Inclusivity and diversity in your video marketing efforts can have a real impact. It influences how your audience interacts with your brand. Still, it can also drive social change and establish your brand’s purpose for improved customer loyalty.
Diversity can come into play in any type of video. It’s not only relevant in live-action brand videos but also in animations.
Here are some tips for making your video content more diverse and inclusive.
Include Subtitles
Consumer Insight companies can name several reasons why including captions and subtitles is essential for your video content. The first reason is that many viewers don’t like to turn on their audio to watch videos on mobile and might miss out on important information if subtitles aren’t provided.
However, subtitles also make your content more inclusive. It enables those with hearing impairments or those struggling to understand the language to follow along with the video. 1.2 million people in the UK alone have hearing loss greater than 65 dBHL, so being more inclusive might unlock a new audience for you.
Make Your Production Team More Diverse
If there is anything your young audience can sense, it’s if your diversity is just a box to be ticked. Genuine inclusivity starts with your video production company. Opt to work with diverse teams that can lean on multiple cultures’ different insights and perspectives. This ensures inclusive campaigns don’t end up tone-deaf or affected. It also means you benefit from a more varied creative team that often offers greater versatility of ideas!
Consider Real Representation in Design
To tick the box of inclusivity, many brands have featured characters in their animations that can be identified as neither male nor female nor as belonging to any particular ethnicity. But in our society, often, such characters are presumed to be male by default, and ultimately no one feels represented at all.
When designing more diverse video content, consider different genders, ethnicities, sexual preferences and abilities. This may mean a little extra effort, as many stock libraries still offer photography of young white people predominantly. However, working with a video production company can give you access to a wide range of talent across multiple cultures and walks of life.
Adhere to Accessibility Guidelines
There is more you can do to be accessible and, therefore, more inclusive towards those suffering a disability. Make your videos easy to view and read along with by adhering to accessibility best practices:
- Consider colour in your design, ensuring a contrast ratio of at least 4.5:1 for any text on backgrounds.
- Keep text sizes large and easy to read
- Avoid complex industry terms and jargon, so anyone can understand the contents of your video
- Include a transcript beneath the video for screenreaders to read along with
- Create multi-language versions with subtitles or even voiceovers.
The best video production companies understand the needs of a diverse audience. As a result, they can create campaigns that elicit feelings of belonging and community. ZAK is a creative agency that combines video production with a consumer insights company. Our expertise spans these disciplines to ensure all our creative campaigns are well-informed. Get in touch today to learn more about how we work.