Whether you’re marketing to different cultures around the world or targeting diverse markets in your own country, being able to capture business from people of all cultures will improve your bottom line.
However, this is easier said than done. Here are six tips to help you dramatically improve the success of your multicultural marketing strategies.
1. Understanding the Term ‘Multicultural
With many countries and cities around the world becoming more and more diverse and integrated with multiple cultures, it’s essential that every business understands what it means to be ‘multicultural.’ Today, multicultural doesn’t mean just changing the words or photos to reflect the ethnicity of the target customer but it means taking into consideration the entire context of your audience’s culture.
2. Define a Common Language
When communicating across cultures there will always be a language barrier, regardless of whether you’ re marketing in one town or across multiple countries. Even in America, English is not always the best option to consider first because people who don’t speak English fluently will automatically be pushed away.
When marketing in a single area, take the time to think about the most common language you could use. Sure, this might be English in many cases, but it’s worth checking to ensure you’re choosing the most effective one. The key is to design your marketing so that it can be understood in multiple languages through the use of subtitles or universal symbols.
3. Use Stereotyping To Your Advantage
When advertising to a multicultural audience, it’s common to use clichés about certain people and groups behave to help define what is important to these audiences and how best you can communicate with them. While not all stereotypes are accurate or represent everyone, there are cultural tendencies that can help you understand different cultures.
“Even if you’re just using the stereotypes are a starting point to see what you want to focus on, and what kind of behavior they’ll have, defining and listing the specific points of a stereotype can help you get started in the best possible way,” explains Harvey Jackson, a business writer at Brit student and Next coursework.
4. Tell Stories Through Content
Often, the most effective ways to connect with an audience is to portray your content as a story that emotionally resonates with the public. Create unique stories to market to specific cultures or include themes that are deemed ‘universal’ themes to make your message more memorable. Using multicultural characters or case studies will also help to connect to your target audience.
5. Be Authentic
It’s absolutely vital that you’re authentic with your audience and to their culture. This is essential because any sign that you’re disingenuous or self-serving can easily sabotage your message. “The best way to figure out what works is to engage with your audience and then to figure out what matters to them and their communities, allowing you to then focus on that. Look at the conversations your target cultures are having and how you can integrate yourself into these narratives,” shares Emma Turner, a marketing writer at 1 Day 2 write and Writemyx.
6. Engage with Consumers
Audiences and cultures around the world are no longer just passive observers of world events. Instead they are actively voicing their opinions about what matters to them. Nowadays, audiences have the power to make their unique voices heard through word-of-mouth and other outlets.
As a business or brand, you need to be open to social media, encourage conversation, and then reengage to make your audience members feel as though they are part of your community. Plan for and create a diverse range of content in different forms to support your multicultural marketing campaign.
Michael Dehoyos is a content marketer and editor at Dissertation writing service and Write my case study . He assists companies in their marketing strategy concepts and contributes to numerous sites and publications. Also, he is a writer at Origin Writings .