marketing is about good storytelling. Diverse storytelling helps a larger swath of people feel like they have a home with your company. Tell stories of homelessness. Tell stories of immigrants, of transitioning, of long-lost gay loves. Telling authentic stories connects with your audience on an emotional level and pathos is one of the best ways to sell your product. We want to see ourselves reflected in your eyes. It’s heartwarming.

Having Hard Conversations About Diversity

Being diverse isn’t always an exciting and wonderful thing. Don’t get me wrong, I love being a lesbian – but it changes the way I approach companies, social situations, and everyday interactions. I’m less likely to be up for promotions, and historically, I make way less than a white man.

If you talk about these less than savory topics, we feel seen. We know that this brand has taken the time to hear us and understand us.

This is comprehensive diversity and inclusive marketing.

Supporting diverse causes

Highlighting where your company gives money to, volunteers for, or contributes in a meaningful way to a cause is a huge way to embed in your content that you care. Content should be authentic to your company. Creating this culture of giving back to marginal communities gives you a leg to stand on when you talk about marginal issues. Without this component, it’s harder to act like you’re not participating in rainbow capitalism.

Partner with minority people for your marketing

Let us tell our own stories on your platform. Let us come forward and share how your business has changed our lives. We will work with you to create meaningful marketing content.

Plenty of minorities are copywriters, content marketers, and email specialists (my lovely self included). If you’re not sure where to look for a minority content creator, a) your circle is too homogenous and you need to broaden your network because we’re everywhere and b) reach out to me! I have a whole list of people I trust to do my content marketing and tell their stories.

What Does This Mean for You as a Brand Committed to Diversity and Inclusion

You need to hire content creators who know their stuff. And you need to work on telling diverse, multicultural stories.

Diverse content is crucial in today’s market. Everyone needs to be represented in a solid and authentic way.

If you’re not sure where to start, that’s where I come in! I’m a queer content strategist whose mission is to make your brand as queer-friendly as possible from a strategy perspective.

Let’s connect!

Posted in Marketing

Moriah Joy

Moriah Chace founded this site in 2018 to narrate the money journey she and her husband were on. After their divorce, she pivoted and is now tackling living well on a low income budget. She is currently the editor at Poorer than You. And she has words in Live Better, Deal Taker, and EcoFrugals. As part time barista and a full time coffee addict, she currently attends UTA for a master's in Civil Engineering and wants to change the world one high speed train at a time.

Why You Need Diverse and Inclusive Content in Today’s Economy

The Future is Multicultural, Embrace It

Millennials and GenZ Spend More For Socially Diverse Projects

What is Inclusive Marketing?

What Does Diversity and Inclusion Marketing Look Like?

What Does This Mean for You as a Brand Committed to Diversity and Inclusion

Moriah Joy

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