Four tips to take audience diversity into account in your communications

By Matthew Collis | matthewdcollis@gmail.com
https://www.linkedin.com/in/matthewdcollis

Matthew Collis goes over ways to take your audience diversity into account, from improving the language to expanding the makeup of your team.

Your communications need to resonate with your audience. But there’s a good chance your audience is diverse and made up of people of different races, genders, geographical regions, viewpoints and more. If we use the wrong language, tone or visuals, and lack certain sensitivities, our communications can be easily tuned out at best or be seen as divisive at worst.

So how do we ensure this doesn’t happen and that we plan effective communications to consider audience diversity? Here are four tips to consider:

1. Research and data is key

Research to get a full understanding of your audience and then leverage that research in your communications planning to develop messages and creative that hits the mark. Understand who your audience is (where they come from, their background, views and more) and then learn about their wants, needs and pain points to help make sure your communications resonate.

As people change and evolve, seek the feedback of your audience often, which can be done through surveys and focus groups. Surveys are great for understanding general trends and getting big-picture insights while focus groups give you a better sense of emotions and rationale behind the survey and other quantitative data you’ve uncovered.

2. Write the way they speak

As an example, if your audience is based in Canada and England, avoid expressions people in only one of these countries would understand. It’s important to write the way your audience speaks. Microsoft published a study that found the average human attention span is only eight seconds, which is less than a goldfish. This means your content must be easily understood, can be skimmed, and is interesting or valuable.

3. Visuals matter

Think of the images you use on paid, earned and owned media, in both digital and print. Are you considering diversity, race, ethnicity, gender, age and more? Your visuals should reflect the diverse makeup of your audience. This is an important consideration in ensuring you connect with your audience and in making them feel your organization is speaking to and including them.

According to Shutterstock, 88% of U.S. marketers agreed that “using more diverse images helps a brand’s reputation.” Unfortunately, many professionals underestimate the power of images. The right image can attract your audience’s attention and get someone to read your communications who may not have otherwise. Conversely, the wrong image can lead to your audience ignoring you and even do harm to your organization’s reputation.

4. Think about your team

Hire people on your team who have experience or insight communicating with your particular audience and consider diversity within your team to make sure you bring diverse perspectives into your communications. When there’s diversity on your team, your team may be able to come up with several great ideas that a homogeneous one may not be capable of doing as effectively.

Avoid tone-deaf mistakes or isolating your audience. Instead, learn about those you’re communicating with and their sensitivities and deliver communications that resonate. If helpful, consider the four points above as a guide moving forward.