Using Inclusivity to Reach Your Target Audience
If you target everyone you may be targeting the oppressor.
If you target everyone you may be targeting the oppressor.
What do we mean?
If you’re here, you care about equity. But did you know your marketing tactics might not be furthering this goal? Let’s talk about why narrowing your niche is good for your bottom line AND the world.
Sometimes there can be a struggle between wanting to be authentic and the demands of capitalism. Even if we are focused on working to make the world a better place, it can feel as if we must play the game to succeed.
Maybe you have experienced the question of whether your brand should speak on a current crisis and wondered if the values you hold align with your brand. Maybe you worry that by speaking on an issue you will exclude others.
The target audience concept can help us in that discernment.
Target audience, the concept of identifying the demographics and values of your customer, can be pivotal in eliminating the extra time and money of trying to reach everyone. Having a mindset that is focused on the experiences of your audience (those impacted by your work) can empower authentic and inclusive content.
So what does this look like in practice?
Let’s take social media marketing as an example.
Many clients express that social media isn’t their favorite, and who can blame them? It’s frustrating when a huge tool for audience engagement is run by people who operate in systems that reward whiteness and uphold capitalism. Those who post more often are rewarded by the capitalist systems, those who fit into stereotypical boxes are favored by the algorithm. And yet what our data and experience has taught us is that we have the power to shape this tool.
By showcasing your company's values front and center, you appeal to the people impacted and in turn shift the narrative. With this framework we can begin to deprogram our understanding of what it means to promote our content and disrupt the capitalist system.
You might consider thinking about how your audience wants to show up in the world and how they want to be held in community as they work toward liberation. What content will help your audience feel most seen. This is the content that your audience is looking for.
It can feel like we must operate under the system we live in even as we do work to make it a better place. Knowing that the tools we have to reach our audiences are rooted in the system we are trying to change can be disheartening. Maybe this mindset around the target audience will help you have confidence that you are creating content to center the people impacted, not the oppressor.
Author: TABW Contributor Mya Sophia