Including local ethnic media in your multicultural marketing strategy
Local ethnic media channels are great for connecting with target audiences and telling them what is happening in their location. It is a largely untapped channel for brands looking to target multicultural audiences. When your brand wants to engage with a multicultural audience, one of the best ways to do so is to connect with them in a personalised way is through ethnic media.
GottaBe! Ethnic will be discussing the importance of including local ethnic media in your multicultural marketing strategy and sharing our top tips to engage ethnic audiences. Ethnic media channels are an excellent opportunity to target multicultural audiences through the media channels they are primarily consuming whether it be across narrowcast TV, Community Radio or ethnic print media there are over 350 ethnic media channels in the UK.
Why do I need a multicultural marketing strategy?
Before discussing the importance of ethnic media channels, we must first understand why a multicultural marketing strategy is essential. GottaBe! Ethnic frequently discuss the most effective ways to communicate with ethnic audiences because we know they have a spending power of £300bn. Still, only 1 in 5 brands are reaching out to ethnic minority consumers in the UK. We are here to help your brand incorporate a strong multicultural marketing strategy that will help your brand tap into that spending power. By adopting multicultural marketing, your brand can gain a broader customer base as you specifically target your marketing materials in a culturally appropriate way.
5 top tips to engaging an ethnic audience are below:
Why should I include local ethnic media in my multicultural marketing?
Ethnic media channels are an excellent way for brands to engage ethnic minorities as they are established within communities and are a trusted source of information. They will be tailored to the community’s specific needs and will not be over-saturated with irrelevant ads like mainstream media.
With over 350 ethnic media channels in the UK alone, there are many options for your brand to connect with ethnic audiences. However, you will need to ensure your campaigns are culturally appropriate. Translation, imagery, and colours are all things that should be considered, and this will vary depending on the platform. Some ethnic media channels in the UK still include ads in English, however, your brand must be aware of the audience you are looking to engage as not all will want to see ads outside of the native language. To ensure your campaign has the maximum reach, we would advise your campaigns to be translated to suit the native language. GottaBe! Ethnic know materials delivered in the native language see a greater engagement. A CSA Research study found that 65% of those surveyed prefer content in their language even if it is poorly translated.
Why is ethnic media so effective?
Ethnic media provides the ‘hard to reach’ with targeted news and adverts in a familiar way. The information is more targeted than mainstream media, which is more engaging. Dedicated channels provide a sense of home away from home, especially for first-generation minority groups. The balance between local news and a home country engages an audience as they receive relevant information in one place. Ethnic minorities can feel isolated in areas where they are a minority; ethnic media channels help provide minority groups with the latest information to keep them in the loop of the things going on in the local community.
The content delivered through ethnic media is suited to the culture of the audience in a specific way. As mainstream brands do not typically reach out to ethnic audiences, your brand will have the opportunity to stand out and build relationships with communities. This will then build on your brand purpose, and you will see ethnic minorities returning to your brand. Once you are trusted within a community, the power of word of mouth will see high returns and floods of new customers. Ensuring a positive experience for ethnic audiences from their first interaction with your campaign through to purchase, you must be consistent with your multicultural marketing.
GottaBe! have a downloadable Whitepaper– ‘Understanding Ethnic Media’ to help your brand understand the opportunities that Ethnic Media presents. As multicultural marketing specialists, we pride ourselves on our ability to help our clients reach ethnic audiences. We have close relationships with some of the top UK ethnic media channels and know where to go to get your message heard. Contact the team today to discuss multicultural marketing further. Let us get your campaign out there!