Virtual Meetings are Here to Stay: 8 Tips to Make Yours Stronger.
Phone call overload. Zoom fatigue. Isolation exhaustion. It feels relentless – but fortunately, at some point, it will be safe to meet in-person again. That said, working through a pandemic has taught us a lot. Some of those virtual meetings really could have been emails. And, when you add up the costs of in-person meetings and conferences – from air travel and lodging to conference venues, food and drink, entertainment, swag and more – it's a lot of money. Some of those large conferences in the past didn’t deliver enough ROI to make them worthwhile. So, even when it’s safe to reconvene together, it’s also safe to assume that businesses will choose to be more judicious about what conferences they host and attend in person. Some events will remain as virtual conferences. Others may blend a live format with videoconferencing and online meeting capabilities to broaden their audience.
In short: virtual conferences and online meetings are here to stay. But does that mean you’re doomed to a future of never-ending, mind-numbing videoconferences? Absolutely not.
The trick is to raise your online meetings (or the online components of hybrid meetings) to a higher standard that can improve your reach, fight inertia, reduce distraction and increase engagement. It’s a tall order, but we’ve pulled together eight fundamental ways to do it.
Know When to Go Big and When to Go Small. Both Have Advantages.
We all know that it’s easier to engage a small audience than a giant one. But we also know that if you restrict access to your virtual meeting, fewer people can attend. Think about what makes the most sense for any given online event – or session within an event. If you want to increase engagement among a curated cohort, keep sessions small while providing networking, collaboration and conversation opportunities. To get more people connected with your content, consider raising your attendance caps – either for the entire meeting or just for, say, the daily keynote sessions.
Define the Capabilities You’ll Need in Advance.
Match your online platform and conferencing technology to the needs of your meeting or conference, not the other way around. For instance, do you need your platform to:
- Sync invitations and registration confirmations with online calendars? It can save time and keep people from accidentally scheduling over your event.
- Record meetings and offer transcripts? These options can provide opportunities for "Encore Playbacks" and "Highlight Reels," which can deepen engagement with attendees and enable connection with people who couldn't make it.
- Offer real-time chat? This is critical for networking and other forms of audience participation.
- Customize meeting rooms? People may be more inclined to go to a place called "The Collaboration Station" than "Meeting Room #27."
- Brand the conference with names and logos? That may be essential if you want people to remember the conference and its host more than its platform.
- Include a mobile app? Especially if they include secure admission credentials, scheduling capabilities and possibly even quizzes and games, apps can reinforce how connected attendees feel to your event.
- Provide on-screen collaboration capabilities for participants? Tools like real-time document editing and annotation can help you achieve meaningful, productive connections between session participants.
- Support multiple session styles (e.g., webinars, collaborative workrooms, entertainment and breaks?) Even highly engaging content will become monotonous if every session has the same structure.
Whatever capabilities your online conferencing platform provides, you must do more than simply enable them. Encourage your speakers to design their sessions with cues for audience interaction. For instance, if you can do real-time polling during a presentation, your presenters should use that capability, telling attendees how to respond to questions and providing aggregate results before the session is over. Likewise, if you're offering a panel discussion, look for ways to also provide an easily organized, live Q&A with the audience.
Encourage Audience Participation Beyond Technology.
While it’s important to leverage technology to make your presentations look and sound better, no amount of conferencing technology will overcome a dull, uninspired lecture. Help your presenters raise their presentation game. Encourage them to lean into the elements of a great story to immerse audiences in their presentations, using music and graphics to set – and change – the mood. Consider the possibilities of “choose your own adventure” style choices so that participants feel like they’re helping to drive that story. Seed Q&A sessions with questions that staff members can ask so that no participant needs to risk being the first to raise a hand with an inquiry. Finally, consider bringing in industry greats or celebrities to act as M.C.s for key sessions or to pop in as "surprise guest-stars." Whatever you do, your aim should be to keep people from sliding into feelings of sameness from one moment to the next, which can drive distraction.
Think Collaboration over Presentation.
Even the most powerful speech is unlikely to give audiences a transformative experience. Let those powerful, TED Talk-style presentations tee up opportunities for audience members to discuss, interact and collaborate on related ideas. Keep breakout groups small enough to facilitate real conversation. And while random groupings of people can yield unexpected connections, you may be able to generate more compelling results with deliberate groups organized around specific breakout tasks. Above all, provide collaborative groups with opportunities to present what they come up with and build on the engagement they forge in these sessions.
Don’t Wait for the Event to Build Engagement.
Remember that your participants’ enthusiasm for your event should start long before the conference or meeting begins. Map the critical digital experience touchpoints in your attendees’ journey from registration or ticket purchase through the event itself to post-conference follow-up and feedback. Then, make sure that those milestones enable positive and even unexpectedly delightful interactions. These interactions can entertain – for instance, by providing a quick, animated celebration of inclusion with ticket purchase confirmation. They can also be functional – say, by accompanying registration confirmation with a secure, easy-to-access place where attendees can return for session entry codes and passwords. Consider sending people the same swag that they might pick up at an in-person meeting. Likewise, if a live meeting would have included a free lunch, send people an Uber Eats or Doordash gift card. Don’t let up when the conference is over, either. Encourage continued engagement via follow-up content or rewards for participation and attendance.
Reinforce In-meeting Processes.
Not everyone will be as familiar with how you want people to behave and interact in your virtual environment. So be sure to publish and reinforce your expectations for:
- General online etiquette (such as when to mute mics and turn cameras on or off)
- When and how people should ask questions. Will you have a moderator? Is there a way to virtually raise a hand?
- How people can make appointments to meet key leaders – or each other
- Which sessions are pre-recorded and which will allow for live interaction
- When and how you will provide time and space for informal conversations, entertainment, facilitated networking, breaks, etc.
- When and how people should follow up after the meeting
Then, couple this information with technical support staff on hand to help people with these processes and procedures. That way, attendees can focus on the conference, not their technology.
Encourage Networking.
Part of why people attend events is to connect with others they’ve seen online or with whom they share perspectives and experiences. Consider ways to support this form of engagement beyond opening an online “networking lounge.” Place yourself, your staff (and even any event sponsors) in the role of “business matchmaker.” Issue a questionnaire in advance so that you can plan to introduce people with shared interests and backgrounds who might otherwise not ever work with each other. Ideally, every online event participant should get to enjoy one of these introduction opportunities.
Allow for Some Fun!
We all know the adage about all work and no play. So, don’t pretend that your attendees are work machines – especially if they’re all attending remotely. Consider a short session when people can introduce their pets. Or maybe you could include a session where people can follow along with a chef to make a fun snack together. Host a virtual background contest with prizes for the most creative, most on-brand, most effective, and so on. These fun additions can help people let down their guard and bring their most authentic selves to the meeting.
Even when you are finally able to hold in-person events, our current times have opened the door to many advantages that you can gain from providing rich, meaningful online experiences. Work some virtual meeting expertise into your meeting planning and execution toolbox, and you'll benefit from the best of both worlds.
Got Employer Branding Social Goals? Monitor These Metrics.
If your employer brand communications mix includes social media, you already know that metrics matter. But tempting as it may be to obsess over all the available social media metrics, smart marketers and HR professionals understand the importance of focusing on the right social metrics for specific employer branding goals. For instance:
HR GOAL: Increase reach/Attract talent
SOCIAL MEDIA METRICS: Followers and Follower Growth
Conventional wisdom says that your number of followers isn't as important as how engaged they are. But it would be a mistake to think that it doesn't matter how many followers you have. Especially if you're marketing across multiple social channels to attract talent, here’s why you should pay attention to the number of followers you have on each channel. Let's say that after six months of building a social presence on LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and Twitter, your Instagram profile has far more followers than your other sites. That indicates an opportunity to create more Instagram stories, where the greatest number of people will see them. Likewise, if your YouTube channel doesn’t have as many followers as your Instagram – but your follower count has been rising steadily each month – that indicates a different kind of opportunity. Look at which videos are getting the most attention. Then, do more of what's clearly working.
HR GOAL: Improve employer brand awareness
SOCIAL MEDIA METRIC: Social media mentions
Track how often others talk about your company by name on social media – as well as how often your employer branding language is restated – and you will demonstrate brand awareness. Track when those mentions happen most often, and you'll get a sense of the best days and times for you to post. And, if you expand your tracking efforts to include mentions of your competitors, that can reveal opportunities to improve your performance and strengthen your market share.
HR GOAL: Strengthen employer brand perceptions
SOCAIL MEDIA METRICS: Tone and influencer support
Monitoring mentions isn't just a numbers game. You'll want to pay attention to tone – is it positive, negative, or neutral? Obviously, we all want to feel like our consumer brands are beloved and employer brands are attractive, as reinforced by positive mentions. But don't be afraid of negative ones. They will tell you when you might have a problem you need to address. And they can open the door to turning that negative impression around through positive engagement. Respond to negative mentions in a way that shows you're not just going through the motions or sharing a scripted answer like, "We appreciate your feedback." Similarly, when you get positive mentions, show those people some love, thanking them for their enthusiasm, encouraging them to keep spreading the word.
You should also pay attention to who is mentioning you – and how influential they are. When top influencers talk about you, their thousands or even hundreds of thousands of fans pay attention. It may be the most highly targeted advertising you can get. Often, these comments don't cost you a thing. Sometimes, they can happen with nothing more than a free sample. Regardless, it may be worthwhile to invest in deepening your engagement with top influencers. Talk to them about how you can support each other. If you do it right, the results can pay off in a big way.
HR GOALS: Employer brand engagement and conversions
SOCIAL MEDIA METRICS: Website referrals, activity, and applications
Of course, you want to see which social media channels are driving click-throughs to your careers website. Beyond that, pay attention to what those users do once they get there. Compare your social referrals with the average time users spend on any given page or job listing. Look specifically for users who spend at least 60 seconds on your website, which typically correlates with a higher likelihood of joining a company’s talent community or applying for a specific position. And look at which referrals generate that activity. For instance, you may find that Twitter generates more referrals than your other social channels but the people who spend the most time on your site and create talent profiles come from Reddit and Quora. That suggests that you should pay more attention to your activity and mentions on those two sites.
HR GOAL: Increase bottom line value
SOCIAL MEDIA METRIC: Conversion points and employee/alumni engagement
Human Resources and Marketing aren’t often the departments people think of as generating bottom line value. But, with the right social metrics, they can be. Google Analytics allows you to assign goals and dollar values to each conversion. If you’re tracking where those conversions come from, you can calculate the dollar value generated by individual social channels. If you know how much a filled position is worth to the company and track customer journeys from their initial conversions off social media, you can calculate each one's value.
Additionally, keep in mind that your current and former employees’ positive engagement with key social channels can also deliver significant bottom line value. Consistently positive comments by people who work or have worked for your company can significantly boost your attractiveness to employment candidates. And, of course, happy current employees cost the company far less than full scale talent attraction efforts.
If you agree that these numbers sound exciting, we want to hear from you! We love talking metrics with business owners, executives, and marketers. There’s so much to track, measure, scrutinize, and follow, which is part of why we’re here. We’ve built our success on creating the right combination of strategy and creative – including identifying HR goals and analyzing the right metrics – to get our clients results that drive their success.
Silver Linings: Six Benefits of Virtual Working that may Last Beyond the COVIDtimes
As marketing consultants specializing in everything from digital experiences and SEO to advertising and strategy, we’re trained to see challenges as opportunities. It's impossible to ignore the human and business costs of the year 2020, but the truth is that as we’ve helped our clients adapt, pivot and grow through these times, we've learned a lot about process efficiency, work productivity and performance. And at least six of those lessons can continue to serve businesses well beyond the COVID-19 pandemic.
Making our own schedules can make us more productive. Working remotely, often amidst the competing needs of spouses, children, pets, and other "home" components, complicates the work-life juggling act. But it also forces us to be more flexible about how we meet deadlines and get things done. Whether we’re finding new quiet times of the day to work, taking more walks outside or just watching our children play, our flexible schedules are lending new flexibility and productivity to the way we think and work.
Less driving gives us more time. Maybe you only live five minutes from your office – and anywhere else you drove to before the pandemic. But especially in Atlanta, many of us used to lose as many as two or even three hours a day to commuting. That's a lot of time to regain. And - bonus - if people continue to work remotely, traffic won't be as bad even when we do choose to drive somewhere. Which also means more time back in our schedules.
It’s easy to learn new technologies when they’re necessary. Before the pandemic, implementing a new technology might have meant extensive time, testing and training. These days, there's little time for that. We pick up techniques and apps that we might never have used before by using them (think videoconferencing and project management). We help each other out. We make mistakes and learn from them. It's the equivalent of learning to swim by all jumping in the water together. And we're better at it than we may have imagined.
We need fewer meetings – and the ones we have can be more efficient. Have you noticed that since our meetings take place via phone and videoconference, we have fewer of them? Or that the meetings we have are shorter and more focused? As it turns out, many of those long, drawn out meetings of the past really CAN just be emails.
We may not need business travel and office space as much as we thought. Put all of the above together, and one thing is clear: Distributed workforces, technologies and meetings are probably here to stay. And sure – when we finally arrive in the times we'll call "after," we'll want to meet in person again. But we'll probably be more discerning about which meetings would be just as effective over the phone or via videoconference.
We benefit from touching base beyond basic conference calls. Our Relish Marketing team has taken to having Friday afternoon happy hours together. Sometimes we talk about work. Sometimes we don't. But just seeing each other and talking the way we did while taking a break at the office has value. It makes us laugh and remember how much we enjoy each other's company.
Of course, no one can predict the future. But we can rest assured that the flexibility, technologies, skills and perspectives we’re learning now will serve us long after the pandemic is over.
Nine Ways to Look and Sound Better on Videoconferences
Remember face to face meetings? Yeah, we do, too. But now that they’re all happening on Zoom, Teams, GoToMeeting, Webex, Skype, Hangouts and other online apps, it’s time to up your game. Which is why we’ve put together these tips to help you look and sound better on videoconferences.
Raise Your Camera. Generally speaking, you should be close enough to your webcam to be heard, but not so close that you look distorted. Set the camera angle so that you’re looking up slightly. In most cases, that draws attention to the eyes, minimizes the appearance of double chins and keeps people from staring up your nose. You can get a dedicated stand for your phone, laptop or tablet – or you can just stack a few books underneath it.
Upgrade your tech. If you deliver lots of presentations and don't want to replace your older phone or laptop, you may want to get a higher-end webcam and mic. They'll filter out noise (both video and audio) and make you look and sound better.
Cast yourself in a better light. "Shady" isn't an adjective that you want attached to your appearance. When half your face is in shadow, people have to work harder to see you. So, make sure that there is light pointing toward your face (no backlighting).
Look at the camera. In real life, you want to look people in the eyes when you're talking to them. If you try to look directly at anyone else's eyes in a video conference, it will seem like you are focused elsewhere. Look directly at the camera when you're talking, or when you want to appear attentive so that your gaze appears to be aimed directly at the other people on your call.
Simplify your surroundings. Too much clutter will detract from your appearance. People might pay more attention to the crumpled paper and junk mail around you than to the meeting. The good news is that you don't have to redecorate – just get your stuff out of camera range. Alternatively, you can use an appropriate virtual background (see the "Relish Your Brand" tip below).
Minimize ambient sound. It goes without saying if you're not talking, your device should be on mute. Beyond that, nobody can keep their dog from barking when the mail truck arrives. But you can set yourself up in a small room and close the door if your house tends to be on the noisier side. Likewise, make sure to silence anything electronic that can make noise (i.e., a smart speaker or phone ringer).
Look like the pro you are. Dress for a video call the way you’d dress for an in-person meeting. Sure, certain groups are likely to be more casual – and you wouldn’t want to look overly formal. But you don’t want to show up in pajamas or workout clothes either. We’ve heard that some people come to video conferences well-dressed only from the waist up. But what if you suddenly have to get up? Don’t take chances.
Get a preview. Log onto the videoconferencing system – but don't click "join the call" – about five to fifteen minutes before the meeting time. Check your camera position, lighting, look and virtual background (if you're using one). Make sure you know where the "share your screen" and mute buttons are. That way, when you do join the call, you won't give yourself or anyone else any surprises.
Relish your brand! We’ve said it many times before – your brand is more than just your logo and tagline. It’s everything that contributes to the visceral, emotional feeling people have about your business at every point of contact. That means that the look and feel of everyone representing your company should also reflect your brand. One easy way to do that on a videoconference is with a set of backgrounds that reinforce your brand. That way, everyone from your team can have their own virtual environment – but together, they communicate a unified look and feel.
Especially since video meetings are probably here to stay, now is a great time to make a few small changes and raise your presence to a higher level.
2020 Digital Marketing Trends – 3 to Follow Right Now.
As you look at whether your 2020 marketing needs a mid-year pivot, don’t forget about your digital marketing. As always, digital experiences – including your website, mobile user experience, social presence, blog and other digital content must be a critical component of your overall marketing strategy. And especially now, there are some compelling reasons to reexamine your marketing presence – and follow the 2020 digital marketing trends that will make a difference going forward.
We recently had a terrific discussion with our longtime partner, Jason Sirotin, co-founder and CMO at Brain Bytes Creative. In it, we tackled a lot of big ideas, including three 2020 digital marketing trends that smart businesses will want to follow:
- Digital Trend 1: Audio. "Hey Siri." "Okay Google." "Alexa." If you’ve uttered these phrases (or heard anyone else say them), you know: audio search is becoming more deeply embedded in the way people live and work. So, it stands to reason that audio content is going to matter. Right now, you get answers in the digital assistant's voice, based on text-based content. That's not going to change, especially with requests for quick facts. But increasingly, we can expect to hear answers directly from the experts. Which means that now is the time to start creating podcasts and other audio elements for your pages. That way, when people ask the right questions, you and your brand representatives will give them the answers.
- Digital Trend 2: Proximity and Location. You know that old real estate saying that the three most important things for any business are "Location, location, location?" Well, with everyone largely carrying their search devices around with them, search engines will favor results that are nearby. That doesn’t mean that you should pepper every other sentence of your online presence with your location(s) – Google will rightly see this as inauthentic. But you should make sure that search engines can easily recognize where your products and services are.
- Digital Trend 3: Your Most Important Location – Online. There’s another old saying, newer than the one about location: “If you’re not online, you don’t exist.” That’s never been truer – especially with brick and mortar businesses struggling in the wake of COVID-19. Increasingly, many of those businesses will reopen. But until consistent behaviors, treatments and a vaccine reduce the risks associated with face-to-face interaction, the ability to do business online is more critical than ever. Be sure that you give clients and customers the ability to do business with you without having to enter a building or engage face-to-face with staff. And make that experience as rich, full-featured and above all easy as possible.
Beyond those trends, two other important messages for marketers emerged repeatedly. First, as Jason says, “The work is never “done” (nor should it be).” Remember that digital marketing, like all marketing, is a marathon, not a sprint. So, yes, look at what has worked in the past, but focus on what will be necessary for the future. As Jason explained, “Google and the other search engines are continually learning and evolving. Your digital presence needs to do the same.” Google has been focusing on Expertise, Authority and Trustworthiness (EAT) since 2018. However, their most recent core update includes adjustments for relevance because what was authoritative and trustworthy last year may no longer be so today. Your content must come together as a continually updated, interconnected web of relevant information, reinforcing your authority and connections to others who trust you.
Second, do it right or don’t do it at all. A successful digital presence requires ongoing research to make sure your content matches the way people are searching. Jason recommends using tools like Google Keyword Planner, Serpfox and SEMRush. It’s also important to couple those tools with regular Google, Twitter and Instagram searches for terms, as well as searches of competitive and complementary sites (i.e., similar businesses in different industries). A clear-eyed interpretation of the data is essential to eliminate the problems of inherent bias. And while conducting this research isn't difficult, it is time-consuming.
In other words, effective digital marketing is something that your team probably can do, but there are good reasons to partner with experts – for advice and direction, if not for the continual work of content development. Either way, as 2020 shapes up to be a watershed year for many businesses and industries, now is a critical time to capitalize on the trends that will make a difference going forward.
And the Award for Best Pandemic Corporate Communications Goes To…
And the Award for Best Pandemic Corporate Communications Goes To…
How many times have you seen and heard it? “We’re Grateful for You.” “Here’s How We’re Putting Safety First.” And of course, “We’re All in This Together.” To say that most everyone’s COVID-19 communications are starting to sound alike is an understatement. However, we have noticed several powerful and creative examples of communications, some of which we want to share with you.
Some of the most compelling communications we’ve seen are simply expressions of empathy and gratitude.We loved the communications campaign developed by McCann Belgrade to highlight the heroism of healthcare professionals on the front lines of the pandemic. Their posters placed in public locations worldwide made the pressure marks left by their protective masks look more like the masks worn by superheroes.
Law firm Taylor English has been helping its clients, employees and partners to cut through the clutter of information and misinformation by publishing a daily roundup of the latest confirmed COVID-19 related updates. Consistency makes these updates such a strong example of excellent communication. They’re published daily – and are reinforced by more detailed reporting on the firm’s website. The content is fact-checked for accuracy and presented without bias. Together, these communications reinforce the firm’s brand identity as smart, responsive and trusted to deliver results.
Kuesel Consulting, a firm that supports accounting and professional services firm growth, offered a webinar in late March about business development amid crisis. The webinar included a clear-eyed look at the effects of COVID-19 on business development efforts and provided specific ways for companies to protect existing business, increase referrals, add value and build on brand equity. It coupled this valuable, un-salesy advice with additional value by enabling clients to earn CPE credit for attending. The webinar attracted more than 100 live participants and was recorded for later viewing.
Often, the best communications are expressed by tangible actions more than any specific communications vehicle. The Trader Joe’s grocery chain initiated safe practices for staff and shoppers early in the pandemic, providing masks for employees and disinfecting shopping carts upon return. They placed the brand’s signature flower at six-foot intervals on the floor at checkout to ensure safe distancing. The company also expanded paid sick-leave to encourage team members to stay home if they feel ill. The result was a combination of positive publicity in the media and reinforcement of its feel-good brand identity.
All of these communications accomplish direct communications goals – from brand reinforcement to audience engagement. And they do so in ways that cut through the clutter, sending the right messages to the right people at the right time.
Why You Need a Messaging Platform AND Training to Use It.
A Fun Exercise – and a Scary Scenario
The next time you have the opportunity to talk with your top employees, customers and vendors, ask them to describe your company and what distinguishes it in your markets.
Spoiler alert: In most cases, here’s what’s likely to happen:
- Ten different people will give you ten different answers.
- There will be some truth to each answer. Not all those truths will be the same.
- You will want to wince at some of the misconceptions and outdated perceptions you hear.
- You may, indeed, actually wince, but also think, “That’s probably close enough.”
- When you think about all the different answers, you'll recognize gaps between your expectations, your customers' perceptions and everyone's actual experiences.
- Those gaps will be bigger than you'd like.
- You will realize that “close enough” probably isn’t.
That lack of message consistency wouldn’t happen with your company, would it? Well, let’s just say we’ve seen it often enough to know that this scary scenario is very common – and there are two reasons why.
Scenario Reason 1: No Real Brand Messaging Platform
The first reason why most companies have too many gaps between corporate expectations, individual perceptions and real-world experiences is a lack of consistent messaging. They mistake their advertising headlines, taglines and other copy for messaging. And, while there can often be overlap, they aren’t the same thing.
Let’s look at it another way. You live and breathe your business every day, and you find so many components of it are interesting; you can talk and write about them all day. But your potential customers, consumers, partners, and even your employees have their own areas of interest and attention. What they think is most important to understand about your business may be different from what you think. And, without a common understanding, the scenario above is highly likely.
Your messaging platform is a set of strategically organized concepts and content that bring focus to the most important things that anyone should know about your business. Armed with that content, anyone should find it simple to communicate about your business in a way that keeps the focus where you want it. Indeed, if the platform content is on-target, virtually any formal, informal, written or verbal interaction should easily reinforce it.
Scenario Reason 2: Insufficient Training
Note, we say that with a powerful messaging platform, "anyone should find it simple to communicate…" and your communications “should easily reinforce…" But "should" isn’t the same thing as "will." Merely having a messaging platform doesn’t mean that you or your team will use it or use it appropriately. In fact, too many organizations invest in messaging, but neglect to include training as part of the deliverable. You’ve probably seen it happen: After a flurry of engaged energy, the team finally agrees on the messaging platform content. Everyone celebrates. And then the platform sits on a shelf, unused, practically forgotten. You might as well not have it at all.
Using your messaging platform as a communications guide and metric – for formal documents, advertising, emails, social posts, presentations, proposals, sales conversations and more – won’t be easy and intuitive at first. It takes practice to learn to frame your communications in terms of messaging. You have to get used to measuring what you write and say in the context of established messaging.
People are uncomfortable changing the way they've always done things. So, it helps to role-play scenarios with a messaging expert who can help people find the balance between their personal communication styles, the core messaging components and the overall brand.
Bottom Line: You Can Transform Scary into Sensational
When you have a clear, well supported messaging platform and your teams are both familiar with the platform’s content and comfortable with how to use it, some amazing things happen:
- Your communications become more consistent – without feeling unnaturally scripted.
- Your identity becomes entrenched among the people with whom you communicate.
- Reinforcing the company’s core messages will feel natural to team members.
- Team members will better understand and express what distinguishes your business.
- You'll hear far fewer outdated perceptions and misconceptions.
- Communications will go more smoothly.
- Gaps between your expectations and customer perceptions and experiences will shrink.
- Your audiences will ask more of the right questions.
- Those same audiences will be readier for and more receptive to what you have to say.
- You may even find yourself enjoying a competitive advantage.
Creating a great messaging platform and making sure your teams know how to use it usually requires time and money. But, the combination of the platform and well-trained team members can give your business an essential and valuable communications advantage, well worth the investment.
Trying to Envision the Right Content Strategy? Try These Content Lenses
You've got a website. You update it from time to time. You write blogs and post on social media. But guess what – when it comes to content, that's not enough anymore. To get your messages and information to the people you need to reach, you've got to have a content strategy. That is, you need a strategic combination of rich content that will help you engage with your audiences (including prospects, customers, influencers and even employees).
When you think of the different types of content you can provide to each audience, it helps to consider them through these three lenses:
- Lens #1: Your Sales Funnel: Different types of content will be helpful to the people you want to reach at each stage of their journey. In the early “Awareness” stage, you want to help them feel like they’re discovering you, even as you are reaching out to them. As they progress to the “Consideration” stage, you aim to support their evaluation process. Finally, as prospects become ready to make their decisions in the “Buy” stage, it’s time to reinforce their confidence, helping them feel secure that in choosing you, they’ve chosen wisely and well.
- Lens #2: Their Preferred Platform: Where do your audiences want to get different kinds of communications - at work, at home, or in transit? On their laptops, tablets or phones? Through a browser or a dedicated app? In some tangible, analog form like paper? When is it appropriate to reach out to them directly? And when should you streamline their ability to find you via a combination of search engine and social media optimization, as well as well-placed and timely advertising, articles, sponsorships, etc.
- Lens #3: Their Experience: Many of us like to believe that our buying decisions are based solely on objective information and logic. But the truth is that our subjective emotions factor significantly into all of our decisions. Your audience’s overall experience reflects both essential information and emotional connection – and the right content strategy meets them at multiple points along that objective-to-subjective continuum.
Look through all three lenses together, and you will see how the right strategic combination of content will help you reach all of your audiences:
- At every point in their journey
- Where and how they want
- In ways that touch them both objectively and emotionally.
In short, you’ll have a fully visualized content strategy to help you both connect with and guide everyone your business wants to influence and engage.
Thought Leadership: What it Is, Why it Matters, How to Achieve it.
What is Thought Leadership?
You recognize it when you see it. Sometimes, it’s a codified approach to your business that goes beyond “the way things have always been done.” Other times, it connects the dots of experience, information, trends and statistics in ways that demonstrate fresh perspectives. Almost always, thought leadership asks and explores important questions like, “Why?” and “What if?” And, it provides answers that are accessible, attractive and compelling.
Thought leadership matters to your audiences – whether they’re customers, prospects, job candidates, employees, colleagues or partners. That’s because thought leaders provide insights into their business and brands that can help them succeed. They clarify perspectives and help them make smart decisions. Likewise, when you are the source of that thought leadership, you have taken a giant step toward reinforcing your credibility as a trusted resource and authority.
Content Marketing is the Key
If a great idea is published and nobody reads it, it’s not really thought leadership. So, yes, you have to create great content. You also have to develop a compelling strategy for distributing that content where and how your audiences want it. Search engine optimization is part of the process. So is placement. Find the sites that your customers and potential customers frequent – and find ways to get mentioned there. Maybe you can work out a reciprocal blog arrangement. If your audiences spend time on key online user groups, you should be there, too.
Your distribution approach should also include ways to leverage your thought leadership across multiple media. Its first appearance may be in a whitepaper. But it could also be reframed as an entertaining infographic, video or interactive eBook. If you're interviewed for a podcast or article, those compelling concepts and insights should show up there, too. Put it all together, and you will inform, inspire and even entertain your audiences. You also will reinforce your position as a trusted authority and move toward achieving trust, buy-in and advocacy.
Could You Be a Thought Leader?
It’s a heady question. Think about your areas of expertise, passion and focus. Consider the big questions that your audiences are asking: Where is this industry going, and why? What are the internal and external forces behind critical changes? What conventional approaches no longer work – and what new ones do? Ask yourself what kinds of issues worry your customers – and how you can codify insights that help them.
Then, look at the different ways in which you should be sharing your perspectives. The best thought leadership resonates with people in different ways, from the rational to the emotional. And all of those ways are important as you help take people through multiple levels of awareness and enthusiasm.
Finally, remember that any new, innovative ideas will have to withstand challenges., consider the degree to which you’re willing and able to defend your ideas. Achieving the respect and authority that comes with recognized thought leadership doesn’t happen overnight. But the journey through developing and championing powerful approaches and innovative insights will be worth the effort.
Life at Relish: Travel Bucket List
With a hint of spring in the air, our thoughts are starting to turn to travel and adventure. The team here at Relish Marketing has a long list of destinations on our bucket list. Here are the places that we want to go for renewal and inspiration.
Alan
One destination on my (and my wife’s) bucket list is definitely Italy. More accurately, Venice and the Tuscan region. It’s a place I have always admired for its beauty and more importantly, its wonderful food. Being from New York, I have always loved going to Little Italy, and I really want to try the “real thing.”
CJ
When our children were growing up, we entered an au pair program (interestingly, on the advice of our friend, Pam Willoughby!). We’ve since dreamed of a big trip to visit them all in Turkey, Iceland, Switzerland, Germany, England, Norway, and Poland (although our Polish au pair now lives in the U.S.).
Jasmine
I love to travel, so there are many places on my list. The places I absolutely have to go to are: Egypt to see the pyramids and the temples. Bora Bora to be on an island far, far away and experience total relaxation in an overwater bungalow. Italy to indulge in pasta and wine while touring the cities and countryside. South Africa/Madagascar to soak up the culture and beautiful beaches.
Jennifer
Like many, my travel bucket list is very long. But, between the descriptions by a favorite author (Orhan Pamuk), memories of a dearly beloved Nancy Drew mystery (The Mysterious Mannequin), and the lure of the Bosporus Strait, Istanbul holds a place at the top of my list.
Kat
Ireland - I want to sketch inside as many castles as I can. Japan - Cherry blossoms in the spring. Please! South Africa - Kruger National Park. Singapore - Marina Bay Sands Hotel... look it up. Morocco - Sahara Desert meets Casablanca.
Mia
My bucket list is way too long to list, so I will share my next big international trip. My goal is to visit several locations in Thailand at the end of this year and several locations in Africa next year. Both are two big bucket list items.
Michael
My #1 travel destination is Palermo, Sicily (and the entire island in general). My grandfather immigrated to America from there when he was a boy in the 1890’s and I’ve always wanted to see where he and my family came from.
Pam
I have a very long bucket list for travel. First up is Budapest and Dubrovnik. I have had a thing for Scotland (kilts!) since I was a teenager, so I definitely want to travel there and possibly Ireland. I am also in conversation with a good friend about a trip to Bali or Thailand for a meditation/yoga retreat. The world is such a big place and I have seen so little of it.
Paul
There are 2 places that I’d love to visit. For 30 years, I’ve wanted to visit Thailand for its architectural and historic beauty, and for authentic Thai food. It also helps that, from what I hear, there are beautiful beaches! The other place is Paris, because it’s, well... Paris.