If your PR campaigns only feature a small part of society, you will miss the opportunity to connect with the wider world.
A variety of stories and experiences shows that your company understands the rich diversity of our society. It also tells your audience that you value everyone’s experiences.
So, how can you bring diversity into your campaigns to ensure everyone feels included?
Let’s look closer at why diversity and inclusion are so important—and how you can create PR campaigns that foster a sense of belonging.
Why Diversity and Inclusion are Important in PR Campaigns
When you embrace diversity in your campaigns, you mirror the real world.
Modern consumers expect companies to reflect and champion diversity. This is especially true for younger generations.
And it’s not just in your campaigns. Customers want to see diversity throughout the whole company.
It’s not enough to simply show different faces. Customers want action on a deeper level.
With diverse and inclusive teams, you forge genuine campaigns. You sidestep stereotypes and create messaging that resonates with real human experiences.
As Evaristus Mainsah, Amazon’s VP of people, experience, and technology, explains in Amazon Ads Higher Impact 2023 study …
“[Younger generations] are expecting to see actions from companies and brands that not only reflect their communities but elevate and lift those communities as well.”
When you include a range of perspectives, you see better representation. You also develop more creative campaigns that connect deeply with a broader audience.
This creative potential boosts your marketing efforts’ impact because audiences trust brands that value their experiences.
Fifty-eight percent of people say they trust companies with sustainability and DEI messaging. And 57 percent of consumers are more loyal to brands that address inequities, according to Deloitte.
In this respect, DEI in PR campaigns also builds strong customer relationships and company growth.
6 Best Practices to Create Diverse, Inclusive PR Campaigns
Diverse and inclusive PR campaigns create more genuine connections with a broader audience.
Try these tips if you want your PR efforts to resonate and foster meaningful connections.
1) Diversify your PR team
Diverse teams have diverse ideas.
Bring people from different backgrounds together. Vary gender, race, ethnicity, age, and ability.
This diversifies perspectives, enriching your team’s approach to PR campaigns.
Instead of the same old ideas, you’ll see fresh perspectives that address and understand cultural nuances.
The result?
More impactful campaigns that meet consumer expectations around actual human representation.
2) Be conscious of using inclusive language
Commit to inclusive communication. Avoid stereotypes, jargon, and unconscious bias.
For instance, use inclusive terminology.
This way, you identify people by their qualities and experiences.
Research to properly understand cultural and community nuances and sensitivities. Having a diverse team is especially helpful here.
3) Let the community choose the language
Understand the difference between person-first and identity-first language.
As the American Psychological Association explains …
“In person-first language for disability, the person is emphasized, not the disability. In identity-first language, the disability becomes the focus that allows the individual to claim the disability and choose their identity, rather than permitting others to name it or to select terms with negative implications.
Identity-first language is often used to express cultural pride and a reclamation of a disability that once conferred a negative identity”.
There are no hard-and-fast rules on which to use. You need to respect individual preferences.
To help figure this out, look to community guidelines.
For example, according to the APA, in the Deaf community, it’s appropriate to use the preferred identity-first language. Of course, if an individual has a different preference, their choice takes precedence.
If guidelines are not clear or unavailable, take the initiative to do your research.
Reach out to people within these communities to ask how they’d like you to represent them respectfully and inclusively.
4) Represent diverse communities in an authentic way
Go beyond simply featuring different faces. Feature diverse stories and experiences.
Your content and visuals should reflect the real lives of the various groups within your target audiences. To gather authentic stories, consider using a QR code generator to create easily scannable links to submission forms or surveys. This can help you collect diverse narratives directly from community members, ensuring your campaigns truly represent their experiences.
And remember, just because someone identifies with a community doesn’t mean everyone acts the same.
For instance, look at this campaign for Holland and Barrett.
Yes, it’s aimed at celebrating and supporting women. But, it also demonstrates an array of lived experiences by different women.
5) Translate campaigns to reach wider audiences
Show an ongoing commitment to diversity by translating PR communications.
Consider the varying languages of your audiences and create PR and marketing materials that reflect this.
You might create videos in different languages or hire an event videographer and multilingual staff for live events.
This nurtures deeper connections with multicultural consumers.
6) Create accessible communications
Your communications should be accessible to people of all abilities.
Consider how somebody might struggle to understand different forms of communication. Offer pragmatic ways to overcome this.
Here are some ideas to increase accessibility:
- Keyboard navigation for those using screen readers
- Stark color contrast between text and backgrounds
- Audio descriptions on visual content (alt-text)
- Captions and transcripts for videos
- Large print and braille options
- Simple, jargon-free language
- Sign language interpretation
- Interactive content
Don’t Just Diversify—Include
Remember, diversity is just the first step. You also want to create a sense of belonging and inclusion.
As Jameka Pankey, Amazon’s Head of Global Change Management, Operations, and Strategic Events, puts it:
“We don’t want to just invite you to the party; we want to ask you to dance. We want to see if you want something to eat. We want to make you feel engaged. We’re going to say to you, ‘Hey, what should the DJ be playing?’”
For successful campaigns, your PR must create inclusive environments where customers feel they belong.
Unsure how to do this?
Try Agility PR Solutions today to listen more clearly to your audience and understand how they want to feel included.
