How are brands approaching diversity on social?
From BLM to Extinction Rebellion, social causes have made big news throughout the past few years. This has ignited long-overdue global conversations around important matters such as inclusivity and diversity. These conversations run deep. From governments and businesses to local communities, many people and organisations are looking to make a change to how we all approach the world.
However, for many brands, this can feel like a difficult time – wanting to participate in a positive way, whilst remaining careful about the things they say. In this article, we explore how brands can approach diversity on social media and offer some tips on how to do this in a conscious way.
Importance of Diversity
Diversity is essential to the success of modern brands.
Not only is it ethically sound, but taking a diverse approach in everything from hiring to marketing is a positive way to ensure that your brand appeals to a wider and more representative audience. After all, if you want to sell to a diverse audience, then it just makes sense to involve a diverse range of individuals in everything your company does.
This is especially important as time goes on. For many, diverse marketing is a new and unusual concept. However, for younger generations, diverse and inclusive marketing is slowly becoming the norm – meaning those who fail to introduce this approach will soon be seen as old fashioned and out of touch (if not already).
Diversity on Social: How Brands Do It
So, how do brands actually approach diversity on social media? In this section, we offer three ways that brands are showing how important diversity is to them.
Inclusive Content
Content is the lifeblood of brand social media. From product images to videos that tap into brand communities, branded content is arguably the biggest factor when it comes to how your business interacts with customers online.
This is why many brands are using their content as a way to display their commitment to diversity. In the past, all brands ranging from international behemoths like Nike, Mcdonald’s and Apple to tiny one-man-bands would usually only represent one type of person in their marketing – usually young, straight, white men and women.
However, there is now a big move across the board for all brands to be more inclusive, working with individuals from all races, genders, orientations, ages and abilities in their social media content.
Joining the Conversation
Consumers are increasingly making a shift towards buying from brands that share their values. No longer can a brand stand by the sidelines and claim indifference on major issues. Although this approach may be seen as ‘safe’, the result is more often that your brand appears unrelatable to all.
Brands that are leading the way in diversity are joining in these conversations on a regular basis.
This was seen in a massive way during the BLM movement as a huge number of brands claimed their support. However, few brands approached this in a real and meaningful way – which occasionally led to backlash from their audience.
Here are some tips for joining in conversations around diversity:
- Be clear and concise on your position and in your statements
- Back what you are saying with actions
- Consider whether your brand is relevant to the conversation
- Consider whether what you are saying is adding something constructive to the conversation
Diverse Influencer Selection
For some time now, influencer marketing has been a staple in the brand marketer’s toolbox. Many brands are now proactively working with a diverse range of influencers in order to show their support and commitment to diversity.
This approach is helping brands tap into new and exciting content creation talent, which had previously been widely unrecognised and underappreciated. More importantly, it allows brands to experience the expertise and understanding of those who have been unrepresented in the past. Ultimately, this expertise allows brands to talk to their audience in a way that is relatable and understandable.
Diversity on Social Media: Summary
It is clear that diversity is an important topic that all brands need to consider in everything from their hiring policy to their marketing campaigns. However, simply ‘posting’ about diversity can be seen as following the crowd rather than showing actual intent.
When pursuing to represent diversity in your own social media feeds, ensure that you are clear and concise. You also need to back your statements with facts and actions. For example, claiming to support diversity through your social media feeds, but failing to introduce any best practices in hiring diversely could be met with bad publicity.