The Virtual CMO Podcast

Season 7, Episode 7

In episode 107, host Eric Dickmann interviews Christopher Willis. With over 20 years of experience growing companies in the technology sector, Christopher is recognized as a thought leader in the areas of AI, DEI, and Content Governance. He currently serves as the Chief Marketing Officer at Acrolinx, an AI-powered content governance solution that improves the quality and impact of your content to produce better results. Aside from leading his team at Acrolinx, Christopher is a speaker on the importance of content governance and brand alignment, sharing stories from his many years of working with some of the biggest tech names in the world. Christopher continually believes in having a well-balanced life. He is a CrossFit coach who is passionate about physical health; as well as sports discipline and team building. You can connect with Christopher on LinkedIn and Twitter.

Listen on Apple Podcasts

Importance of DEI in Communications

DEI in communications starts with genuine conversations. To help execute your mission effectively, your communications approach needs to focus on your target audience. Since your content is the first thing that connects with your audience, it is crucial for a brand to be unbiased and inclusive. As much as possible, make content that is easy to understand, inclusive, and accessible at the same time.

What is DEI?

DEI stands for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion.

• Diversity refers to the many ways people can differ.
• Equity is leveling the playing field for everyone.
• Inclusion is the extent of a person’s feeling of belongingness in a particular group or organization.

Highlights from Our Conversation with Christopher:

“Inclusive language really just seeks to treat all people with respect. It's a language that avoids the use of certain words, expressions that exclude silence, discriminate, and assign negative connotations to personal characteristics of certain people in communities."

• [00:05:48} How do the tools help put your voice into the content that you're writing?- Grammarly, Hemingway, and Microsoft Editor are some of the great tools marketers can use to structure content. While the main goal is to ensure the correctness of content, a company should also aim to have their voice align across different writers in the team.
• [00:09:55} It's all about strategy alignment!- There may be lots of ways to look at how a platform works, but for Christopher, it's all about strategy alignment. Having an excellent overall numerical score might look good, but good content is subjective.
• [00:12:43} The challenge of bringing the freelance economy into our organization- The pandemic has changed the creative landscape with many companies now hiring freelance talent. This adds an additional challenge of having a single brand voice used by different outside resources.
• [00:18:18} The importance of being authentic- People and companies are being more vocal on topics such as diversity, equity, and inclusion. When creating content about these topics, it’s important for brands to come across as authentic and caring.
• [00:24:38] DEI in communications- DEI in communications starts with genuine conversations. Understanding the people you're doing business with and treating them like people.
• [00:26:26] Thinking about your content plan- Everything you say or post on your website should resonate well with your customers. If there's one thing that you should be doing on day one of content creation- it's thinking through what you're trying to do, setting the guidelines, and then measuring post-production results.

DEI in Communications and Other Resources Mentioned

• Acrolinx- Company Website

Live Stream on YouTube