Tasmania is a culturally, religiously and linguistically diverse state, with a long history of migration. It’s no longer enough to communicate key business messages to target audiences. If you aren't considering how you can broaden your marketing approach to be more inclusive, you are missing out on a large and engaged part of the market. Multicultural marketing embraces not just innate characteristics of consumer groups -such as age, gender and race - but also looks to lifestyle identities such as affluence level, education, career choices and family size.

When you're developing a marketing strategy to reach a so-called multicultural clientele, it is important to know what sort of culture you have in mind. It could well be a culture defined by race or ethnic group, but you may also find cultures relative to location, social influence and buying power. And within these cultures, you may well find that people look and act very differently, and yet have a core set of values that you can tap into when developing your selling points.

Connecting with a multicultural audience or any audience that is outside your usual scope has a similar set of principles, namely that you genuinely and deeply understand the needs and nuances of people, their culture, what is appropriate - and inapropriate - for them, and ensure that language, images, content and platforms reach this audience.

The power of messaging lies in the understanding of cultural cues and nuances to ensure the right message resonates and connects with the right audience. It’s critical to ensure an understanding of how multicultural audiences interact with media daily and which screens they use most to consume content in order to meet customers where they are.

Consumers have expressed in multiple surveys that they do not feel adequately represented or authentically addressed in most of the ads they see. This means, it is essential to develop inclusive and culturally-relevant creative that consumers will perceive as authentic and relevant. Local nuances can have a major impact on advertising efforts. This is particularly true when businesses endeavour to forge connections with multicultural audiences.

Think about who you would target in Tasmania, visit their communities, speak with them, see where your product or service could be of benefit, become engaged and an ally in a genuine and curious way. Co-designing – or at the very least using community insights to inform and test messaging with multicultural audiences – is important. Community leaders and members can provide a cultural lens to the messaging you’re trying to communicate and offer invaluable insights that can help you get the most out of your efforts.

It’s more important than ever to take the time to assess communities in order to deliver more customized, inclusive, and culturally-relevant creative. An integrated approach to matching messaging with media helps build strong, long-lasting relationships with customers and specific markets. A key part of marketing and communicating is language, especially important in relation to markets where English may be a second or third language.

Translation may be part of your strategy, but also consider how much of especially social marketing now is visual. Pictures paint many words, but again, ensure that the images you use are authentically visually diverse and representative of the communities you want to connect with. This is true not just for multiculturalism, but for all inclusion. As the saying goes, what we can see, we can be, and we can also buy.

Engaging with a multicultural audience can be a great way to expand your business's reach and connect with a wider range of potential customers. Here are some tips for engaging with a multicultural audience:

1. Understand Your Audience: Take the time to research and understand the cultural backgrounds and preferences of your target audience. This will help you create content that resonates with them and avoids potential cultural missteps.
2. Use Multilingual Content: Consider creating content in multiple languages to cater to your multicultural audience. This could include translating your website, social media content, and marketing materials into the languages spoken by your target audience.
3. Be Inclusive: Make sure your content is inclusive and representative of your multicultural audience. This includes using diverse imagery, avoiding stereotypes, and being mindful of cultural nuances.
4. Foster Cultural Understanding: Use your social media accounts to foster cultural understanding and celebrate diversity. This could include sharing cultural events, highlighting diverse perspectives, and engaging with cultural influencers.
5. Tailor Your Approach: Take a tailored approach to engaging with your multicultural audience. This could involve using different marketing channels, such as social media platforms that are popular within a specific culture, or adapting your marketing messages to reflect the cultural preferences of your audience.
6. Listen and Respond: Listen to feedback from your multicultural audience and respond to their needs and concerns. This will help build trust and foster a sense of community with your audience.

By taking these steps, you can engage with your multicultural audience in a meaningful and authentic way, helping to build lasting relationships and drive business growth along with your own deepening of connection in your business and social communites.

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