Communications is the buzz word for business – small, medium and BRW 500 – but what does it mean?

I once worked for a start-up team of paranormal investigators wanting to run public night tours, but couldn’t understand why there was so little interest in their product. They’d done everything right; advertised, sent press releases, got onto social media and built a website.

Problem was they’d built their profile around the words “paranormal investigators”…when, in fact, people were searching for the better known term “ghost hunters”. A simple change in the way they communicated meant droves of excitable spook spotters with EMF metres paying for midnight jaunts in old, cold, dusty places.

For any business, the ability to clearly communicate your message is essential.

While the term “communications” is a relatively new concept, variations on the method have been around for decades, if not centuries. In its simplest form, “communications” means telling your intended audience your message in a way that they will see it, hear it, talk about it and remember it.

The introduction of digital and social media has meant a fundamental shift in the way businesses communicate, both internally and externally. In the past, external communications meant building a profile via print media (newspapers and magazines); now, many businesses use print in parallel with websites and social media. In the past, internal communication was a paper newsletter and distributed to the tea room or shop floor; today, it’s via an email list with key messages repeated using a Facebook account.

In addition, we’ve waved goodbye to the “old days” of one-tells-many – loud, shouty advertising men and women telling you what you should buy, think, do and how to live your life.

Now, everyone is a broadcaster thanks to the internet; you, me, the postman and even the postman’s dog is posting on Facebook or Insta-ing their followers regularly.

Now, communications are a two-way dialogue.

For business, this means exciting opportunities to build your brand or interact with your workforce. On the flip side, it also means that bad reviews about your brand or service travels like wildfire.

So, it’s probably a good idea to have a communications strategy – to speak, to listen, to pre-empt and to react if necessary.

How can a communications strategy help my business?

A successful communications strategy will help your business grow.

This may be growth in terms of products sold or services hired (external communications) or having a well-informed, and happier, workforce (internal communications). It can also help your business handle a change within its structure (change communication).

However, to be successful, your communications strategy must be effective.

There are millions of stagnant websites, unused social media accounts and company newsletters that started well but found a permanent position in the “To Do” file. We’ve all had experience of these, the detritus of a well-intentioned communications strategy.

However, the message you need to tell your audience will not remain static; it will be an ever-changing and ever-challenging entity…much like your business.

Therefore, an effective strategy must be assigned the resources for ongoing execution. There is simply no point in establishing a communications strategy unless you follow it!

Why is ongoing communication important?

Our society is full of information; our online world is a fast-moving, ever-shifting repository of information; some of it useful, some of it useless, a lot of it boring.

A successful strategy should reiterate your message at regular intervals, keep you in touch, establish your brand and pre-empt what your audience wants to hear next.

Ongoing communication will establish your brand, build your profile, make your message clear and give you a reputation for being open and approachable…a trustworthy business.

How do I create an effective communications strategy?

A communications strategy should be built following careful consultation with stakeholders (staff, clients etc) and asking the right questions. What is the aim of the communication strategy? Who is the intended audience? What message do you want them to receive? How will it help your business grow and how will its success be measured?

But the key question is “What is the content?”

Great content is essential. It’s non-negotiable.

Your content should be clear and engaging, concise and interesting, and in line with your overarching corporate message. It should speak directly to your intended audience and it should be given at strategic intervals; no information overload, no too little too late.

In fact, I rate great content so highly, that I believe it’s the cornerstone on which your successful and effective communications strategy should be built.

Yes, but what strategies should I be thinking about?

I think it’s fair to say that we can expect business communications to be exclusively online as the younger, more tech-savvy generations grow up (“A printed newspaper? What’s that look like then?”).

But for now, the old and new strategies happily coexist – paper newsletters with key messages reiterated on Facebook, social networking events with social media live updates.

Your strategy might consider any (or all) of the following:

Newsletters – paper for the tearoom, email for a bigger audience

Social Media – regularly updated business account with Facebook, Twitter or Google +

Press releases – publicity for running an event, winning an award for example

Magazine features – industry, business, popular reading

Blogs – it’s amazing how interesting the behind-the-scenes business can be!

Event live updates – ghost hunting via Facebook created unbelievable interest in the product

Videos – short, sharp promotional videos or slideshows are great for visual promotion

Networking – yes, pressing the flesh and handing out cards is important!

Awards – entering your local business awards can help boost your profile (especially if you win!)

Sure, there’s a lot to think about here. But there’s also a lot to be gained by having an effective communications strategy for your business.

And remember, this is the future…and you’ve tasted it.