Setting Up Your Communication Channels for an Effective Strategy
In the digital age, technology has enabled plenty of communication channels that brands can choose from. It becomes easy for businesses to get overwhelmed by the effort needed to have an effective communication strategy.
By going for a combination of channels, businesses can send their messages and are being well received by the widest possible audience.
It might be tempting to use all possible communications channels, businesses would benefit from a more strategic and mindful approach.
Know Your Audience
The first and most important step in planning a successful communications campaign is understanding exactly who the target audience is.
Questions to ask:
- How old is the target audience?
- Where channels do they use for communication?
- What is their preferred method of receiving messages?
For example, if a younger target audience is highly responsive via social media.
Another aspect for businesses to consider is whether the target audience represents current customers or people they’re trying to convert into customers. Existing customers are already familiar with the brand and will listen to the message quite differently than people who don’t know who you are.
Tailor Your Message
The next natural step to planning an effective communications campaign is to consider how you want to shape the message you want to send.
Questions to ask:
- Are you sharing information about a new product or service?
- Do you want to share company news?
- Is the purpose of your message to inform or incite a specific action?
Businesses should always consider the nature of their message before determining which communication channel would be the best fit.
What Do You Want to Achieve
After you’ve considered your audience and the type of message you want to send, you also need to know what you want to accomplish your communication.
Questions to ask:
- What is the goal of the specific communication campaign?
- What action do you want customers to take?
- Do we want them to buy something?
- Do we want them to start a conversation around our brand?
- Is this closer related to customer service?
For example, if you want to generate engagement and grab the attention around a new product, social media might be the best channel. If you aim to address existing customers, email or direct mail might be a better channel.
Regardless of what you aim to achieve, ensure you can monitor and analyse it so that you can measure the success of your campaign and improve for future campaigns.
