Humanity over hype: Why trauma-informed marketing is good marketing
Humanity over hype: Why trauma-informed marketing is good marketing

By on in Branding, Content

Humanity over hype: Why trauma-informed marketing is good marketing

We’ve all got that person in our lives who sends an email with Hi in the subject line, or leaves a voicemail with just “call me back,” and you worry about responding because you’re pretty sure you’re in trouble.

That’s the feeling trauma-informed communication aims to prevent.

This has been on the FATFREE radar lately, as it is a key value of one of our clients. As we dug in, it became immediately clear that many of the principles of trauma-informed communications align perfectly with marketing best practices. So, even for audiences who haven’t experienced trauma with a capital T, an approach that considers trauma-informed concepts builds trust and confidence in your brand, website, newsletter signup, everything.

 


Even for audiences who haven’t experienced trauma with a capital T, an approach that considers trauma-informed concepts builds trust and confidence in your brand, website, newsletter signup, everything.

 

Trauma-informed communications keep these pillars in mind:

 

1. Safety (physical and emotional)

Marketing isn’t likely to touch on physical safety, but we can help create psychologically safe spaces. It’s all about making people feel welcome, no matter who they are. This can be as simple as not asking for information you don’t need, or not trying to fit people into boxes. Does a user have to choose one of two genders to create an account? Do they even need an account, or can they continue without sharing personal information?

I recently completed first aid training that taught me “healthy skin is pink.” (Cue the sound of a record scratch.) How did that even get through? Consider the whole range of diverse humans who might be engaging with your words before you put them out into the world.

 

2. Trustworthiness and transparency

There are a lot of ways this can play out, from the highest-level positioning—not making claims or promises the brand can’t or won’t uphold—to simple things like button text that tells the user what will happen next.

Transparency and trust may be the biggest opportunity for marketers:

  • Avoid surprises, such as unexpected multi-page forms, vague buttons or sneaky subscription signups
  • Prepare users for the expected effort—tell them how long something might take (this is a 3-minute read), what they’ll need on hand to complete a process
  • Don’t exaggerate or, of course, outright lie
  • Own up to your mistakes 

 

3. Choice

How does a person want to engage with or hear from you? How do they want to receive your services? Are your choices fair, or do they feel like they’re not about the user at all? Last week, I was asked to choose between theater ticket delivery options—mobile tix or box office pickup—each for $8. Not exactly a choice. (Or transparent. Or empowering. Or safe. Or making me feel like an equal, valued partner in the exchange.)

 

4. Collaboration

That part above about being an equal, valued partner in the exchange—be sure to look at the power dynamic and how your decisions are perceived by your audience. Ask for feedback and respond graciously when you get it.

 

5. Empowerment

Treat your audiences like individuals, not numbers or members of a group. And validate their efforts, experience, and support of your brand.

 

In social work circles, these points go a lot deeper, with various groups using 5, 6 or 11 principles. But we’re sticking to the high points that you can apply to anything you do.

What should really stand out—and what stood out for me—is that every bit of this advice applies to good marketing. After all, marketing is communication. The clearer the communication, the stronger the impact. Need help making that happen? For high-impact marketing that puts your audiences first, have a chat with FATFREE.