7 Tenets for Executing Inclusive Communications

Bienvenidos...this is my “Inclusive Marketing Series”, a bi-weekly newsletter series that explores how to authentically connect with diverse audiences.

For the next few months, this series will focus on how marketing & communications professionals can build a stronger bridge to the efforts behind diversity, equity, and inclusion. Our role as marketers can only improve if we feel purpose in our roles and authentically connect with our key audiences – which are rapidly shifting.

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Alright, let’s say you’re completely lost. You may have marketing & communications experience, but you’re like WTF when it comes to this whole wave of D&I inclusive and accessible communications. After all, you want to be the marketer or communicator who truly connects with your target…whomever they may be. As a base for your professional development, consider these seven tenets I’ve identified for executing intersectional, inclusive communications:

1.????Accessibility: Inclusive marketing campaigns that are not accessible are actually discriminatory and ableist. Take the time to learn about accessibility and the importance of incorporating accessibility into your digital channels, copywriting, creative assets, and so on. (Note: I will have a separate article soon on this: “Be an Ally for A11Y”. Stay tuned.)

2.????Authenticity: Walk the walk before you tweet the tweet. Folks can easily smell a snitch, liar, or scammer (at least, New Yorkers can). In other words, work from a core of authenticity and if being inclusive to certain communities isn’t part of your brand, operations, or business…then don’t do it. Figure out what the brand stands for. Who are the natural ambassadors and customers? You’re looking to deepen connections, not forge inauthentic ones.

3.????Integrate into Operations: Marketing is a lot of hot air unless it’s supported by programs and operations. If the company is truly looking to make a connection and impact with a community, they need to have programs and operations – and not just messaging for awareness– that sustain this effort. Make sure you’re working in concert across the house – this shouldn’t be your job alone.

4.????Community Engagement: Woo! Your company had a campaign during Pride Month and earned some great digital impressions. Big win? NO. Inclusion matters 365 days a year – and as a private corporation you are being held accountable to these communities year-round, not just when it’s beneficial to you or when the calendar says it’s time.

5.????Feedback Loops: The best Catch-22 is…a working feedback loop. Feedback is hard…believe me. It’s something I’ve discussed with my therapist. You’ve got to not take things personally and believe in the power of growth over defending the work. Examine: How do folks give you feedback? Do you have more than one way? The more vulnerable you get, the closer you get to getting it 'right', ultimately leading to more professional growth…and that, my friends, is a life lesson for free.

6.????Intersectionality: Your marketing and communications is not inclusive if you don’t take into account a person’s whole, complex self. People do not have just one identity. Your outreach becomes more intentional, relevant, and informed if it’s intersectional. Intersectionality, as originally introduced by Black civil rights advocate Kimberlé Williams Crenshaw, refers to the compounding experiences of race and gender discrimination. Now, used more broadly, an intersectional approach considers additional aspects of identity. For example, a campaign focused on first-generation employees and mental health goes deeper than a campaign just targeting first-generation employees.

7.????Storytelling: Each year a diversity awareness day comes around and you might be tempted to go into your story inventory and pull selects from staff/customers/stakeholders. Don’t do this! Cherry-picking diversity stories is tokenizing. Instead, use the platform and privilege to highlight folks who are putting in the work. Amplify their stories, and support their efforts, rather than telling it for them. When creating stories, involve folks in the narrative from the beginning. In the disability space, we say ‘nothing about us, without us’ and the same rings true for the type of storytelling you develop.

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Elaine KA (she/her/ella) is proud Panamanian-American with over 15 years of experience, specializing in inclusive communications, including strategies and campaigns related to accessibility, ESG, and executive pledges for inclusion.

She has an MPA from Columbia University (SIPA) and is the current VP of Strategy and Communications at?Disability:IN. She lives in Brooklyn, NY with her husband and baby daughter. You can find her latest thoughts and revelations posted on Twitter:?www.twitter.com/ElaineKA220