Creating content that's mindful of diversity, equity, and inclusion
When you think about diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI), what comes to mind? For some, it’s a hot potato of an issue that needs to be discussed. For others, it’s an area that remains ignored until something happens to make them confront it.
However you frame the topic, DEI is important because it affects everyone in the workplace, social media space and the world in general. When we show up as authentic peeople who are open to growth and understanding, we can learn from each other in ways that benefit our clients and ourselves! Yay learning! (And yay suprising and delighting clients!)
Once we’ve covered the terms, I’m going to explain how DEI can help you create an inclusive culture in your online presence, how it benefits you/your client, AND how to talk to your clients about it.
What is the definition of diversity, equity and inclusion?
Diversity, equity, and inclusion are concepts that are often misunderstood.
Diversity is many different types of things or people being included in something; a range of different things or people
Equity is the situation in which everyone is treated fairly according to their needs and no group of people is given special treatment
Inclusion is everyone being able to participate in an experience/activities with dignity and respect, regardless of any disadvantage they may have.
The most common misconception about diversity is that it's only about race or gender, but there are many other ways you can be diverse.
For example: age, sexual orientation, abilities, culture (including religious beliefs), socio-economic status, gender identity/expression, body size, etc.
Many people who belong to one diverse or oppressed/marginalised group may also belong to another, meaning their identities overlap, now known as ‘intersectionality’. Intersectionality was conceived of and coined by the American civil rights advocate and leading scholar of critical race theory, Kimberlé Williams Crenshaw.
Your author is a non-binary queer white person, so I will be making references to my own personal experiences where relevant.
Creating a more inclusive culture in your online presence
Creating a culture of belonging starts with creating a space, either in life or in digital spaces, in which everyone feels safe, respected and valued. It's about creating an environment where people can be themselves and feel comfortable being their authentic selves.
It's important to remember that diversity isn't just about race or ethnicity - it also involves gender identity, sexual orientation, ability level (physical or mental), age and more. Creating an inclusive space online means having policies (or at least, understood values) in place within the creation team that supports these differences, while also working with the team so they understand how they can contribute positively toward making your brand more diverse-friendly.
If you’re a social media manager or social content creator working to make your content align with equity, diversity and equality, it starts with who, what and how. Here are some questions to get you thinking about how to include people who experience life differently.
Snag Tights have made body inclusivity one of their main content pillars. This screen grab shows some of their Instagram highlights, featuring 3 plus size bodies, a customer in a wheelchair and a Black customer. If you go through their feed you will also see non-gender conforming user generated content they have reshared to their audience of 318 thousand followers.
Valuable questions to help you create content with DEI in mind
Who…
…is in front of the camera, who is behind it, and who is in control of the edit? How will their life experiences and assumptions impact the final edit?
…is going to see your content? Is it a tiny niche (men aged 20–25) or is it a broader interest-based group that allows you to show a range? (Noodle eaters who live in the north of England)
…really needs mentioning directly in your script? Do you really need to open with “hey guys” or “hey ladies”? (and no, this is not the time to get into a debate about whether ‘guys’ is gender-neutral — it’s not, get on with your life)
What…
…assumptions are you making? If you’re showing how to do a hairstyle, does this technique also work on Black or Asian hair textures? And if not, are you acknowledging it in the audio or text?
…are the facilities for AltText on the platform you’re publishing on?
…what colour text will you use for subtitles? Is it easy to read for visually-impaired viewers?
…what level of accuracy are the subtitles? Are they auto-generated? Auto-generated captions often struggle to recognise certain accents, transcribe punctuation or multiple speakers, and discern other sounds like music or chanting, and can’t be edited for accuracy once live. Will d/Deaf and hard-of-hearing people miss important contextual details?
How…
…are you using language that is respectful and inclusive? Ableist terms frequently slip through the net, so double-check
…have you checked if any slang isn’t a slur?
…have you avoided reinforcing harmful stereotypes?
…can you offer an inclusive alternative if you’re offering a product or promo? From alcohol-free, vegan versions, happy hours that work for single parents, to offering a transcript of the podcast you were a guest on?
DEI benefits everyone in online spaces
Imagine growing up never seeing anyone who looked like you in the magazines or social media posts you see. Never seeing someone like you in a film or show, except maybe a background character who doesn’t contribute. How would it feel to see someone who looked like you in popular culture for the first time — but in a genuinely positive ‘normal’ way?
No, actually, please really think about it. For a long time fat people were frequently depicted as stupid, trans people were depicted as something to be deeply ashamed of (that scene right at the end of Ace Ventura, anyone?), the neuro-divergent community members were either maths geniuses or strange recluses, and physically-disabled individuals only wanted pity.
These are the messages about these communities I grew up receiving and internalising, without even realising it — and that’s without even touching race. We are constantly absorbing, so it follows that making your online content more accessible and inclusive will lead to the people absorbing being more likely to normalise things that SHOULD have been normalised for a long time (dad bods and rat girl summer are two concepts at the very shallow end of that idea).
Nike frequently makes good ground in inclusive content from larger bodies to trans bodies, although it’s the opinion of this author that they have done those things knowing that it will generate a large discourse in the public eye, not necessarily to be the ones leading the way in DEI. This discourse has given the brand valuable column inches, and likely won them customers.
Another example is of Gucci launching a fragrance campaign featuring actor and trans man Elliot Page, in what appeared to be polyamorous relationship inspired ad creative. Did that inspire me to seek out the fragrance to smell it? Absolutely. Has it got queer communities talking about it? Absolutely. Something that the majority of people will have missed is that Page is not holding a fragrance in the hero image, as the fragrances are gendered. That is a delightful detail for people like me.
I understand that these brands are big enough to brush off any backlash, but think for a second how they are quietly winning hearts and minds of potential customers who have felt invisible for so long.
Another piece of advice I give content creators who are trying to achieve genuine progress in diversity of representation of their content: follow more diverse people on your personal socials. Start absorbing. Start seeking out and seeing people who are different to you.
Raising DEI with your client
Now amongst all this, what I’m NOT saying is make a big song and dance about it or make what appears to be a screeching handbrake turn away from previous brand content. That’ll be the quickest way to be labelled as a greenwasher or a pinkwasher or just plain ‘going woke’ for capitalistic gains.
You’re not going to be able to make these changes overnight, but that’s a good thing. Smaller incremental changes are the best, and rather than saying what you’re about to commit to, it’s a FAR better look for everyone involved to say what has already been done. A reel focusing on all the things you’ve done to support your Black employees and management of colour throughout the year is far more meaningful than just wishing the internet a ‘happy Black History Month’.
66% of consumers who want brands to take a stand on social say it’s because they believe brands can create real change. However, if you miss the mark, you risk alienating a large part of your customer base… but if you get it right, 36% say they’ll purchase more from that company.
Ask your client to reflect on their values and beliefs.
Social media managers who need to have the DEI conversation with their clients: as a first step, you should ask your client to reflect on their values and beliefs. Ask them what they believe about diversity and inclusion, equality, inclusivity and equity.
Their knowledge will be on a spectrum that starts from ‘The Daily Mail told me everything I need to know’ to ‘My kid is trans so I appreciate you bringing this up’.
When you're having this conversation, it's important to be open to questions about your own identity and the diversity of the people around you. If you’re an account manager in an agency asking a client about DEI - do you have examples of what you’ve been doing internally about your own efforts? How diverse is your own team? (Shoutout also to the teams of one who are here though!)
By asking these questions in all the directions — and then exploring possible answers together — you can help create an environment where everyone feels comfortable sharing their thoughts and ideas without feeling judged for who they are as individuals (or for any characteristic unrelated directly related).
The other side of that same conversation is to point out the optics of not folding DEI into your marketing approach.
Twitter (now known as ‘X’) has long been understood as a platform where negative feedback has been slung at brands for a long time, with little fear of repercussion. TikTok is similar.
Say you’re a retailer with a limited size availability, you can expect comments to be left on your videos (once your account is a certain size) complaining.
If you’re a hospitality brand that only ever invites skinny white women to try the new menu, you can expect Black creators and other creators of colour to have something to say about you, if someone suggests your brand on one of their videos.
I’m not saying that your company feeds need to become the catalogue for DEI. But I am saying that it’s in your best interest (and your clients) to make sure that when you’re sourcing models, or UGC creators, or forming brand ambassador relationships, that you have a range of people.
Gen Z and Generation Alpha are coming and they are open minded and more likely to be queer. Stonewall reported in 2022 that “only 71% of Gen Z identify as straight, compared to 91% of Baby Boomers. This is a rainbow generation.”
Yes, you need to find creators and influencers who look like your target audience. AND you can stand to have someone much older, or differently abled, or a queer couple, or a Black or Brown skinned person. Send a diverse talent/creator list to clients for sign off. You can make it easy for them. You may not even need to mention it.
Oh, and make sure you more diverse creators/actors are paid the same as everyone else, yeah?
TLDR: Diversity and inclusion is important, and everyone should commit to it!
It's important to remember that diversity and inclusion is not just a trend or a buzzword--they're part of what makes us human.
We want our audiences to know that we care about their inclusion and visibility. Feeling like ostensibly an alien, and then seeing yourself somewhere online is a great feeling. Make more people feel good. Do it right and you’ll probably benefit.
