5 keys to marketing to racial minorities

As every good businessperson knows, marketing is one of the most important aspects of business today. The way you market is the way you present yourself to the world. Your marketing approach, believe it or not, can say a lot about your politics, interests, integrity, and so forth. Your marketing approach is the face of your business. Your marketing approach is the heart of your business. No matter how good the head of your business is, you'll need your face and heart to succeed. Let's say, for example, that you want to market to racial minorities. Let's say that you have this great idea and it'd really appeal to racial minorities and it's a superb product and you just can't wait to get out there and sell this thing. What do you do? What's your next step? What should be your overall approach, and what are the subtleties that you might need to be aware of?
Of course, the answers to these questions more or less endless. You can spend a lifetime in marketing and still not know everything there is to know. Let's start simple, then, and consider 5 keys to marketing to racial minorities.

1. The first key we want to consider when it comes to marketing to racial minorities is your general tone. Sad to say, many people who are trying to target racial minorities specifically don't know much about the unique cultures they spring from. There are cultures within cultures, after all; just because one's American or British doesn't mean that one doesn't have strong ties elsewhere. What are we trying to say here? What are we saying about marketing to racial minorities? Simple-do your homework; know something about the people you're trying to sell to; try to know many aspects of those people, and not just one. It's too easy to stereotype these days, even if you're actively trying to avoid it. Stereotyping usually occurs when one isn't aware of the complexities of the culture one's stereotyping. Step one, then: Know the culture(s)!
2. The second key (which derives from the first) we want to consider when it comes to marketing to racial minorities is being current. Now, this might seem like a flat contradiction of the key above. I'd disagree. I'd say that the one springs out of the other. "Being current" means to know what's moving people now, what's interesting them now. When thinking of marketing to racial minorities, you must ask yourself: What specific contributions are these cultures making to the larger culture now? Contributions can mean music, art, entertainment, the economy, politics, education, etc. You've got to be aware of these things, and you've got to be aware of the latest news about them. They'll play an important part in your effort overall. Being current is a powerful tool-not only will you attract racial minorities, you're sure to attract non-minorities too, as art and music and entertainment and politics cross boundaries and cast a large net.
3. The third key we want to consider when it comes to marketing to racial minorities is a relatively simple one. I say simple, but you'd be surprised by how many people overlook it. It's easy, when one's in the majority culture, to forget that other cultures exist. And so you've got this great idea, and you hire some models to sell it, and-all the models come from the majority culture. You're not going to appeal to racial minorities, you're not going market successfully to them, if you don't have representatives from their cultures on your posters, flyers, television commercials, and so forth. You've got to be diverse.
4. The fourth key we want to consider when it comes to marketing to racial minorities is to know what channels exist on radio and on TV (etc.) that appeal directly to various minority cultures. You've got to become familiar to them, and you've got to advertise on them. This may seem like an obvious thing, but it's often forgotten given the fact that these media outlets aren't generally just out in the open like the major networks. You've got to look for them.
5. The fifth key we want consider when it comes to marketing to racial minorities is perhaps the most important key so far. It is: Treat racial minorities like you'd want to be treated; that is, like you treat everyone else! How to you want to be marketed to? How do you market to the culture at large? No one wants to feel condescended to, and it's all too easy to have a condescending tone when singling out one culture from another for attention. Don't do this. You've got to know the culture, of course, and in many ways appeal directly to it; but never forget that minority cultures are part of the majority cultures, meaning that what works for the majority will work for the minority too.

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