The three most common barriers to good digital comms
Digital communication is like going to the gym – everyone knows it’s really good for you, most want to be good at it, but many can’t seem to get there.
Digital content is a fantastic way to raise brand awareness, drive sales and establish thought leadership, to name but a few things. But many companies aren’t making the most of this vital tool.
In this piece, learn from a company which, in this instance, we’ll call Flashbang Foods. While this fictitious enterprise has its own quirks, Flashbang embodies the three main barriers to good digital communications.
Here’s a tip, don’t be like Flashbang…
High-quality content over any content
At any given moment there is a wealth of new digital content out there, so how do you get noticed? There are two primary ways to grab the attention: go against the grain, or outdo the competition by publishing better content. In either case, it starts with producing good content. Yes, it’s a cliché but that doesn’t mean it isn’t true.
For articles, it’s all about engaging storytelling and readability. Even search engine algorithms reward readability. Even the robots want engaging and easy to consume content. Effective storytelling flows over into video formats as well. For visual content like carousels and animations, attractive smart design will play a major role in appealing to audiences – core and new. Long story short, good content is about moving your audience to action and reaching them amid the white noise.
In the case of Flashbang Foods, they try neither: They know they shouldbe blogging regularly, curate a strong social media presence and capitalise on event coverage to place their people at the forefront of the industry. However, they think frequent posting trumps good posting. In fact, they think any post is good enough. We beg to differ.
Respect the craft
This is most often a problem for smaller companies, for obvious reasons. But did you know that only 35% of businesses have a dedicated content marketing lead or team?
Flashbang Foods is one of the 65% of businesses who don’t, but they know digital comms is extremely important. So, they did what many other small businesses in their position would do. They appointed an existing employee with no experience, interest or skills in the field, as Head of Social Media. They’re young, they surely know how to work Instagram, right? Box ticked? Nope.
We’re not gatekeeping, by the way. We just think it’s fair that if you’re given such a demanding and significant responsibility (trust us, we know) that it’s not as an add-on to existing job remits.
Looking ahead, at least a little bit
A content strategy has many benefits. To name a few, it ensures:
Everyone is on the same page
Published content supports your business goals
You can measure return on investment more accurately
Consistency
What often kills the development of a strong, well-thought-out content strategy in big businesses is other members of staff (usually outside the comms team).
Various department heads and team leaders will often try to jump to the front of the content queue, in essence transforming a meticulously planned calendar into a short-term to-do list for ad hoc requests. Not ideal.
For small businesses, the killer is more likely lack of experience and resources. In an overwhelming world of digital content, it’s also far too easy to want to do it all. Get more followers, drive engagement, create more leads, improve click-through rates, and all the rest too!
Flashbang Foods falls into this trap and swings from one goal to the next with very little foresight.
For example, what if the CEO decided to launch an end-of-season sales campaign at 11pm by posting a self-made social media card?
What if that card clashed with the company’s visual identity and the announcement disrupted an ongoing campaign?
There are more barriers than these, and some will be easier to address than others. However my advice would be to take a bit of time to think about the following: In a world where almost anything is possible, what do you actually want to do? What are you equipped to do realistically? And do you have the skills in your team to get you there?
Foresight coupled with planning and preparation is almost certain to improve your return on investment. If you’re going to take the plunge into digital content, don’t just do it for the sake of doing it. Do it well.