Have you heard any of this in your office?… “We need a blog.” “We should be on You Tube.” “Social networking is something we want to be a part of.” “We have to get on Twitter.”
The Tanner Friedman team hears comments like those all the time now. Just last week, I met with an impressive entrepreneurial company. They have a blog. They participate in social networks within their industry. They are as tech savvy as they can be. But they don’t feel like they are communicating well. Why?
This company, like many others, knows the “new media” tactics. But, their tactics are in search of a strategy. They don’t know why they are using these new tools, other than “it’s what everybody is doing.” They don’t have a clear and consistent message to incorporate across these platforms. They know what they should be doing, but they don’t yet know what they should be saying. That means all of the blog postings and networking “adds” won’t help them reach their business objectives and fall short of ROI expectations.
Our advice is to make sure your communications strategy is solid, before you decide how to communicate. Determine your story and your messages up front, then determine how to deliver them. Just because there are more communications vehicles than ever doesn’t mean you should stray from important fundamentals.
As an example, Tanner Friedman is trying to lead the way for our clients beyond this blog. We have a You Tube channel up and running to show some of our stories and help some of our clients evolve their communications capabilities, taking advantage of a powerful medium – online video. It’s all a part of extending our strategies of client service and leadership in blending “the old” and “the new.”