How to Effectively Reach the Black Community in 2023
The secret to effective marketing is knowing your audience. It means taking a deep dive into culture, ethnicity, and other factors that go well beyond whether you’re marketing to men or women, young adults or seniors, or where your audience is located.
Today, it includes targeting race and ethnicity, which includes Black consumers.
They have different needs, expectations, and interests when it comes to interacting with brands than other demographics. If you want to reach them in 2023, you have to know what they value, and you have to position yourself in a way to demonstrate that you offer the value they are looking for.
Here are our top tips to do just that.
Rooted in Community
Black consumers are more rooted in community compared to others. Black consumers are more likely to visit local businesses, which includes both Black owned and non-Black owned businesses, compared to the general population. They more frequently visit local stores, barber shops, restaurants, and supermarkets, which means out-of-home media can be extremely effective with this group. Try advertising on billboards and posting flyers in community spaces.
Black consumers have their own digital communities as well. Advertising on Black media outlets and websites that spotlight Black voices will make your advertising strategy go further than if you advertise on general media sites alone.
Around 30 percent of Black consumers fall into the trendsetting category. These folks discover new products and services regularly. Because Black consumers are so community-focused, it means that these trendsetting consumers are more likely to share their favorite products and services with their peers.
They aren’t just sharing their favorite things online either. They’re using word-of-mouth to share their recommendations with friends and family at community events and gatherings.
Marketing your products and services in a way that appeals to trendsetting Black consumers can give your advertising strategy some serious reach. That could mean working with an influencer on social media, or finding ways to sponsor trendy community events, like a Black art show or food fair.
Support Black Causes
Black consumers are community minded, and they expect the brands they shop with to be community minded too. 38% of African Americans aged 18 to 34 expect the brands that they shop with to support social causes. That statistic jumps to 41% for those who are over the age of 35. That’s 4% and 15% more than the general consumer in their respective age categories.
If you want to connect with the Black community, you have to go beyond the average advertising strategies and support the causes that your target audience cares about.
You can do this by establishing partnerships with other brands that support important causes within the Black community. You can donate a portion of your proceeds to a social justice organization or volunteer your time with a Black-owned organization.
Don’t be shy when it comes to sharing the causes you support with your audience! Your customers want to know who you’re donating to, what causes you back, and what communities you’re impacting. Share your philanthropic efforts on social media and make sure customers know if the money they spend on your products and services are going towards an important cause.
Don’t Forget About Digital
Just because Black consumers are rooted in community doesn’t mean they aren’t also shopping online. Black consumers are disproportionately dissatisfied with shopping in person at certain stores. In addition, some face access and availability issues. What they want to buy simply can’t be found within their neighborhood.
Because of this, Black consumers are more likely than non-Black consumers to engage with brands online. They spend more time browsing websites, interacting with a brand’s social media accounts, and writing reviews before and after they make a purchase.
That means having a strong online presence is essential to your marketing campaign.
Make sure you have an informative, easy-to-browse website. It’s even better if you have an online store where customers can shop and have their items shipped to their home.
You should also be active on social media. Post regularly, but you should also interact with your audience every day. Like and respond to comments, address concerns and bad reviews, and follow back and reach out directly to those you want to serve.
Representation—All Year Long
Most brands infuse Black culture into their advertising campaign during Black history month. They spotlight Black voices and feature Black bodies in ads, but as soon as February is over, it’s business as usual.
That’s not the right strategy to take to reach Black consumers. Especially when 59% of Black TV viewers are more likely to buy from a brand when it features someone from their identity group. Even more startling, over half of Black respondents in one survey reported boycotting a brand because they felt it didn’t represent their identity in advertising.
Celebrating inclusion and diversity all year long means you can build more genuine relationships with your audience. They feel like you understand them, which means they’re more likely to trust your brand and recommend it to others.
You might decide to use Black models or interview Black changemakers on your podcast, but it also means making deeper changes in your organization. If you have a physical location, make sure those who are working behind the counter are diverse. Diversity should be seen in your management teams too.
Then, make sure Black consumers get to see the face behind your logo. Connect face-to-face through videos, images, and quotes to connect with your target audience and embody diversity all year long.
Reach the Black Community With the Right Marketing Campaign
From brand strategy to social media and video production, Sierra Productions has over 25 years of experience crafting marketing campaigns to reach diverse communities and is minority and woman-owned! As a data-driven agency, we use the latest research to deploy strategies that deliver real results.
Allow us to work with you to create an inclusive, meaningful, and authentic campaign that targets the Black communities you most want to work with.
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