The Importance of Inclusive Marketing

You’ve probably heard the phrase, “Representation Matters.” but may not have given much thought to what it means and how it applies to digital marketing. If that’s the case, please take a moment to read this because raising your level of awareness can be beneficial to your business and your clients.

Inclusive marketing is marketing that reflects diversity in all of its forms including age, race, ability, gender identity, and sexual orientation.

This is important because it can build trust amongst your customer base, attract new customers and strengthen relationships with existing ones.

The goal is to have your marketing resonate with your audience, not alienate them.

Here’s my personal experience. After turning 49 a couple years back, I wanted to make some sound dietary changes.

I had been following a health coach on social media for a while and figured she'd be perfect in guiding me through these changes. However her marketing held me back because despite her target customer being women over 40, her stock images depicted women under 30. Additionally, I didn’t see women of colour or women of different body types, instead I was met only with slim, young, white women.

Although unintentional, the message was “these are the types of clients we serve”.

I questioned if this would be the right fit for me and it took some time before I reached out. Fortunately, we did end up working together and it was a great experience however, it's a risky move for companies to not be inclusive.

Present time. I only reach out to companies who are inclusive in their marketing.

Diversity in your marketing will grow your audience and grow your bottom line.

According to the inclusive marketing research conducted by Microsoft, 49% of participants stated that they have stopped purchasing from a brand that did not represent their values.