This summary of the original journal article was written by Valerie Gonzalez, a member of the IPR Street Team.
Dr. Erica Ciszek explored the role of trust when communicating with LGBTQ publics.
In-depth phone interviews were conducted with 33 LGBTQ practitioners with experience in LGBTQ strategic communication.
Key Terms:
— Cultural competency refers to organizations being well-versed with the attitudes, beliefs, values and preferences held by members of a population.
— Organizational congruency refers to the mirroring of organizations’ external efforts toward diversity and inclusion.
— Stakeholder empowerment refers to the organizational power given to LGBTQ constituents.
Key findings include:
1.) Cultural competency, organizational congruency, authenticity, and stakeholder empowerment are all central components when developing communication strategies to target LGBTQ audiences.
— These qualities must all be present before attempting engagement to cultivate trust.
2.) Cultural competency requires practitioners to be in tune with the attitudes, beliefs, values, and preferences of the LGBTQ community.
— Consider the way race, ethnicity, social class, geographic location, ability, and education level intersect with sexual orientation and gender identity, and appeal to each different facet of identity.
3.) Authenticity must be present at every step before and during communication with LGBTQ publics. They must produce trustworthy communications that have an impact on the issues most important to LGBTQ stakeholders.
— To do this, brands must connect organizational identity to activism, creating a powerful way to change culture through media and promotes trust between the organization and the LGBTQ community.
4.) Organizations must demonstrate advocacy and create space within the organizational structure for historically marginalized groups to hold power and be heard.
Implications
Organizations seeking to engage with LGBTQ publics must recognize them as both viable and visible audiences. Organizations must also acknowledge that LGBTQ stakeholders are multifaceted. To build trust, organizations are required to demonstrate an ongoing commitment to the consumers they are attempting to reach.
LGBTQ publics are proven to be loyal customers when brands effectively reach them. Developing trust is a continuous process and is most effectively attained through diverse strategies that acknowledge the multiple components of identity while showcasing a genuine interest in advancing social welfare.
Read the full article to learn more about communication with LGBTQ publics.
