Connecting with your organization’s audience requires thoughtful planning, diligence and maybe even a wide net. But it doesn’t have to be hard. There are many effective things you can do:
- Listen to your employees. They are your ambassadors, bringing your brand to life and sharing it with others. Be sure they are the first to know what you’re doing/saying, and solicit their questions and ideas.
- Bring your organizational values to life. Your values serve as guiding principles for your business. How are you modeling them and using them to communicate?
- Have a brand plan. Does your organization have a brand plan? Are you managing it? When was it last refreshed? Have you shared it with all employees?
- Hone your messages. Simplicity. Clarity. Focus on just three or four key messages, and perfect them with quality writing.
- Follow a communications plan. Make sure communications team members are in the room where your highest-level decisions are being made to help you communicate them effectively, internally and externally.
- Be diverse, equitable and inclusive. The more you do in this space, the better the results will be for your business overall. Have diverse teams. Be inclusive of different voices. Take actions to be equitable.
- Focus on your audience’s needs and interests. Who are they? What do they care about? (Have you asked them?) Who are their trusted sources?
- Use compelling visuals. Video, video, video. Strong photography and great graphics. Humans are visual communicators.
- Tell great stories. Share your most compelling stories—your successes and even your challenges—and do it strategically. Connect emotionally, so people understand why it should matter to them.
- Orchestrate a mix of paid, earned, social and owned media. Grab your baton: Your owned media (website, blog, podcast, e-newsletter) and social media are the places to start to share your stories. Set goals and use metrics to measure, and use paid and earned media to grow from there.
- Create a brand personality for your social media. You can cut through the noise of social media with a brand personality that matches the audience you hope to attract. Speak, respond, and comment on social media platforms as a real person would, using humor and humility.
- Do something personal. When was the last time a brand you admire told you something about who they are and what they value? Reach out to show your customers, subscribers, members and others what you personally care about.
- Engage a third party to listen to your audience. People will say things to a third party they may not say to you, giving you valuable insights.
- Prepare and rehearse. Anticipate questions. Practice answers. Be sure the people who will deliver your message are equipped to succeed with proper social/media training.
- Develop a crisis communications plan and manual. If you already have one, when was the last time you reviewed it? Would staff training on crisis management be useful? Do you need to add new topics to the "what if?" list for responses?
- Build authentic relationships. Meet face-to-face with the media whenever possible, and share your stories with confidence and transparency. Invite your VIP stakeholders to a reception or dinner.
- Think outside your four walls. How can you get out into your community to meet other thought leaders, whether in your space or outside of it?
- Prepare for the possibility of a cyber breach. Get a cyber assessment and create an incident response team that involves your communications team. Conduct annual training.
- Define what success looks like. Always articulate what you are trying to achieve with a PR campaign—so everyone will know when you’ve done it!