Multicultural marketing tactics are making a move into the budgets of mainstream marketing departments around the world. With the population of the US continuing to diversify and the steady spread of business globalization, it’s only natural that marketing strategies follow suit.

While digital marketing is still the fastest growing and arguably most important channel for every business, there are subtler campaigns slowly building relevance – most notably in the entertainment industry.

From Paramount Pictures hiring a multicultural marketing executive, to the National Association of Broadcasters creating a Multicultural TV & Video Conference, to Universal Pictures promoting the film Straight Outta Compton with separate trailers to different demographics through Facebook’s new “ethnic affiliation” marketing, the importance of targeted multicultural marketing campaigns is obvious.

But why does your company need multicultural marketing?

Here are 6 reasons why.

1. Cultural differences

Different cultures have different values and beliefs. For you marketing to be effective, people need to see your offering reflecting these important standards. Show it to them.

2. Language barriers

Translation is not the same as localization – your content needs to be presented in-language while incorporating regional idioms to truly resonate with multi-lingual audiences.

3. International expansion

If you are taking your service to a new country or continent, you need a multicultural marketing team that understands the new market. It is easy for humor, gender roles, and geographic or historic references in messaging to lose meaning or possibly offend if not handled carefully by a team in the know.

4. Finding the right mix of marketing channels

Certain demographics use various media in different proportions than others. For example, more than a quarter of African American internet users (28%) are active on Twitter, compared to approximately 13% of other groups. Similarly, Hispanic audiences are far more likely to access digital content through mobile devices, though this gap is closing.

5. Maintaining brand consistency

Diversifying the targets for your marketing efforts can quickly dilute your brand if performed without proper care. Even though you may provide multiple web pages for different countries and languages, it is essential your multicultural marketing team maintains the same look, feel and tone of the corporate brand as it is localized.

6. Specialized promotions

There are many holidays, traditions and celebrations unique to varying cultures. Timing your multicultural marketing to these events can boost your popularity with new audiences, and ideally make your products and services an integral part the next time.

Multicultural marketing is an inclusive process of identifying and customizing efforts for each and every audience segment you target. By working with professionals, you can be assured your promotions will strategically embrace the uniqueness of every culture – and ensure your own company’s acceptance and success as well.