Historically, the advertising and communications industry has been devoid of diversity. While diversity continues to increase year after year, the industry still has room to grow. This is especially true when it comes to LGBTQ+ representation.

 

Without leaving seats at the table for LGBTQ+ individuals, many companies struggle to create meaningful communications and campaigns that resonate with LGBTQ+ audiences. I’m willing to bet, and statistics would agree, that a significant portion of your target audience identifies as LGBTQ+. So it’s overdue for all brands to recognize the diversity in their audience. While we have a lot of work to do to achieve true equity in the industry, communicators should consider the following, no matter who they’re looking to connect with. 

 

Elevate Diverse Voices

Let’s be honest, the only way to truly be authentic when communicating with the LGBTQ+ community is to have LGBTQ+ people on the team. But while diversity in hiring should absolutely be a top priority, you might not have the time to onboard new people before a campaign is launched. That’s when it’s crucial to consider the unique identities and perspectives each person on the team brings and to create an environment where everyone feels comfortable sharing their perspectives freely. 

 

If you’re in a room full of people who look the same and only share similar experiences, hold off on amplifying diversity in your campaigns until your team reflects the diversity you’re promoting. 

 

The key takeaway: The people developing the work should reflect the audiences you’re trying to reach. 

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Consider Intersectionality

Intersectionality is the interconnected nature of social categorizations such as race, class, gender, sexuality and more as they apply to an individual or a group. For example, I am a cis, white, lesbian female from a lower-middle class background. Each of those identities exists both individually and together to create my unique perspective and lived experience. 

 

Ignoring intersectionality leads to stereotyping. While I see many examples of lesbians that look like me in the media, I know that so many of my peers aren’t reflected in the media. It’s time for campaigns to reflect reality and stop reducing the entire LGBTQ+ community to one identity. We aren’t all white, cis lesbians dating other white, cis lesbians. 

 

The key takeaway: It’s not enough to consider one aspect of who a person is. 

 

Be Thoughtful 

When developing strategies and communications, consider the words, phrases, images and platforms with which you’re communicating to avoid alienating individuals. As you develop content and materials for campaigns, ask yourself these key questions: 

• Do these photos represent the diversity of my audience? 

• Are any of these words alienating or harmful to  any member of my audience? 

• How will this be perceived by every member of my audience?  

 

The key takeaway: With every communication and campaign, ask yourself if you’re considering every member of your audience. 

 

Practice What You Preach

This one seems to be the hardest for so many brands because it requires going beyond the day-to-day work and considering how the organization functions as a whole. Brands must deliberately choose inclusion, creating a space where audiences feel a sense of belonging. Inclusivity has to be ingrained into the brand DNA and how the brand interacts with the world for it to come through authentically in communications. It’s more than a rainbow logo during Pride Month. It’s donations, activism, elevating LGBTQ+ voices and so much more. 

The key takeaway: Your theoretical rainbow flag should fly in all aspects of your business and communications.