Embracing inclusive language

Suraj Katra + Matt Collamer

Whoever your customer base, it’s imperative that they understand your communications. What indeed, would be the point of communicating otherwise? Prioritising ease of reading, showing empathy and eliminating language that may alienate audiences by inferring biases is essential to crafting your message.

In our day-to-day, we talk to a range of audiences across multiple channels, delivering personable content and handling community management – much of it in Plain English. For B2C audiences we avoid jargon, othering language or – Google sin-of-sins – sounding like a bot. We make sure we, and by default our clients, are speaking to their B2C customers in human terms.

In the United States, it is estimated that 85% of business interactions are automated. It makes sense; we are all used to going about our daily lives using contactless payments and enjoying seamless user experiences. This transformation has been amazing, but is it always the best way forward (outside of transactional business procedures)? A survey shared by Adobe seems to say not, citing that over half of people become frustrated with brands that fail to have a point of human contact.

Communications in social housing

For the past four years we have managed the social media channels for MRI Software’s social housing mutual exchange platform, HomeSwapper, the largest of its kind in the UK. Their Facebook page – and sole B2C channel – reaches 71,000 people and averages over 1,000 conversations per month. Housing, as a primary need, can understandably be a sensitive topic at times. So, beyond platform-specific advice, we find users reaching out asking for more general help and support. Where we can, we direct users to appropriate resources when the problem cannot be solved within the remit of HomeSwapper. Our job is to communicate quickly, clearly, with empathy and with consideration that for some users, English will not be their first language.

This approach to B2C comms is used for social media marketing and branding for our global clients as well, most notably in the social media and email marketing for digital learning platform, ELL. Since embarking on this work, our mission has been to build a space for students to learn, be inspired and engage with the brand beyond the learning platform. One method we’ve adopted for speaking to a global market of English language learners in an inclusive and comprehensive way is the CEFR (Common European Framework of Reference for Languages) scale, developed by Cambridge University Press. We keep the language clear and concise – Plain English at its best. The principles of the CEFR go beyond communication solely with those who speak English as a foreign language; they can be a useful framework to have in mind when building inclusive content for a B2C English speaking audience as well. In instances when those communications offer important and public services like housing, the skill – and it is a skill – of speaking plainly is vital.

Communicating with empathy

The gap between B2C and B2B marketing is closing. Traditionally, a split between direct messages and sector-specific jargon would have clearly marked out B2B comms. Now for both audiences, the focus is on profiling, social listening and storytelling to guide how a brand spreads their message, whoever the customer base.

In these circumstances, empathetic communications are as important in the B2B context as described above for B2C audiences. Membership organisation, Charity Comms brings together communication professionals across the UK charity sector with the aim of raising the profile of communications and marketing as key for successful strategies throughout charitable operations. They name empathetic communications from frontline staff through to social media messaging as imperative to helping people connect with a cause.

To communicate the work your organisation does, good marketing needs to stick to clear language, engage people via their feelings and appeal to their values through the clear definition of your own. People also expect personalisation in the way they are communicated with.

We want to help you reach your customers with clear, friendly, and inclusive communications and marketing. Get in touch here.

Embracing inclusive language

Suraj Katra + Matt Collamer

Communications in social housing

Communications in social housing

Communicating with empathy

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