That was the key message from Raymond Murphy, senior editor at global creative agency We Are Social, speaking at the TTG LGBT Conference.
He listed five key questions all businesses – including travel – should be asking themselves with regard to inclusivity.
He insisted that every company with a social media presence should have an anti-hate policy in place to show they are taking the matter seriously.
Asked how businesses should go about producing one, Murphy said: “We advise that people use community guidelines [like those of] big social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, Reddit – you can borrow language from theirs.
“Some are maybe 200 words… It doesn’t have to be reams and reams.” He added: “You wouldn’t tolerate customers coming in and abusing other customers on your shop floor – you should think about your social pages in the same way.”
Another question Murphy encouraged delegates to think about was “how will we respond?”
He cited Stephen Mai, chief content officer at music platform Boiler Room, who pointed out that: “Responses are not for the troll, responses are for the people who are being attacked.”
TTG Media group editor Pippa Jacks was moderating the session, with Murphy joined by other speakers from the day – Susie Goss, marketing director, James Villa Holidays; and James Lavin, UK and Ireland sales manager, Contiki.
Jacks asked the panel their views on bloggers and influencers, with all agreeing that credibility was the key consideration.
“We’ll only use influencers who have credible content within their sphere,” said Lavin. “We don’t put in contracts that they can only publish what we deem to be relevant… we will never have those restrictions.”
Asked how the panellists went about rating influencers, Goss suggested checking their domain authority – along with ensuring they can write well.
“Every website has something called a domain authority – a bit like a credit score – which sits behind it. “We want to work with someone with a similar or higher domain authority… that’s one of the ways you push your way up the rankings.
“You should also talk to them to see what their objectives are, but it does come down to credibility.” Goss added that although James Villas had not received a “backlash” online since rolling out a more inclusive and diverse image, she would follow Murphy’s advice around anti-hate policies and “take things a step further”.
