opinion...

never mind the podcasts

Whatever audience we as communicators are trying to reach, there is no shortage of channels. You might choose to deliver your message via traditional print, by electronic media or by using real-time messaging by text. You might also be looking at opportunities such as blogging and podcasting.

The challenge for all of us, then, is to decide which channels are most suitable for our messages. With so many available, there is a great temptation to throw ourselves into the new, to think because podcasting can be done, we should be doing it.

However, to communicate effectively, we need to take a more considered approach to channel choice and, in my opinion, that approach should be based on the following principles.

First, ask yourself, what will work for your audience? If you have a workforce that all use PCs, PC-based communication works well. But if large numbers of the people you want to reach spend most of their time in the field, it may not be viable. So, are you going to spend large sums on equipping your field-based team members with portable technology such as Blackberry, or will you concentrate on sending them the occasional vital message via SMS?

Second, look at the timing. If you need to talk to your audience about long-term strategy, print works very well, and, if it is done correctly, has gravitas and can be kept and referred to again. Print is less good, though, for short-term tactical communications.

Thirdly, think about the visual aspect of your communications. Print is great for pictures and graphics of all kinds, whereas there’s no point trying to send any detailed visual content by SMS. However, there can be a strong case for using hybrids, for example, alerting people to visuals posted on an intranet site.

Fourth, remember that different media get different levels of attention. People will, for example, see a text message as more ‘throwaway’ than a letter on headed paper signed by the chief executive.

This links to the next point, which is to ensure you are using whatever channel you choose to best effect by making it lively and interesting. With our own magazine at BAA, we help the audience to distinguish between different types of content ¬- a ‘leader’ page with key strategic messages, a back page for lighter material, so we don’t subject them to continuous hard slog. We take a similar approach to email communications, using different branding to flag up the really key messages about our business, as opposed to the ‘nice to know’ communications, say, about job title changes.

The one thing that has to underpin all your communications is trust, and this applies as much to the medium as the message. Trust takes a long time to build, and can be lost in a moment so, if you want people to read and remember your messages, you need to be consistent. So, for instance, if you keep on sending intranet links that don’t work, people will very quickly give up clicking on them.

So, just because something is groundbreaking, doesn’t necessarily make it right for your communication. That’s not to say that the newer media opportunities don’t have a place in a good communication strategy, but, whether you are using old or new media, the same key principles apply.