Frictionless Growth Marketing

In this episode – Sarah-Chen Spellings and I and cover a lot of topics ranging from what makes marketing truly inclusive, how to focus your efforts by going narrow to reach a wider audience, as well as best practices for building a high-performing diverse team.About Sarah-Chen Spellings:Sarah is the co-founder and managing partner of Beyond the Billion (BTB), launched as The Billion Dollar Fund for Women, the world's first and largest global consortium of 100+ venture capital funds and limited partner investors that have now pledged to and are actively deploying beyond US$1BN to be invested into women-founded companies. She also hosts the Billion Dollar Moves podcast.Here's what we covered in this session: Why leaning into diversity can be a growth pillar for brands How diversity can be a foundational starting point for building a high-performing team What to focus on when working to build a high-performing team that is representative of the people Why many leaders struggle to find diverse talent How to build a culture that is conducive for team members to share their opinions and experiences Why unconscious bias training isn't what moves the dial in building an inclusive culture (and what actually does) How to ensure you set yourself up for success in reaching your goals as it relates to your diversity and inclusion goals Get the episode transcript hereWhat inclusive brand type are you? Take the quiz to find out. www.inclusionandmarketing.co/quizWant to go deeper on how to attract and retain diverse customers and talent? Check out my program Inclusive Brand Academy and see which option works best for you. www.inclusivebrandacademy.com

Life is about belonging. And because of that business is about belonging. That's why the businesses that take the time to serve consumers from underrepresented and underserved communities are winning their attention, adoration, and loyalty. In this episode, I chatted with Jacqueline Snyder and Minna Khounlo-Sithep about how product-based businesses are winning more customers by leaning into inclusion in a manner that fits for both their business and their customers.Here are some key points covered in the discussion: The 3 areas product-based business owners infuse inclusion into their businesses Why it doesn't matter where your brand starts in terms of the types of consumers you're able to reach Why representation matters beyond just brand and product photography Why there's no one right way to build an inclusive brand Why feedback (or complaints) are a great opportunity to identify how to become more inclusive in your brand How to be resourceful in choosing how to be more inclusive in your business Why more doesn't equal more About Jacqueline and MinnaJacqueline Snyder and Minna Khounlo-Sithep are the combined force behind The Product Boss Podcast. They have grown a community of high-achieving product-based small business owners and have helped them scale their physical product businesses through masterminds, group coaching and digital courses designed specifically for product-based business owners ranging from start-up conception to multi-million dollar companies. Together their goal is to change the landscape of product entrepreneurship by connecting women around the world through a blend of real-life business tactics, creative strategy and modern leadership.Get the episode transcript hereJoin Jacqueline and Minna in The Product Boss Best Year Yet workshop seriesWhich inclusive brand type are you? Take the quiz: www.inclusionandmarketing.com/quizWant to go deeper in how to build an inclusive brand? Check out Inclusive Brand Academy: www.inclusivebrandacademy.com

As we arrive at 40 years of celebrating Martin Luther King, Jr.’s life and work as an official holiday, many will revisit some of Dr. King’s most famous speeches, and reflect on how far we’ve come. Others will dedicate their time engaging in acts of service.If you are looking for additional ways you and your team can honor Dr. King and his legacy, consider going beyond just taking a pause on a day meant to commemorate him and his message. Honor him by focusing on continuing the work he started, but wasn’t able to finish. This episode covers how.Get the episode transcriptGet the Inclusion & Marketing newsletter

As more leaders focus on building diverse teams, they often resort to a common practice of focusing on the percentage of diverse candidates you interview. While this may feel like you're making progress, it actually doesn't often work to significantly move the needle to build a diverse team. In fact, it really is just a vanity metric. In this episode, I cover what you should focus on instead to actually hire the diverse team your customers need you to have.Get the episode transcript hereEpisode 19: The Critical Link Between Equity and Customer Success with Deborah PickettEpisode 22: Common Ways Brands Treat Diverse Talent Like Unpaid Consultants (And What To Do Instead)What Inclusive Brand Type are You? Find out by taking this short quiz: www.inclusionandmarketing.com/quizWant to dive deeper? Check out www.inclusivebrandacademy.com to see if the program is right for you

Visual imagery, and making it more representative is the on-ramp for many brands into inclusive marketing. And while in recent years, a broader range of stock photography and videos has come available showcasing more diverse faces, body types, and families – simply changing up your imagery to include more diverse people isn't automatic in terms of making them feel like they belong.So to help you know how to ensure the stock photography you use is inclusive, I chatted with Deyra Jaye Fontaine, an inclusive marketing strategist and certified diversity, equity, and inclusion practitioner who has done a lot of work in the area of inclusive stock photography, and has even created a handy guide on it.We cover lots of important topics in this discussion, so you definitely don't want to miss it.Key Points: The power visual imagery has on shaping perceptions Why marketers play a role in influencing society with the visual imagery they produce How inclusive stock photography is different from traditional stock photography Common negative stereotypes that are perpetuated with stock photography used in marketing campaigns The biggest mistake brands make with trying to diversify their visual imagery Best practices for choosing inclusive stock photography How to avoid tokenism in your visual imagery Here's a free guide on resources for sourcing inclusive stock photographyGet the episode transcript hereGet the Inclusion & Marketing newsletterMore on how to make your visuals more inclusive in my program Inclusive Brand Academy. Get more details at www.inclusivebrandacademy.com.

Every inclusive brand doesn't have to look and sound the same. They don't have to speak on the same issues, serve the same customers, or show up in the same way.That'd be pretty boring -- and would seem kind of odd with the lack of diversity of approaches. So just because Rihanna's brands serve everyone, that doesn't mean that you have to as well. Just because Ben & Jerry's is deep in the trenches from a social justice standpoint, that doesn't mean that you have to too.Do you Boo.Inclusive marketing is all about being intentional about choosing who you will serve, and how you will show up. That means you also get to choose which type of inclusive brand you will be. Not sure how to do that?Take this quick quiz to discover what inclusive brand type you are: www.inclusionandmarketing.com/quizGet the episode transcript hereGet the Inclusion & Marketing newsletter

Building an inclusive brand is a lot like tending a garden. For both, having the right mindset is essential to enable you to not only weather any challenges, but to also get the results you're looking for. Here are a few key lessons to embrace to give you the mindset you need to build an inclusive brand.Get the episode transcript hereFind out what your inclusive brand type is: www.inclusionandmarketing.com/quiz

When it comes to cultural events and celebrations, particularly those honoring underrepresented and underserved communities, your brand’s participation is a great way to make these communities feel seen by you, and a way for you to demonstrate that they do indeed belong with you. Now, I'm not saying that you have to celebrate these events to communicate and send signals of belonging to the people you want to serve. But this is one way that you can do that. Creating an inclusive marketing calendar is a smart way for you to be intentional about figuring out which celebrations your brand will take part in, and which ones you won’t.Get the episode transcript hereGet the Inclusion & Marketing newsletter

Key points covered in this episode: The role of inclusion in performance marketing Where many performance marketing campaigns fall short with regard to inclusion Why so many people are often excluded from performance marketing campaigns Why inclusive marketing is a solution to ad fatigue The key question you should ask to enable you to include more people in your ad campaigns The data you need to build more inclusive campaigns and the caution you should use when analyzing it How to ensure your partners in performance marketing have an inclusive mindset Get the episode transcript hereLinks and resources mentioned in this episode: www.apiarydigital.com Algorithms of Oppression The End of the Majority, and What it Means for Your Brand with Julye Williams - Inclusion & Marketing podcast episode 11 About Karen Amundsen:I'm a white lady named Karen, passionate about racial equity. As the Founder and Chair of Apiary Digital, the area I'm able to have the biggest impact is in business and marketing. Apiary Digital is a full-service performance marketing collective headquartered in the cloud. We believe that humans are greater than business, and that inclusive performance marketing is one and the same as succeeding in our client's customer acquisition goals.What inclusive brand type are you? Take this quick quiz to find out: www.inclusivemarketing.co/quiz

Representation matters. It isn’t enough to just have representation of the talent in front of the camera. It is just as important to have representation and or expertise behind the camera that is poised to capture diverse talent in the proper light (pun intended).Remember, the people you serve need to see themselves or who they aspire to be reflected in the visual imagery your brand puts forth. If your brand regularly publishes imagery of diverse communities that they don’t think is flattering, then they will get the message that they don’t belong with you. The effort you put into securing representative talent won’t yield the results you like if people are disappointed with the imagery.The next time you and your team start preparing for a photo, video, or content shoot that features and includes diverse talent, it is imperative that you take the time to give proper thought to these roles behind the camera to ensure you get a final product all can be pleased with.Get the episode transcript hereElleUK Wakanda Forever Cover: https://twitter.com/ELLEUK/status/1575763902121803776/photo/1Elle Brasil Viola Davis Cover:https://twitter.com/ellebrasil/status/1570475582160240640/photo/1Vogue Simone Biles Cover: https://twitter.com/BritniDWrites/status/1281713398963564544/------What inclusive brand type are you? Take the quiz here to find out. www.inclusionandmarketing.com/quiz