This post was originally published in June of 2020, but the content remains relevant, so I have decided to republish it. I hope you find it useful.
With everything our country has been dealing with over the past few weeks, a lot of white people have been asking how they can help and what they can do to be better. As a white person, I’m not qualified to answer any of those questions, but there are certain things I do in my own marketing content (as well as my life) to try to avoid offending minority groups, so I thought I would take some time to share my strategies with you.
Not only is avoiding offending people the right thing to do, it’s also good business. More Americans are refusing to buy from a brand if it produces and distributes offensive content, even if they previously loved that brand.
So if you’re looking to expand your brand’s positive influence on prospects, and avoid being a jerk at the same time, here are some things you can do to make sure your content is more respectful.
Table of Contents
- Avoid Gendered Pronouns
- Use Images of Non-White People
- Hire People Who Don’t Look Like You
- Don’t Reinforce Stereotypes
- Avoid Trying to Be Funny
- Think Before You Post
- Don’t Try to Be a Savior
- Educate Yourself
- Conclusion
1) Avoid Gendered Pronouns
My content probably includes the word “you” more than any other pronoun because I like to speak directly to you, my reader, but when talking about other groups, I tend to use “they”. For example, when talking about people reading your blog or subscribing to your newsletter, I’ll use “they” rather than “he” or “she”. This is partly because I tend to talk about them as groups, rather than individuals, but it’s also a conscious choice not to make any assumptions about the gender identity of anyone consuming my content or yours.
Some advice I have given in the past is to create at least two marketing personas: one for each gender, but I’d like to amend that advice here. Create a third persona that is non-binary or gender fluid. If your products/services are only intended to serve one gender, consider adding a second marketing persona that is non-binary or gender fluid. Just because they don’t always identify as the gender you’re targeting doesn’t mean they won’t occasionally want or need what you’re selling, and by making sure your content isn’t offending them, you could win, not just new customers, but lifelong fans.
2) Use Images of Non-White People
I’ve mentioned many times before the importance of making sure you use videos and images throughout your content in order to keep readers engaged. Those images can (and should) include charts and graphs to create visuals for the data you’re referencing, but they should also include photos of people. If you’re using stock photos, it can be surprisingly difficult to find photos of non-white people, but I promise they’re there – sometimes you just have to dig a little deeper. If you need help, try this resource for free stock photos of black and brown people.
If you’re creating your own animated images, make sure at least some of them include animated people of color, and that doesn’t just mean black people. It includes those of Asian, Indian, Latinx, and Native American descent.
3) Hire People Who Don’t Look Like You
This advice goes for hiring vendors and independent contractors as well as employees. African Americans still have a much harder time getting jobs, especially well-paid jobs, compared to Caucasians. In some cases it is intentional, but in others, it’s the result of internalized biases we don’t even realize we have, in which case we need to make a conscious effort to recruit, interview, and hire more people of color.
Again, this isn’t just good for society, it’s also good for business. Check out these stats about the benefits of having a diverse workforce.
Editors of Color has some more tips and resources for recruiting and hiring people of color to your staff.
4) Don’t Reinforce Stereotypes
If your content includes representations of people who are a different race, ethnicity, income level, or gender identity than you, make sure you aren’t reinforcing negative stereotypes. Unfortunately, that can be easier said than done due the fact that we all have biases that are so internalized we don’t even realize they’re there.
As mentioned above, get some people on your team who are members of the community you’re trying to represent and listen to them if they tell you something makes them feel uncomfortable.
You can also use focus groups comprised specifically of the people you’re representing to make sure your content isn’t hitting them the wrong way. If it is, you have to be willing to listen to their concerns and make adjustments accordingly.
Finally, there’s this style guide to writing consciously. If you’re about to write something you think might be offensive to a minority group, but you’re not sure, check the style guide. If you don’t think it will be offensive, you should still check because it’s important to remember how much you don’t know. A simple comment about sugar or tobacco might seem innocent to a white person, but to a black person it could trigger stories of slavery and oppression.
5) Avoid Trying to Be Funny
More often than not, attempts at trying to be funny backfire. At best, people will laugh but forget the brand, even if they remember the joke. At worst, you could end up offending a lot of people and have to pull the content, in which case everything you invested in creating the content (whether money and/or time) will have gone to waste.
There are times that humor pays off. The Progressive commercials have been incredibly successful at using humor without offending anyone, mostly because their jokes aren’t aimed at a group of people. Instead, their jokes tend to rely on the insurance industry and the idea that their representatives are too committed to protecting their customers. During the pandemic, their jokes centered around how absurd these times in which we’re living are by poking fun at aspects of shelter in place and video conferencing, which was something everyone could find relatable.
So avoiding the use of humor in your content is not a hard-and-fast rule, but don’t include it unless you are 100% sure it won’t offend anyone.
6) Think Before You Post
You know how they say you shouldn’t post anything on social media you wouldn’t want your mother to see? Or a potential employer? Well, the same goes for thinking about how your content would affect minorities before posting it.
Take a minute to think about your friends and/or family members who might fall into certain racial, ethnic, or religious groups. Would you be OK with having them see it? If not, why not? Don’t dismiss it as their lack of humor, but consider it might be your lack of understanding for where they’re coming from. You can’t change their sense of humor, but you can change your own perceptions.
When in doubt, go back to my advice above about building a diverse team.
7) Don’t Try to Be a Savior
Remember that awful Pepsi commercial from a few years ago that implied police brutality could be eradicated with a soft drink? Yeah, don’t do that.
When those of us with privilege recognize that privilege, we often want to use it for good, which is great, but sometimes we can end up doing more harm than good when we act rashly. Don’t assume that every person of color needs you to save them. If you notice someone making them uncomfortable, do speak up, but don’t speak for the person you’re trying to protect. You can use your privilege to let others know what kind of behavior is and is not acceptable, and you can use it to amplify the voices of oppressed minorites, but amplifying their voices is not the same as talking for them. Remember that you can only ever speak for yourself, and you probably don’t want anyone else telling other people what you think and feel, so you should avoid doing it for other people.
8) Educate Yourself
As I mentioned at the beginning of this post, I am a white person who is highly unqualified to address issues of race, but I’m constantly trying to be better. I read books and watch movies and TV shows that are by and about people of color. I follow people of color on social media. When they talk about race, I shut up and pay attention. It’s the best way to understand their perspective and I recommend you do the same.
9) Conclusion
It’s uncomfortable for white people to have these conversations, but it’s also intensely uncomfortable for people of color to have these conversations. The difference is they don’t get the option to avoid it. They might be able to get around talking about it for a while, but they don’t get to avoid the affects of systemic racism and oppression that confront them every day. The least we can do is try to meet them where they are.
No one is perfect, and so no one expects you to be be perfect. But we do expect you to try. It’s not easy, but neither is living in a world without true justice or equality. If we all do our part, it will get easier.
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