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Building and maintaining diverse teams can make our content and marketing strategy better. No doubt about it. Different backgrounds, life experiences, and skills can round out a team to set us up for better business success.
That’s the topic Michelle Ngome, an inclusive marketing expert, and I discussed on an episode of The Business Storytelling Show.
What is a diverse team?
What does a diverse team look like? It’s easy to explain what it does not look like. When everyone is the same – think five white guys or really any constellation of people that is the same. That is not a diverse team.
A diverse team should reflect our target market, audience, and society.
[Tweet “If everyone on the team is the same, that’s NOT a diverse team.”]
How to build a diverse team?
In many cases, there’s no geographical boundary to building a content or marketing team. I know some people try to tell you that everyone still has to sit at desks next to each other to work. There certainly is the truth that in-person collaboration can be helpful from time to time.
But, content strategists and marketing ops teams create content, campaigns, and review metrics – among other things. There’s no advantage to sitting next to somebody else while doing those tasks. On the other hand, it might even be disadvantageous to have people nearby and be interrupted by unrelated chit-chatter. Working remotely can work.
Read next: My content performance philosophy and how teams can implement it
The awareness and commitment
Like many things, it needs to start with the awareness that you are trying to build a diverse team. That includes looking at the current group. Who is currently on the team? Where are the gaps, and how can we fill them.
Then there needs to be a commitment to building a diverse and high-performing team.
The implementation
Sometimes people will say that they can’t hire a more diverse team because the applicant pool is what it is. I can certainly hear that argument. If I’m hiring in Iowa, where I live, and over 90 percent of residents are white, it is certainly much more likely to get white applicants than other races.
That’s why leaders can’t be stuck wanting to hire in just one location. Expand the geography of where team members can be located.
[Tweet “Hiring a distributed team can help with diversity.”]
Also, consider where you are posting openings, Michelle said. For example, publish an opening on the African-American Marketing Association’s job board to reach Black marketers.
Consider other places where you might need to advertise or post your opening. Don’t forget about networking with groups and others that can make an introduction.
Read next: How to improve written communication skills
If you need help, you can also connect with Michelle.
Why diverse teams are crucial
Having a diverse team can make our strategies so much better. The different opinions, thoughts, and ideas can help us be more creative and perhaps be even more efficient at being creative. And, after all, being creative and doing it within the goals of a business can help our companies stand out, which after all is what marketing and content strategy try to accomplish.