Episode 101 - How To Cultivate a Diverse Audience and Have True Equity and Inclusion in Your Business
Rewriting the Narrative: Embracing Diversity and Inclusion as Core Values in Your Business
In a world where trust and authenticity means everything for a business, founders that prioritize and champion diversity and inclusion will be the ones who stay relevant. In Episode 101, Sonia and I discuss the importance of building diverse audiences and how anyone can improve in this area not just for business, but for your own perspective and understanding. This blog post will delve into the key takeaways from our conversation, emphasizing the importance of fostering a culture of diversity and inclusion within businesses.
The Power of Shared Experiences
My own journey highlights the value of shared experiences and not categorizing people. Diversity can mean race, income level, pronouns….but these are not mutually exclusive. Growing up as an asian woman in a black family, not everyone can relate to that exact background. But what they maybe could relate to is growing up around those who looked different from themselves. Growing up without their mom around. Moving to different countries at a young age. Even if no two stories are alike, the amount of shared experiences we can pull from stories to connect with a broad range of people are endless.
Breaking the Mold Through Inclusive PR
My PR journey started with cold calling thousands of newsrooms and outlets, and gradually evolved into empowering founders to embrace PR as a means to rewrite media representation. I want WOC to challenge the status quo and see their businesses as vehicles for change. No matter how small the businesses, your story deserves to be told. Someone is waiting to hear it, for you to become their representation.
Creating a Sense of Belonging
Another goal inside my community is to create a safe space for everyone to share their own experiences, struggles, and growth journeys, just as I have done. I even share more controversial topics like my experience with psychedelics. Again maybe not everyone can relate, but I need to lead with authenticity and vulnerability so my audience knows they can do the same with no fear of judgment.
Championing Diversity and Inclusion: Practical Steps for Brands
1. Rewrite Narratives: Challenge stereotypes and reimagine how your business can contribute to a more inclusive narrative. Highlight stories that break the mold and showcase the diversity of human experiences. Your business is so much more than just whatever you’re selling.
2. Authentic Representation: Ensure that your marketing materials, imagery, and messaging genuinely reflect the diversity of your audience. Elevate your very own audience members and give them a platform through you.
3. Embrace Vulnerability: Share authentic stories and experiences within your brand. Demonstrating vulnerability and acknowledging growth areas fosters a deeper connection with your audience and gets meaningful conversations started.
4. Learning and Adapting: Recognize that the journey toward diversity and inclusion is ongoing. Continuously learn, adapt, and challenge your own biases to create an environment that celebrates diversity.
No one is perfect and we are all continuously learning. When we’re aware, we can become better. So stay open minded and open eared to listen to what your audience needs from you.
The CPR Pitching Method™ helped small business-owning entrepreneurs from PR Starter Pack members see themselves as a go-to expert with a point of view, instead of JUST a founder, seller, or consultant – a standout mindset that takes you far in the world of PR.
I hope you take notes throughout this episode and maybe even listen to it again so you can really nail down the three parts of the CPR Pitching Method™ and use it to your advantage!
So get ready to press send and get your message. And I can’t wait to see you featured in the headlines.
P.S. If you want your small business to go from invisible to visible, seen, and valued, register for my FREE PR Secrets Masterclass. Soon enough, your credibility and visibility will skyrocket. Register now at www.gloriachou.com/masterclass.
Resources Mentioned:
Join Gloria Chou's PR Community: Small Biz Pros: By Gloria Chou
Additional Resources:
Join the Small Biz PR Pros FB group
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Here’s a glance at this episode…
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Sonia: Hey Gloria, thanks so much for joining me today. How are you?
Gloria: I'm so happy to be here. Thank you for having
Sonia: So but before we dig [00:02:00] in, 'cause we got a lot of cool things to cover today, let the people know who are you and what do you do.
Gloria: So my name's Gloria Chou, c h o u. I live in Brooklyn where my East Coaster is at, but originally from LA. I am a small business PR coach with, there's really no traditional PR experience.
Gloria: Started cold calling newsrooms, hacked it, and now I teach other founders how to do it. My audience is 95% women of color. I believe that we are literally shattering the status quo because we cannot make media representation more inclusive if we do not pitch ourselves and get seen. So that's really the ethos of why I do what I, why I do
Sonia: 95% women of color, like I, that's a really high number, right?
Sonia: And you don't hear that too often. That's actually one of the reasons why I wanted to sit down with you. One, of course, I wanna learn all the things about everything you know about pr, but in terms of like how you. Attracted such , a diverse customer base because so many businesses struggle with how to do this.
Sonia: So is that something that was like an intentional [00:03:00] decision, or you tried to make that happen? Or was it something that you looked up and was like, wow, I've got this really diverse customer base.
Gloria: You know, I always grew up with a lot of people who are different from me. And I always was a very curious person.
Gloria: So I remember like one of my middle school research projects , it was like, Do a research project on a religion. Right. And I chose Islam and I learned so much about it. And I gave a presentation, like I went to the local, local mosque and I sat with the Imam. And so from a very young age, I was always very curious about people who are different from me.
Sonia: Mm-hmm.
Gloria: And I studied abroad in South Africa. Most people chose to go to Europe. So I was always choosing these things that like normally wouldn't be like the. Most obvious choice,
Sonia: right?
Gloria: And so that's just kind of who I am. I also grew up with a black family. Growing up, I lived in my best friend's, family, a house from like all throughout high school.
Sonia: Okay.
Gloria: And so I just think that the way I grew up was so. Different from the traditional mom and dad. 'cause I didn't, really have a mom and dad. Okay. That I just never really conformed to anything. So maybe that is just a [00:04:00] projection of my energy, but I, it wasn't intentional, to be honest. I built my business.
Gloria: I had no copy or language around this being like, you know, advocacy work, which now I do feel like it is, but in the beginning it honestly wasn't. And it just happened that
Sonia: way. Well, I think that like what you just described in terms of your network and you might not even think about network. It's just the people that you interact with, the people that you are drawn to and having your life and your world, but also it's layered on with that.
Sonia: Curiosity that I think helps people develop an a degree of openness that enables them to attract and sort of connect with people who are different from them more easily than
Gloria: others. Yeah, maybe I, I'm really lucky. I feel so grateful because that's, Not a problem that I have. But yeah, it wasn't an intentional thing.
Gloria: And only recently from, from doing the work and really understanding my audience, have I realized like, oh my God, this is so much [00:05:00] more than just PR and visibility. This is rewriting media representation. But that was a more recent change. It definitely wasn't that way for the first two years of my business.
Sonia: So have you noticed in terms of, like you said, rewriting media representation, is that something has. Whenever you start out, 'cause you mentioned that like you started cold calling and pitching and all that kinda stuff. That was specifically for your business. Is that how that worked? When you were doing it?
Sonia: So I
Gloria: used to be a US diplomat, so I was working abroad and then I was absolutely miserable even though I had the picture perfect job with the pension and the retirement. And so I kind of moved back home and I restarted my career and I always wanted to work in PR because I just, I'm a natural people connector and I love to see people win.
Gloria: And I applied for like a thousand jobs at PR agencies and they all turned me down because they wanted very, Cookie cutter agency experience, and I never worked at an agency, so my friend gave me my first PR gig where I got paid a couple hundred bucks to get them on like live tv. And I literally just started like cold calling because I didn't have any contacts.
Gloria: I never [00:06:00] studied pr, I don't know any journalists Googling broken links, throwing spaghetti on the wall, and just from cold calling New York Times C N B C F T and just perfecting that cold pitch. I started coming up with my method that now I teach in my PR program. So that's really kind of the origin story.
Sonia: Very cool. Very cool. You said something in terms of like rewriting, I think it was rewriting the face of pr, right? , or and I'm curious because within a number of industries you might have people say, oh, well it's very, it's not di diverse or there's a lot of industries that might be very homogeneous and I think people just.
Sonia: A lot of times accept that's the way it is. There's a lack of diversity in certain areas or perceived lack of diversity, but you are seeing a lack of diversity in PR overall, but you're like, we're gonna change that. What was it about, like, what made you think that this is something that we're going to change and address versus like, this is the way it is and I wish it was better.[00:07:00]
Gloria: I think through my own journey of understanding why I do what I do, I think in
Gloria: the beginning, right as we build our businesses, it's really about like, you know, like the Simon Sinek thing. It's like, start with why. Yeah. We don't start with why. We start with like selling the features and the benefits. So for me it was like, oh, you wanna get PR 'cause you wanna get more sales and more customers.
Gloria: And that's kind of the very surface layer of it. But the more I dug into why my customers were the way they were, the the fears and where they are, their ads and the generational stuff that they had and learning about their stories. I really realized like they are mold breakers in and of themselves, right?
Gloria: Mm-hmm. And so by doing this work, we all are. Doing something that's breaking the mold. And one of the things that comes up so often with this type of work is a feeling of not being worthy or feeling ready to tell our story, right? Feeling like someone else always says it better or my business is not legitimate.
Gloria: This is like feeling of like when am I really gonna be a legitimate business? And I think that's something that we all struggle with, especially as women of color. And so I noticed that a lot in my community. And so I quickly realized what I was [00:08:00] doing was not so much just about the PR stuff, but more about.
Gloria: Giving them that confidence.
Sonia: Yeah.
Gloria: To really be the first, because for a lot of these, for a lot of the, my customers and my PR students, they are the first, right. Whether it's the first person to go to college or the first person to speak English, or the first person to come to the States. Right. So that is really what we're doing.
Gloria: We're all pioneers together.
Sonia: Yeah. Since you have such this diverse audience who has a lot like women of color in particular, are you able. Are, do you find that you're having very specific conversations about. Different issues and challenges that women of color experience? Like are you able to like have more, I guess, pointed and targeted conversations that are related to their lived experiences?
Sonia: Or do you keep it strictly as, this is kind of my methodology, this is kind of how I approach it? There's, you know, in terms of, from a PR standpoint,
Gloria: I think at the first iteration of my business, or should I say the first level of my business, it was very much, here's what PR is. It was [00:09:00] very logical, right?
Gloria: And as I grew and scaled my business, and you'd be, and you formed a community and you really. Saw yourself as a leader in conversations, not just selling something. Yeah. It became, much deeper than that so then the copy, and you know, I worked with my copywriter, Brittany McBean, and I really was able to uncover so many things.
Gloria: So that's going back to the mindset part, which is in order for them to actually press the send button, because everybody knows
Sonia: Yeah,
Gloria: that organic PR is way better than ads, but the reason why they're not pressing the send button is because of all of these things. Right?
Sonia: Yeah.
Gloria: Whether it's generational, whether it's not wanting to like.
Gloria: Boast or brag about yourself, which I don't think PR is, but especially as an Asian American woman. You know, I'm not really taught to like advocate for myself and like, you know, very much like put your head down and say, yes sir. So that's kind of how I grew up. And so maybe it's like seeing me breaking my own mold.
Gloria: Yeah. Do they feel confident to maybe break theirs too? So, I don't know. Right. I think we're all doing this together.
Sonia: Yeah I love that you're able to bring so much of your own. Lived experiences and even though the [00:10:00] people who are in your program might not necessarily have the same experiences as you, the they can identify with similar sort of paths in experiences that are maybe adjacent or kind of like in the same realm that is helpful.
Sonia: So it's lovely that you're able to have those conversations. I'm curious. That like a lot of times as marketers and brands, they think about, yes, I wanna have a more diverse audience, but they might not necessarily be aware of. What's required to serve that audience effectively? Because sometimes what is required to help people from certain communities achieve success is very different from what you might think of overall.
Sonia: Right. In terms of the masses, did you feel like you've had to prepare yourself in any additional way, or was it more of, because I've already got this, Curiosity and this strong foundation of a, a very [00:11:00] diverse network that I'm, I feel equipped to be able to support the different identities who are a part of your community.
Gloria: I think the learning never ends, you know, although I have a lot of racial diversity. I also one time I got on the call with one of our students and it turns out that she was visually impaired and also hearing impaired. Okay. So I didn't realize that, and she told me that I needed to just be more mindful to turn on the captions.
Gloria: Right. And just to, Understand that not everybody is going to learn the same way. And so that really opened my eyes to like other types of diversity too. Yeah. People who learn differently. And now I'm more aware of these things too, and I still have a long way to go. Right. It's also pronouns. Right? That's something that I'm also like learning and you know navigating.
Gloria: So I. I think it never ends. It's just about being open to that. And I'm so grateful that I'm able to learn from so many people. Like I've learned so much from, you know, our friend Tarzan about like, and Kelly deals about ableist language that I've used, you know, in the past without even thinking about it.
Gloria: And so [00:12:00] those are the type of things that I now I'm aware of and when I'm aware of it, I can do better.
Sonia: Yeah. So you mentioned that like you've started to. Call out specifically that you support women of color in your programs. And I'm curious, did that change the makeup of your programs? Even more so like, did it make it even more diverse or attract even a more diverse audience?
Sonia: And also did it push people who don't identify as a woman of color away from you or like, you know, did it deter them at all?
Gloria: I actually don't find that it was less or more diverse, honestly. Okay. Because we still have. Non women of color join from time to time, and they actually say, they're like, Hey, I'm not a Bipo founder, but your message resonates with me.
Gloria: I think it's the message of inclusion. Yeah. Of understanding that somehow, you know, maybe you weren't always invited to the conversation and it doesn't necessarily always have to be or ethnics or a color thing. It could be language.
Sonia: Right.
Gloria: We have a lot of people who are right. Immigrants to this [00:13:00] country whose eng, whose first language is not English.
Gloria: So maybe they relate to that. So I, I wouldn't say it has, it's more or less, but I did notice that through my talking about my relationship with my mother, I recently healed a lot of trauma with her. I think I've only lived eight years of my entire life with her. Okay. And my father passed away when I was three.
Gloria: I am attracting more AAPI founders. Because I think there's an interesting there too with being first generation immigrants from a country that, you know, has been historically so impoverished, right? I think there's a lot of things about money and scarcity. So we are attracting more AAPI founders.
Gloria: 'cause I think they do see the story about me talking with my mom and kind of our generational gap. They see themselves in that.
Sonia: Yeah.
Sonia: It just kind of goes to show authenticity rules the day when we're thinking about inclusion. And belonging and getting people to identify, but also that more and more people are making decisions based upon who they're going to buy from and partner with and work with based upon [00:14:00] values.
Sonia: So and inclusion is a big value for people. So if you're leading with messaging that talks about. Who you're serving and what your mission is. And it aligns from a values-based standpoint. Even if somebody doesn't necessarily identify with a specific group that you've called out, the values are aligned and they're definitely wanna work with you too.
Sonia: And they're still welcomed, of course, with open arms. So I think that's great. And I think that's something that for people to learn from that it's not always going to be. If I call out a specific group, I'm going to be automatically like pushing other people away.
Gloria: Yeah. And it's not really about calling out people, just, it's not like, Seeing people only for their race or ethnicity.
Sonia: Yeah,
Gloria: it's about the shared experience.
Sonia: Yeah.
Gloria: So I could talk about my experience as an Asian American woman, but like that could relate to somebody who's not Asian American, right? Could,
Sonia: yeah.
Gloria: So I think it's really not about grouping people in like, you know, racial categories, but the things that are shared, whether it's.
Gloria: You know, the mother-daughter relationship when your mom comes from a different country. Right. It's could be something like that. And [00:15:00] that's a shared experience among a lot of first generation immigrants.
Sonia: Absolutely. Can you share, have there been any additional things that you've done, specifically as you've been working with clients to make them feel like they belong with you, no matter what their type of background is?
Gloria: I think that for me, surrounding myself with. Other people who have the same values. So it's So when I'm thinking about who I'm inviting to my podcast, yeah. Maybe not going with the most obvious choice all the time. Like the people who just happen to have the most H following. Yeah. But people who have something interesting to say who might not have the biggest following, but have something else that we don't, we don't normally hear about.
Gloria: Right. So that's how I. I'm able to use my platform. For example, one of our OG PR members, Dr. Greta Anderson, she is a woman in golf, a black woman in golf, and she started pr like in her fifties and sixties. Right? And so like her breaking the mold in her own way, I am able to elevate her story and together [00:16:00] where we're rewriting the narrative, right?
Gloria: So just things like that and Just being able to like, ask people questions, so,
Sonia: mm-hmm.
Gloria: Everyone has different learning styles, so like I told you about one of our members who's hearing impaired, she wanted me to put on captions. So now when I have my monthly calls, like I'm more cautious about that and I wanna make sure everything is like timestamped and transcribed and there's in different ways that people can consume information.
Gloria: We have the audio only version for people who, you know, maybe visually are impaired. So just thinking about ways that I can. Give information and content in a way for, for all people.
Sonia: Yeah,
Sonia: You keep saying this term and it's sticking with me. Rewriting a narrative. I wrote something earlier this year, which is all about like inclusive marketing trends for 2023.
Sonia: And one of it was around rewriting narratives and it was specifically about breaking stereotypes that exist for certain groups of people in different identities because. You know, there's a lot of negative stereotypes with different [00:17:00] groups and the media and just a lot of the imagery, et cetera, that we see just kind of further perpetuates it.
Sonia: So I am curious if you have any recommendations for, for brands with For how they can go about rewriting existing narratives that exist based upon, you know, what you've been, what you do from a PR standpoint, as well as just what you've been doing overall in your business. Because it sounds like it's probably a pretty uniform skill to just kind of think through.
Sonia: This exists. We wanna change that perception and this is how we're gonna approach doing it.
Gloria: I think the most basic one is having curiosity of, just because something has been done before doesn't mean you can't question, like, is there a way we can do it maybe a little bit differently? You know, so, so that those are internal choices from the books that you read to the content you consume to the people that you naturally gravitate towards.
Gloria: Now, from an outer perspective, if you have a platform, like a podcast or a blog or a newsletter, how can I highlight people right from different walks of life? So that's a [00:18:00] conscious choice that you can do that's literally giving them a platform. Yeah. So a lot of times, you know, as you, as you know, we're not gonna name any names, but there's some big names out there in the online space and they say, well, like d e i is so important to me.
Gloria: Like, you know, but then I, I'm scrolling through this person's feet and all of their besties.
Sonia: Yeah.
Gloria: You know, they're all able bodied of a certain way of a certain, so, you know, I just think it's interesting because you can definitely tell
Sonia: Yeah.
Gloria: Like, who you surround yourself and, and it's a, it's a reflection of you.
Gloria: Right?
Sonia: Yeah
Gloria: People are taking notice and we all make choices. So someone can say something, but talk is cheap. And there definitely other ways that consumers are seeing where your values are. And it's, it's an imperfect journey. Like I went on a podcast talking about how I bought into toxic bro marketing and urgency and pressure tactics and how I really had to cleanse myself of that.
Gloria: And, and it's a journey that I've been on, right? So it's not like you wake up and you're perfect, but as long as you're willing to do the work. And tell people that you are on this journey. I think you're inviting way more people in than saying, well, you know, [00:19:00] I'm perfect and this matters to me. And, and then just like closing the door there without really examining like where your relationship to, whether it's white privilege or, you know, white supremacy or sexism.
Gloria: What, like where your proximity to is to that.
Sonia: Yeah, no, I think that's a, that's a great, a great thing for people to consider because it's not really about like a specific tactic. It requires a lot of. Just overall internal work that will naturally sort of permeate into what you do as you show up in your business and you inter engage and interact and think about how to support the people that you serve.
Sonia: So I love, I love that, that thought. Can you tell me about a brand that made you feel like you belonged and, what was your response to them? As you kind of realize that, oh, like they really get me.
Gloria: Ooh. I mean, there's a lot, I think a lot of CPG brands are doing this now where they're putting different people, different walks of life, like on their [00:20:00] imagery.
Gloria: But I will say growing up, As an Asian American first generation, I didn't really see myself at all in media, whether it's advertising or any type of media. But I will say that when I went to Canada, when I was a diplomat, I went to Canada. I'll never forget when I arrived at the airport, the person who took my passport, she had a headscarf.
Gloria: I don't think I've ever seen anyone at TSA where wearing a headscarf, you know? Yeah, yeah. And so when I went to Canada, I saw how they not only had. Racial diversity, but there was a level of integration that we don't have in the us I think in the US we're still very segregated. So that was just like, whoa.
Gloria: And then when I saw like all of their commercials and like the, at the bus stops, it was people of all different races and, you know, queer and it was just like, it was very clear that there was a level of integration that it wasn't here. So I will say that that really stuck out to me, and I think we're getting better at it now.
Gloria: I think there's a lot of, there's like, for example, like Marriott and like all of those hotels, like I think they're trying to be more inclusive, but I also think that there's a difference [00:21:00] between really putting your, money to your values and or just using performance allyship, right? Of like, oh, this is cool, so I'm gonna have this one token.
Gloria: Yeah. Black person in my photo, which we all seem before too.
Sonia: Absolutely. No, I think I, like, I, I notice that whenever I visit other countries as well, in particular, like it, it feels like in a lot of instances diversity is much more integrated and it feels less sort of like cookie cutter, but like a natural part because there's so many dimensions of diversity, right?
Sonia: So it's nice to see so many of them sort of intersecting but also highlighted and. Present, front and center. Not intentionally, but just like, because of we're here, like we exist and so it's natural that we would be integrated into society because, you know, that's where we are. Yeah. Where can people find that you, if they wanna learn more about you and your work?
Gloria: So I'm on all the socials at Gloria Chou PR. That's Gloria, [00:22:00] Chou PR. And I have a signature PR masterclass where I walk through exactly word for word, the framework of a pitch to get that hell yes from anyone, even if it's a New York Times. You can watch that on demand@gloriachoupr.com slash masterclass.
Gloria: And if you DM me the word pitch, I will give you a pitching freebie to help you land your next podcast.
Sonia: Very cool. And any parting words of wisdom for brands who wanna be intentional about building a diverse customer base?
Gloria: No one is perfect. I'm still far from perfect. I still get checked all the time, but I think that if we just keep having our own conversations and our silos and we're never willing to maybe be curious about the ways that we can see things differently, we will never be truly integrated.
Gloria: We're just all gonna keep having the same conversations in our bubbles. Yeah. So we must. Break the bubble. We must get proximate to different people. One of my favorite, favorite favorite authors and thought leaders is Brian Stevenson of the Equal Justice Initiative. And [00:23:00] so they had like a movie about him, like Just Mercy, and he gave a talk at N Y U Law School graduation where my friend was graduating and he said something, he's like the key to progress, like racial progress is.
Gloria: It's not about just like reading the books and you know, consuming the content. It's getting proximate to people of a different lived experience. And it's hard in the US right? The way that our neighborhoods are historically. It's like, so how, in what way are you getting proximate? In what ways are you going out of your daily routine?
Gloria: To maybe like sit with someone who's a little bit different and just maybe ask a few questions.
Sonia: Yeah
Gloria: and I think that's really the, the action part of it. 'cause you can think all you want, but unless you actually get proximate to people from different lived experiences, I don't think true progress can ever happen.
Sonia: Absolutely.
Sonia: I feel like this happens to me a lot, especially thinking about even my husband, right? My husband is Argentine he's a immigrant here to the us Spanish speaker, so, Just by connecting and being, you know, next to him, I see a lot of things I [00:24:00] never would've considered or thought of as a result of, you know seeing things and as he goes through the mint experiences, the world here.
Sonia: Right? And the same thing whenever I'm in Argentina, seeing how I move through the world, how they think about things is quite different. And even thinking of my daughter, of course, who's mixed race. She has a completely different experience than I do, so I have to think about like her and kind of how she's young still, so it hasn't quite hit her yet.
Sonia: Right. But like thinking about like even the things that she's gonna need to see because they're different from her, different from me, different from my husband, and just understanding that there's so many of us that have got a lot of differences. So how can we, like you said, get that proximity so that we can better understand each other so that we can.
Sonia: Better support and serve each other. Right. So very good. Gloria, this has been such an insightful and chill and wonderful conversation. Thank you so much for shopping, stopping by and sharing your experiences with us.
Gloria: Thanks [00:25:00] for being you.