Frictionless Growth Marketing

Some brands do really well when it comes to celebrating communities during their heritage months, like Black History Month, Women’s History Month, PRIDE, Hispanic Heritage Month, Asian-American and Pacific-Islander Month. However, there are plenty others that struggle. And there’s also a large group of brands that stay on the sidelines, because they aren’t sure how to engage, or even if they shoul...

"Hire a diverse team" is often the advice and cry people tout when brands struggle with being inclusive with their marketing. So common practice, is to tap into diverse talent to get them to provide their feedback and expertise on various topics related to campaigns and internal initiatives. But this isn't always the right thing to do, and can impede your efforts to make your diverse talent feel l...

Cultural appropriation happens more often than in should. And inappropriate use of a culture not your own happens even more often. Both of these practices are harmful, and in this episode I'm walking you through clear examples of both, and giving you practical guidance on how not to engage in them. In addition, you'll walk away with practical guidance on how you as an individual and consumer can p...

All over the world, but specifically in the United States, there has been a lot going on in the past few years. From the Black Lives Matter movement that gained momentum in the wake of George Floyd's murder just two years ago, to the surge of Asian hate during the pandemic, and now another hate crime in Buffalo. And to be frank, I am disappointed in the responses to this event, or lack thereof fro...

Today we’re going to explore the critical link between equity and customer success with a very special guest! My sister Deborah Pickett, a middle school math instructional trainer and coach, will share her valuable words of wisdom for those who are ready to embark on the lifelong process of being dedicated to equity. Our conversation will cover: What is the difference between equity and equality?...

Why should business leaders consider text communication as part of their digital marketing strategy? In this episode, we’ll have an enlightening discussion with Bianca Blake, co-founder of Klickrr, about best practices for text marketing, and how text messaging can help brands develop a deeper degree of intimacy with the people they want to serve. We also cover: What are the advantages of text mar...

What does it mean to be antiracist? Today we’re going to cover what antiracism is, what it looks like in business, and how you can work to embody antiracist principles on a daily basis. To help us with this, I brought in an expert on the topic, Dr. Nicole Charles. Nicole is a wellness entrepreneur as well as an intersectional feminist and antiracist educator, author, researcher and professor of wo...

Business is about belonging, and identity is a critical aspect of belonging. As you work to build an inclusive brand, it’s essential to think carefully about identity and what types of categorizations are necessary. As we dive into this complex topic, I’ll go over challenges, real-world examples and strategies to help you approach your customer’s various identities. Identity matters. Don't take sh...

Words matter! They have the power to uplift and include, as well as tear down and exclude. In your quest to make your audience feel like they belong with you, it’s essential to use inclusive language. But how do you start creating written content that creates a culture of belonging? Nailah King, founder of The Content Witches, shares insights into how conscious business leaders can learn to craft...

Today we're going to talk about a common type of toxic relationship between brands and underrepresented communities: Extraction. True inclusive marketing is about sharing power and creating belonging. Belonging cannot exist when one party is constantly extracting value from the other. As we dive deeper into the concept of extraction, I will share examples from today’s business world with the hope...

We know that inclusive marketing is the future of marketing. As we move towards this future, more and more cutting-edge tools are becoming available to help brands assess their progress. How inclusive is your brand’s visual communication? In this episode, I had the pleasure of speaking with Raquelle Zuzarte, Founder and CMO of Equity Project for All, and Frederico Salvitti, Tech & AI Specialist. T...

Equality is essential in certain aspects of society. But in some situations, unapologetically treating people differently will help you win the attention, adoration and loyalty of more consumers, especially people that brands often ignore. As a business leader, how can you decide when it's appropriate to treat everyone equally, and when you should treat certain groups of people differently? In thi...

The Census Bureau projects that by 2043, the US will become a minority-majority. What does this major shift in the makeup of our population mean for your business? In this episode, I had the pleasure of speaking with my friend Julye Williams, founder of Project 2043, about how business leaders can start leaning into the power of diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging. Be prepared to do the inn...

The last thing you want to do as a brand is exclude potentially loyal customers. One of the best ways to make sure you aren’t doing that is by creating a Buyer Persona.  In this episode, I talk about how creating a Buyer Persona and treating those that fall under that profile as your friends will create a more inclusive brand that consumers keep coming back to. In this episode I go over: How creat...

Who decides what is mainstream? In today’s episode, I talk to Gelaine Santiago about how she rewrote her script and lead her companies by focusing on her story. Gillian began her businesses' branding by following the conventional idea of “mainstream,” but it wasn’t until she ditched that idea that she saw her customer base grow like never before. Gelaine is the CEO of Cambio & Co, a Filipino jewel...

An inclusive brand means an inclusive culture. In this episode I cover how to approach building a company culture that is healthy, competitive, and most importantly: inclusive. Some of the points that I cover include: How building a core document (value statement, company statement, or mission statement) codifies company values and culture for your team Ways that brands weave their core company va...

Brands have power. Your consumer wants to see a reflection of themselves in your marketing. They want to be treated equally, not discriminated against for any pre-existing conditions.  In this episode, I share my journey of finding health insurance after quitting my full-time job and going freelance and my struggles of getting affordable coverage due to my pre-existing condition. I also cover exam...

In this week's episode, I interview Desiree about how a company’s brand and DEI (Diversity Equity, and Inclusion) must be considered and developed to create a positive employee experience. Company culture has shifted away from “you’re lucky to have this job,” and instead given a lot more control to the employee. Desiree and I go over what companies need to think about to attract ideal talent and t...

Tevia has been in the fitness business for 18+ years, and in today’s episode, I talk to her about her role in creating a more inclusive space in the fitness world. We cover: What inclusive means in the fitness world, price inclusivity, location inclusivity, and how all of those play a factor in Tevia’s business Tevia’s experience running her own Cycling Studio and how she broke down norms by bring...

As you can probably tell in the title of today's episode- I'm sharing a bit more about me and how I became an Inclusive Marketing Strategist.  I share my journey through multiple different corporate jobs, at places like Inc and Johnson & Johnson, and how those jobs taught me the importance of inclusion. I open up about some of the tough moments that really shaped who I am today. Along with my care...

If you’re new here — welcome. This show is about one thing:how to drive growth by removing the friction that stops customers from moving forward. Because most brands don’t have a traffic problem. They don’t have a content problem. They don’t even have a targeting problem. They have a friction problem. The kind that shows up when customers land on your brand and ask one question: “Is this for someo...

The future is more diverse than it has ever been, which means the makeup of the people your business serves is shifting. In this episode, I go over how to translate the changing demographics of the day-to-day world into your business marketing. Together lets reimagine who your Ideal Customer Avatar is to be more inclusive to all, not just to the “typical” customer that businesses spent decades foc...

In this episode, I interview Antoine Andrews, who has been in the diversity field for almost 20 years and is currently the Chief Diversity and Social Impact Officer at Momentive (formally known as Survey Monkey). We cover: The research done on diversity on Momentive The shift in consciousness he's noticed over the last 15-18 months What he believes is most important to gain from the research What...

Welcome to the first episode of the Inclusion and Marketing Podcast! In this episode, I cover what inclusivity really is. It’s 2022, and it’s time for every business owner to know how important it is to completely redefine their rules. Gone were the days where just adding a seat to the table is enough. One size does not fit all. Join me on this journey as I dig deeper into not only how to be more...