Present information—don't demand or declare things

[taslimakhatun119]

Next, you need to consider the experiences and preferences of your clients, customers, and prospects. This means going beyond just looking at numbers and analytics.

For example, some people mistakenly posted black squares on social media platforms during “Blackout Tuesday” without really understanding why. “Blackout Tuesday” was a protest against racism and police brutality on June 2, 2020. People in the music industry started it after the deaths of George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, and Breonna Taylor.

People focus on the wrong performance measures, such as gaining shares and followers on social media. When dealing with DEIB, remember that you're dealing with humans and emotions, not just data and analytics. Focus on what really matters.

Some businesses that posted on social media about supporting the black community during the Black Lives Matter protests got in trouble. They didn't actually have any black people on their team or do anything to help the community.

When you’re posting on social media or making changes to your business laos telegram phone number list roy recommends using the “PASS” framework:

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Ask questions to start a conversation, like “What are your thoughts?” or “How can we be better?” This is the safest thing to do on social media if you're unsure what to say.
Share posts from experts or brands who know what they're doing. This shows you're aware of the issue but not trying to speak for others.
Sway people gently. Make big changes slowly, or you might miss the mark.
Ask clients, customers, and prospects how they feel about your brand, product, or service. Why do people buy your products and services? What do they value socially?

The next step is to put what you learn into practice to create deeper connections with your clients and customers.

Create Inclusive Campaigns
Start by making small, genuine, incremental changes to test how your audience receives them, emphasizing that underrepresented communities will notice and appreciate the effort, even if it initially feels imperfect. The key is to commit to ongoing learning and evolution.

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Look closely at your website, inbound and outbound experiences, and overall brand perception. Ask yourself if your messaging is clear and understandable to all potential customers, not just those familiar with your brand.

Next, ensure that the language and messaging in your marketing campaigns are inclusive and accepting of all people. In the same way, ensure that your imagery includes a diverse range of people and experiences. The resulting campaigns will show that your brand is inclusive and welcoming to all.

Pro Tip: If you're not quite ready to create your own DEIB-focused marketing campaigns, start by sharing content from experts in the field or DEIB-focused marketing from complementary brands. This shows you understand and support these important issues, even if you can't address them directly.

#2: Integrate the ‘Conscious Growth Pathways’ Framework
To put the “Conscious Growth Pathways” into practice, Troy offers these guidelines:

Introspection: Engage in honest self-reflection to identify opportunities for improvement. Seek outside perspectives to illuminate blind spots.
Genuine investigation: Have authentic conversations with a diverse range of stakeholders, including current clients, prospective leads, and those who chose not to buy. Use these insights to inform your strategy.
Incremental initiation: Recognize that fully embedding DEIB is an ongoing process. Start testing approaches on a small scale and adapt based on feedback. Focus
on progress over perfection.
Collaboration: Partner with DEIB experts and those with lived experience to ensure your efforts resonate. Join diverse communities, attend marketing meetups like Black@INBOUND, and share learnings with peers to raise the bar collectively.
Accountability: Establish clear metrics and regularly assess progress. Craft surveys or host workshops to gauge advancement. Recognize that evaluating DEIB initiatives requires looking beyond typical vanity metrics to focus on audience sentiment and belonging indicators.
This framework can enhance your DEIB fluency while guiding your clients to connect authentically with diverse audiences. Ultimately, this approach fosters the adaptability and emotional resonance needed for brands to remain relevant and resilient.

#3: Sustainability First, Then Scale
Weaving throughout Troy’s guidance emphasizes building a solid foundation before pursuing rapid growth. “You have to think about where you want to be now to move in that direction because if you think about where you are, you'll never get to where you want to go,” he says. Troy cautions against the temptation to grow at all costs without the infrastructure to deliver.

Envision your agency accomplishing its most ambitious goals and then honestly appraise whether you have the backend capacity to sustain that growth. Too often, businesses are drowning in their own success because they haven't shored up their operations, team structures, and employee support. The result is a house of cards bound to collapse.

Instead, Troy advocates putting sustainability first, then pursuing scale. This means taking a hard look at your current operations and proactively creating the organizational framework to support growth before kicking into hyperdrive. Then, you can scale incrementally and intentionally over time. While not as sexy as chasing the next quarter's numbers, investing in sustainable infrastructure sets you and your brand up for long-term success.

When your diversity marketing efforts connect with people on a human level, it can help sustain your business no matter what's happening in the market.

If you've built relationships and supported the community through DEIB efforts, people will be more likely to help you when needed. Because of your genuine connections, they'll give you referrals and support to keep your business going.