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How To Create Inclusive marketing

Of course, it’s not easy to fight bias, and you won’t always be free of bias. Being aware of bias in marketing will help you to make better decisions and create more inclusive marketing.

Zimmerman said, “I believe it leads you uncover stones…you discover things you may not have discovered before because you have asked questions you may not have asked before.”

How can you ensure that your content marketing is not tainted by bias? Here are some first steps.

Understanding what bias is.

Merriam-Webster defines bias as “a personal, sometimes unreasoned judgement.” Bias is both positive and negatively skewed, and can affect how you relate to your audience. Content marketing is today the most effective way for brands to connect with their audience. It is therefore crucial that you check your content for bias. You can only do this effectively if you know what you are looking for.

Start by educating your team and yourself about the 14 types biases to better understand how they can affect marketing decisions and messaging.

The education goes beyond marketing. Our team, for example, has received LifeLabs training in order to combat bias during the hiring process – a truly eye-opening experience. Positive bias can be just as damaging as prejudicial bias.

2) Be conscious of stereotypes in your profession.

Stereotypes are a major problem in media (and marketing) in general. It’s everywhere. We see it everywhere.

It happens when marketers make assumptions regarding their target audience. It’s not always deliberate, but this type of bias does show a certain level of laziness. To “connect” with consumers, too many brands use tired stereotypes or tropes. These brands are at best out of touch. These brands are perceived as insulting at worst.

When we spoke to Drew Hoffman, the VP of Brand for cybersecurity company SentinelOne he complained that the industry uses outdated imagery. Think of sketchy men in hoodies hacking your accounts. Drew encourages his team instead to use interesting, creative and relevant imagery when talking about security in general. Also, they pay attention to their audience. They feature a woman as their homepage video because not all IT managers in middle age are white men.

This kind of inclusiveness isn’t a mere trend. It can improve your bottom-line.

According a study conducted by the Association of National Advertisers , campaigns that accurately depict women and girls could result in a 2x-5x increase in sales.

Tip: To create inclusive marketing you must understand your audience, their interests, and aspirations. You can use data to better understand the demographics, behavior, and psychographics of your audience, then create marketing personas.

3) Use inclusive language.

The power of language is immense. It’s possible that you don’t realize how the words in your content actively exclude people. Language that is too aggressive or hypermasculine can exclude a large female audience. A language that’s too technical can be hard for office workers to understand.

Fun Fact: Our agency increased the number of female applicants by 36% when we rewrote job descriptions to be inclusive.

It’s important to make sure that your marketing materials are inclusive and without bias. This includes advertisements, website content and social media posts. When you do, here are some key points to keep in mind.

Use simple and inclusive language. Do not use jargon or technical terms which may be unfamiliar to users.
When possible, use gender-neutral language. Use gender-neutral pronouns instead of “he” and “she”, such as “they,” or rephrase your sentence to avoid using pronouns at all.
Be aware of ethnic and cultural referencesspan class=”font-weight 400 ;”>. Avoid stereotyping or misrepresentation by being cautious when using cultural or ethnic references. To ensure a respectful and accurate portrayal, research and understand the culture.
Use person-first language. Use person-first language when discussing people with disabilities or conditions. Use “a person with disability” instead of “disabled persons”. This places the person in front of the condition.
Be aware of language that is age-related. Use inclusive language to avoid ageism when you refer to different age groups. Avoid making assumptions about age or using derogatory words.

To clarify your brand’s voice and personality, create strong brand guidelines. Listing words that you use and don’t use is also useful.

Assess your imagery.

Visual communication has been the most powerful tool in perpetuating stereotypes and prejudices.

You need to have a team of people who are able to create interesting, engaging, and thoughtful content if you want your marketing efforts be competitive. It doesn’t mean that you just slap a bunch of “diverse friends” on the cover and call it good. You should think carefully about your stories and the reasons you tell them.

Considerations to make when it comes visual representation

Show diversity in all its forms. Include people of different races, ethnicities, ages and genders as well as body types and backgrounds. Represent different lifestyles, professions and family structures. Strive to portray a society that is balanced and representative.
Avoid stereotypical and cliched language. Think about images that will capture the audience’s attention and inspire them.
Use relatable and authentic imagery. Select visuals that represent your target audience’s experiences, showing real people in realistic situations.
Recognize the intersectionality of identities and experiences. Incorporate intersectionality into your visuals. Include people who represent diverse identities such as people with disabilities, or LGBTQ+ individuals of different ethnic backgrounds.
Work with a wide range of creators. This will ensure that a diverse set of perspectives and experiences is represented. Be open to different feedback. Accept different artistic approaches and styles that are compatible with diverse cultural backgrounds.
Show people engaging in inclusive behaviors and interactions. People engaging in inclusive interactions and behaviors. Show diverse groups working together, participating in activities, and supporting each other. People from different backgrounds can be shown in professional settings, everyday situations, or leisure activities.

Tip: While most people associate bias with the people that you are depicting, other visual elements can also contribute to negative bias. Some fonts, for example, have been accused of promoting racist stereotypes.

6) Create inclusive user experience.

According to the CDC 26% of Americans live with a disability. Yet their needs are ignored or completely erased by media, marketing and technology.

Nielsen found that only 1% (or fewer) of advertisements include themes, visuals or topics related to disabilities.

Why is it important to create inclusive UX? What does this look like in reality?

Take into consideration those with visual impairmentsspan font-weight=”400 ;”>. Use alt text on images and captions on videos. Color palettes should be accessible to users with disabilities and have enough contrast. Use color to convey important information and instructions, but not exclusively. To provide more clarity, use additional visual cues such as icons, labels and text.
Communication should be clear and simple. Make content, instructions, and error messages easy to understand by users of different literacy levels or languages.
Make sure your UX design is responsive. It should adapt to different screen sizes and devices. Ensure that your digital service or product is accessible from desktop computers, laptops and tablets. To provide a consistent experience across platforms, consider different input methods, orientations and interaction patterns.
Design for different interaction methods. Users who use keyboard-only navigation, assistive technologies such as screen readers or other input methods should be considered. Make sure that interactive elements such as form fields and buttons are clearly labeled, and can be operated with different input methods.
Consider simplicity, flexibility, intuitive navigation and error prevention to make your UX design inclusive by default. To make your UX inclusive, you should consider simplicity, flexibility and intuitive navigation.

Tip: Use the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines Checklist (WCAG) as a guideline to make sure you are considering the needs and abilities of those with disabilities, whether they be visual, auditory, motor or cognitive.

7) Increase your network of collaborators.

Bias is not limited to words or pictures. You need to create inclusive, strong communities that represent your target audience if you want to make your brand successful. Consider who you work with, both internally and externally, and how to bring in different perspectives, skills, and voices.

Which influencers do you support and interact with?
What are some of the thought leaders that you feature at conferences, in panels, or on your blog? ?
Who is the content creator that writes, designs, and films for you?

Having a larger community will help you to reach a larger audience, gain new perspectives and create stronger work.

Continue to work on removing bias from your marketing

We all have to deal with the challenge of fighting bias. Keep these things in mind:

Encourage the open discussion of bias, and develop mechanisms to report and address concerns.
Monitor feedback from stakeholders and customers to identify potential biases. Attention to comments on social media, reviews of customers, and other feedback sources.
Share your progress and updates to your stakeholders and be transparent about your commitment towards inclusivity.

You may not get everything right, but you will improve your marketing the more you grow, learn, and implement systems that can detect and combat bias.

The post Seven Tips to Fight Bias & Create Inclusive marketing appeared on Column Five.

Author: Katy French

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