A brand’s value is its voice. Authenticity strengthens brand authority. A communication strategy institutes the concrete foundation of customer engagement, trust and loyalty. The style and true essence of your messaging has a significant influence on buyer confidence. What matters is relevancy, precision, compelling expression, vivacity and a positive experience. Detouring outside ‘customary’ content and daring to be expressive and novel are how today’s innovators deviate from the standard bearers. To be resonating requires the art of persuasion.
We are experiencing a major health crisis across the globe which impacts businesses of all sizes and requires clear and constructive messaging.
An organization is judged by how it performs in both thriving and volatile moments, placing the greatest weight on how effective they share information, reveal their confidence and character, encourage and motivate, and focus on progress and positive momentum.
In challenging times, elevate the cadence of your communications and make it a priority to answer questions openly, offer key perspectives, be present and attentive, creatively connect, and demonstrate the sincerity and honesty that people value most.
Tips and Best Practices for your Communication Strategy
- Architect an enterprise-wide communication style and tone for consistency across platforms
- Maintain a communication governance starting with standards and a well-defined framework (topics, channels, cadence etc.)
- Structure curated content into levels, types and targeted audiences
- Establish a company ‘voice’ that is influential, elevates confidence, reflects vigor, and resonates with your core audience
- Develop clear organizational protocols and publishing guidelines to prevent misinformation or contradictory information from being pushed out
- Use prominent channels and popular tools that provide metrics and the ability to scale
- Improve the experience of your communications by incorporating graphics, audio, video, and imagery
- Integrate value-based information and insights and offer entertaining elements when it serves to augment and embellish your message
- Eliminate noise by transcending minutia, anchoring to the primary purpose of the message, and maintaining clear indicators & signals
- Apply social components of advocacy, inspiration and empowerment
- Manage the brand reputation to drive positive awareness, improve positioning, deepen connections, and signify your values
- Be cautious of too many rules and restrictions, especially at a time of anxiety when people are hungry for authentic engagement
- Make room for expansive thinking and transformative concepts – a tumor of tight controls will destroy innovation and the pursuit of new ideas
- Create audience segments such as internal, executive, existing customers, prospects, untapped markets, advocates & followers, and general public
- With every public-facing communication, be sure to consider cultural and multi-generational sensitivities, align with company principles, and adhere to legal, regulatory and compliance requirements
- Provide the means for people to respond to a communication along with channels to offer candid feedback, suggestions or criticism
- Perform crisis planning and preparation by anticipating possible events and scenarios and define action plans that are aimed to avert, overcome and resolve issues
- Cultivate a strong partnership and trust with Media and Agency contacts to ensure there is mutual gain and benefit
- Measure performance of communications in these areas: effectiveness, reach, achieving business goals and size of footprint
Finally, as with business methods and plans, be strategic with communication objectives and be willing to test, compare and critique outcomes. Ultimately, you want every communication to compel engagement, demonstrate the brand’s intelligence and personality, and infuse points of parity for distinction. To reach and resonate… that is your gold standard.