Quality communications - the three Rs

Are you worried that your communication efforts will simply be ignored? 

 

The good news is that you can engage your audience by including three things in your communications, whether you’re marketing, campaigning, creating captivating content or aiming to win hearts and minds. Here’s how it works. 

 

The first step towards achieving good communication is to understand your audience. 

 

When you know what is important to people it’s much easier to create content that will meet their needs and engage their minds. And, of course, the advice and information you share will need to be valuable and useful. 

 

You can include words, phrases, subjects and arguments that will immediately make sense to them. 

 

However, real engagement doesn’t happen overnight, so you will need to be patient. Many successful brands spend years, or even decades, creating a convincing tone in their communication that works well for their customers, suppliers, employees, and stakeholders. 

 

Think of your content as a business asset which is just as valuable as your products or services, employees, equipment and property. 

 

Having said that, your approach shouldn’t be rigid, because people and circumstances change. We’ve certainly seen plenty of evidence recently of how quickly things can become very different. 

 

To maintain a fresh and engaging approach that will keep people coming back for more, you will always need to pay attention to their latest interests, and important issues and developments. 

 

You will need to do more than choose the right information. 

 

You will need to show that you understand why it’s relevant too. 

 

You will certainly know someone who makes you feel as though you’re the only person in the room, even when there are a lot of people around. When you are speaking with them you probably feel as though they are listening to you carefully and that they are genuinely interested in what you’re saying. More importantly, they will show empathy with words like ‘I see what you mean’ or ‘I hear what you’re saying’. 

 

This is the effect you want to have on your audience. Customer experience is an essential differentiator for businesses. In fact, it is becoming more important than price. 

 

Customers will choose businesses that are dedicated to meeting their needs, so you will need to show them just how important to you they are. 

 

You have probably heard that people need several ‘opportunities to see’ information before they notice it and even more before they respond. It will take even longer for them to remember not only what you have said, but the impression you have made. 

 

You will need to keep in touch too because, while absence might make the heart grow fonder, people will forget you after a while even when they really liked what you said. 

 

There are some simple steps you can take to help make sure people remember the important things about you. Develop clear key messages which summarise what people need to know, not only about what you do, but how you do it. You can use these messages consistently at every opportunity, whether you’re meeting people face to face, holding a videoconference or launching a marketing campaign. They will be continual reminders of what makes you and your business unique. 

 

One important point that people can miss is that one type and style of content won’t work on all occasions. 

 

It’s important to think about why people will notice what you have to say. In part, this will be defined by the way they choose to find their information. 

 

For example, if you expect to find a lot of your audience on Facebook it might be because feeling part of a community and picking up on the latest social ideas and information are priorities for them. You will need to share small pieces of information frequently in a tone that will catch their attention. If they like your post and leave a comment, they will expect a response from you. 

 

Alternatively, if you are sharing information in a professional online forum or publication, you will want to provide evidence of your expertise and contribute something significant to current debates in your subject area. 

 

You don’t have to use every communication option available to you, but you must tailor your content to the ones you choose.