The time has come

Another term -- the final term -- has run its course. I hope this is not my last entry on this blog, but I will most likely not maintain such a regular schedule going forward. I hope readers have found the information enlightening, engaging and interesting. The value of effective, strategic communication should not be ignored; yet most people and companies take it for granted. I hope to help change that perspective.

I am thankful for the experience and opportunity I have received in retail merchandising execution field, but I am more than ready to return to the communications field. That being said, if there happen to be any companies in need of a professional communicator who has two decades of experiences to complement a Master's of Science degree in Strategic Communication, please feel free to leave me a note. I will respond quickly. Very quickly.

What have you done for me lately?

A fundamental mistake. It is a mistake a lot of people make, especially in the business world. Well-meaning, hard-working people do it all the time. I am guilty of it, especially in the past with regards to my professional communications experience.

People do not seek the credit for their work as much as they should. “My work speaks for itself.” “They know what I do/contribute/add to the business.”

While the importance was not as obvious when I started out in the communications field, I see it much clearer today in the retail world. If you want people to acknowledge your contributions or give yourself ammunition for a pay raise/promotion, you have to make sure they know what you have done and how that contribution benefits the entire company.

You cannot just let your work speak for itself.

In the communications field, that means making use of research and evaluation tools to not only show the impact of a particular program, but to also put it into context of the overall goal/mission of the organization you are working for – justify the resources you have used and the ones you will need in the future.

Before you start a communications campaign of any kind, you need to understand where you currently stand. What is the perception of your company? Who are the people or audiences you are trying to reach? If you cannot clearly identify your starting point, you will be unable to determine how far you have “moved the needle” toward your overall goal. How do you increase favorable impressions of customers by 25% if you do not have any idea where you stand at the beginning of your campaign?

It may seem obvious and pure common sense to establish a starting point, but there is always pressure to begin delivering results as soon as you can – in any job. Any practitioner is going to want to demonstrate their worth and justify the faith their employer has shown by giving them a job. But there needs to be a measured, methodical process through which not only is a starting point identified, but a means of measuring the impact of any effort made as part of a strategic communication program.

While most of what I have covered to this point is in reference to hard, tangible numbers, a strategic communicator needs to weave in the intangible aspects, too. You can tell a pretty straightforward story with hard numbers, but identifying the intangibles helps to flesh out the context of overall environment in which these hard numbers were achieved. An increase of new donors to a foundation by X% is great, but the ability to achieve that during an economic downturn while closing 15% your company’s manufacturing facilities puts it into a slightly more impressive context.

I noted in one of my course assignments that as communicators, we are essentially storytellers. We weave a particular tale (hopefully nonfiction!) for particular audiences with a desired outcome as a goal. If our story is told to the wrong group, we fail. If our story is boring and no one cares, we fail. If our story is just the bare bones facts, we will not be as successful as the storyteller who can paint a rich, full, vibrant story that not only captures the imaginations of those we are hoping to influence (sales, regulators, etc.) but also inspires others who hear our story to reach further/try more/invest themselves (employees, supporters, etc.).

Have I lost you yet? What I’m saying is that we – as strategic communicators – need to use formative research to define the scope and goals of any communication program or campaign. We need to include process research to gauge the implementation success of any campaign or program. And finally, we need to use summaritive research to measure the outcomes of a program/campaign.

The final step is to put that information in the hands of our employers/supervisors as a means of demonstrating what the impact of a strategic communications program has been able to achieve: celebrate the runaway wins, identify the opportunities to improve, and make recommendations for new efforts in the future or new directions to pursue with additional resources.

Some will recognize your work. Most are too busy trying to achieve their own goals, they may not fully understand the contributions you or your team has made unless you clearly point it out to them. This is the step people fail to make. Pride may be one of the Seven Deadly Sins, it is not just “pride” when you are announce the contributions your efforts as a communicator have made toward the overall success of your organization is not a sin – it’s a necessity in a business environment that takes more of “what have you done for me lately” view of those who consume resources.

About the Author: David is a dedicated husband and proud father of a strapping almost fifteen year-old son and twin five and a half year-old daughters. He has twenty years of professional communication experience, working in the public relations field and six years of professional merchandising experience with the world's largest home improvement retailer. He has worked for public relations firms in Metro Detroit, hospitals and a state-wide faith-based social service organization helping at-risk children and their families. He holds a Bachelor degree from Michigan State University and has just completed his Masters program in Strategic Communication at Troy University. He grew up on a mid-sized Michigan blueberry farm, spent two years in Texas and now resides with his family outside Tampa, Florida. An avid reader and photographer, David also enjoys building furniture using recycled/upcycled wooden pallets.

Internal & External: It's all communication

One of the main focuses of our readings this week in my Troy University class was internal communication.  In many organizations, there is a clear distinction between internal and external communications. Internal is usually seen as employee newsletters, and packaging information for the executive suite to aid in the roll out of new initiatives or programs. External is the “sexier” side, dealing with community relations, media relations and a variety of publications designed for external stakeholder groups.

Making an assumption the two “sides” operate independently of each other or can be directed in a vacuum is a mindset the strategic communicator must strive to change.

In 1996, I was hired to direct the internal communication efforts of a faith-based child care and family reunification agency in Michigan. Within three weeks of joining the company, I was thrust into the forefront of a media relations maelstrom, pitting the agency and its clients against concerned neighbors surrounding two different residential facilities where juveniles in the care of our agency “escaped” and stole cars from residents.

While I was focused on learning the internal culture of the agency, I was hardly prepared to serve as the spokesperson for the entire agency about events I had little or no knowledge about the sites around the state of Michigan. “Trial by fire” was the term used repeatedly by members of the management staff and regional directors of the agency in the weeks that followed.

That experience is when I learned how little the field of communication is understood by management in general and how my role – regardless of whether it was called “internal” or “external” needed to be comprehensive. In 1938, Chester Barnard wrote in his book The Functions of the Executive “The first executive function is to develop and maintain a system of communication.” (page 226)

By 1996, that sage advice seemed to have been forgotten or misunderstood. The strategic communicator of today needs to be keenly aware of how all the components of an organization’s communication plan – marketing, sales, community outreach, political action, etc. – fit into a strategic, comprehensive program. Without that vision or knowledge, there is almost a guarantee for wasted resources, counter-productive efforts and frustration at all levels of an organization.

Internal communication is a key component for any company or client because it is where management has the opportunity – no, the responsibility – to keep one of their largest key publics (employees) informed about the goals, direction, and status of the company for which they work. As noted by Parsons and Urbanski (2012), the structure and internal culture of a company will be a key factor in the effectiveness of internal communication efforts.

I served as Director of Communications – responsible for both internal and external communication efforts – for the next 11 years, until the overall economy began its decline in 2007, proving the findings by Garnett (1997) and Sweetland (2008) that management tend to devalue communication’s importance, resulting in early elimination of communication positions during budget cuts or financial hardships.

Prior to joining the child care agency, I was the public relations manager at a hospital in Metro Detroit, responsible for their internal communications. One of the largest parts of my job at the hospital was the production of a weekly newsletter, Friday, designed to keep not only the employees at the hospital informed about the programs, Mission and happenings at the main campus, but to also make the 23 ancillary facilities around the metropolitan area see themselves as part of the team, not off-site step children. With the help of a very talented graphics designer, I redesigned the publication and won Newsletter of the Year designation from the Michigan Hospital Communicators Association (1995).

Specifically as it relates to public relations, there continues to be a gap between public relations theories and public relations practices (Cheng and de Gregario, 2008; Okay & Okay, 2008) that will not be corrected until strategic communicators take direct, demonstrable efforts to show the value of a comprehensive, strategic communications plan that not only supports the goals of the company, but can stand on its own, with demonstrable outcomes justifying the resources required to successfully operate such a critical function of every executive.

Follow Up Note: The media relations fiasco noted above was not only successfully managed, but helped to create two independent community action groups made up of citizens, elected officials and agency management persons to identify opportunities for improved safety as well as strengthen community relations, an effort hailed by all involved as productive and successful for the entire tenure of this communicator’s position with the agency.

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About the Author: David is a dedicated husband and proud father of a strapping fourteen year-old son and twin five year-old daughters. He has twenty years of professional communication experience, working in the public relations field. He has worked for public relations firms in Metro Detroit, hospitals and a state-wide faith-based social service organization helping at-risk children and their families. He grew up on a mid-sized Michigan blueberry farm, spent two years in Texas and now resides with his family outside Tampa, Florida. An avid reader and photographer, David also enjoys building furniture using recycled/upcycled wooden pallets.

Social Media Networks: Get used to them

My post last week about the diffusion of innovations offers a great gateway to my post today about social media networks.

Social media – defined as “media for social interaction, using highly accessible and scalable publishing techniques [and] web-based technologies to transform and broadcast media monologues into social media dialogues” by Wikipedia and these networks are changing the communication landscape for communicators in all areas.

Who has not heard of Facebook? Twitter? YouTube? In one of my readings this week, dated 2013, Facebook was credited with having more than 1 billion active users – there are only 319 million people in the United States! While I do not have a specific number for Facebook in terms of United States users, I think it is probably safe to say we are past “Innovators,” “Early Adopters,” and possibly through “Early Majority” to the “Late Majority” in the Diffusion of Innovations classifications in terms of how Facebook alone has permeated the United States daily life. Even my 71 year-old mother recently asked my wife to help her “set up the Facebook” on her computer. And this social media phenomenon is not going away any time soon.

But what does that mean for strategic communicators? It means that these communicators have to realize there are great opportunities as well as great risks through the use of social media networks. The opportunity is to make personal, direct, real-time connections – relationships – with a wide array of stakeholders: customers, stockholders, employees, regulators, general public, detractors, and even competitors.

But opening those gates of access can be akin to opening Pandora’s Box – though the use of social media networks, there is the potential for tremendous harm. If a company is not using social media networks – or at least monitoring them – there may be complaints, negative information, videos, photos, etc. circulating on the internet damaging the organization’s credibility and image without the company even being aware of it. Granted, they may not be able to remove the information, but if it circulates without even being addressed by the company, the silence could be perceived as an admission the information is accurate.

In an article by Soumitra Dutta that appeared in the Harvard Business Review (2010), the author provides a great discussion of how individuals can develop their own personal media strategy. Careful consideration should be given to what the goals are of being on social media networks, which networks are most appropriately suited for achieving the goals, etc.

Veteran internet marketer Adam DeGraide also wrote an insightful article that appeared in the marketing trade journal Rough Notes (2013) about choosing what social media network(s) to focus on, where spending time will result in the most ‘bang for the buck.”

A word or two of caution, though. As with any component of an overall strategic communication plan, careful consideration and investigation should be employed to determine not only which social media networks to use, but what the goal of that use is. Some social media networks may not be ones your particular stakeholders (customers, shareholders, employees, regulators, etc.) utilize, so occasional monitoring may be sufficient. Some networks like Facebook and Twitter may require active, daily participation – both monitoring as well as posting/responding.

While it may seem logical that this type of activity falls under the purview of the Senior Communications Manager, there may be more benefit by having members of the senior management team (President, Chairman, CEO, COO, CFO, etc.) maintain a presence on the various social media networks.

A particular area of concern for any company is photos and videos going viral on the internet. Social media networks like YouTube, Tumblr, Flickr and Instragram are closely linked with static images or photos and videos. For a time “planking” was all the rage on YouTube, but when it started showing up on employees’ personal Facebook accounts, demonstrating safety standards were being ignored, companies like The Home Depot issued communiqués reminding employees purposely ignoring safety standards and standard operating procedures was a major work rule violation and could result in discipline up to and including termination of employment.

Kevin Allocca, Trends Manager for YouTube said during a TEDYouth Talk video that what makes a video go viral is usually a result of three things: Tastemakers, Communities of Participation and Unexpectedness. Essentially, a video can be posted today and receive no notice or views for months, but all it takes is someone mentioning it, like a Jimmy Fallon, Jay Leno, etc. to bring attention to the video. That attention can turn into communities of participation (people “sharing” the video) among all their friends, etc.

Again, what does that mean for strategic communicators? That means that today’s harmless, meant-to-be-funny video posted by an employee could turn into tomorrow’s crisis media relations event because the video showcased workers ignoring safety practices, or putting customers in harm’s way, or conveying an attitude, bias or stereotype that is not consistent with  the corporate public image.

The bottom line is this: The traditional mediums of print (newspapers, magazines, brochures, flyers) and broadcast (television, radio) are now competing with digital media channels like websites, blogs, social media networks and podcasts. And it is the savvy strategic communicator who incorporates all the various mediums to work in concert to successfully achieve the communication goals for an organization or client.

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About the Author: David is a dedicated husband and proud father of a strapping fourteen year-old son and twin five year-old daughters. He has twenty years of professional communication experience, working in the public relations field. He has worked for public relations firms in Metro Detroit, hospitals and a state-wide faith-based social service organization helping at-risk children and their families. He grew up on a mid-sized Michigan blueberry farm, spent two years in Texas and now resides with his family outside Tampa, Florida. An avid reader and photographer, David also enjoys building furniture using recycled/upcycled wooden pallets.

What the future holds

Well, this has certainly been quite a learning experience for me. While I have blogged before -- since 2005 -- this blog is my first attempt at providing actual information people might use or learn from about new technology, new media and how it impacts the world of communication.

One of the most interesting things I have learned is about media convergence. How print media, broadcast media and social media have started to converge and blur the lines between what were very separate media segments only 3-5 years ago. And while the event was horrific, it was a stunning example of exactly what we were talking about when the Boston Marathon bombing happened and we all got to see how social media (Facebook, Twitter, etc.) was combined with traditional print media as well as broadcast media to first make people aware of the bombings, the impact and aftermath of the bombings, the identification of the bombing suspects and the eventual capture of the last remaining suspect -- all in a span of five days.

The other interesting topic I learned about was crowdsourcing. I think it was most interesting because it was something I was already doing on my Facebook page and just didn't know it had an actual name for it.

But, as the saying goes, all good things come to an end. Or, in this case, to a more relaxed schedule. I may not be posting on a weekly basis moving forward, but I do plan to keep this blog up and active. I have a feeling it may become a class requirement in future courses (especially if I have the same instructor), so rather than reinvent the wheel, so to speak, I will maintain this site and update it less frequently.

I would like to think all the readers who have stopped and checked out my blog and even if you didn't leave a comment, I appreciate your time and consideration.

Blogging: Get on-board or be left at the station

While looking at a lot of the current and recent research connected to social media -- specifically blogging -- as a cutting edge communication tool, it has become pretty clear there are some simple truths to be noted:

1)      Internet use continues to increase around the globe, even in less technologically developed countries. While the access method may be changing (desktop computer, laptop computer, tablet, smartphone, etc.), more and more people are being “connected” to the Internet.

2)      Blogging continues to rise as a tool for information dissemination, whether it is being done by companies, public relations practitioners, journalists or “citizen journalists.”

3)      Those who are embracing the use of social media as a means of making more customized, meaningful connections (or relationships) with various audience segments are potentially able to strengthen their branding efforts.

Internet Use

As noted in a recent quarterly update for Internet service providers, Internet use/growth is expected to continue even in the United States by 3% annually through 2017. Growth will be much higher in less developed regions. While the method of access might continue to evolve, the bottom line remains the same: People continue to use the Internet more and more, whether it is via a desktop computer, a laptop computer, a smartphone or a tablet device. Being accessible via the Internet should remain a critical component of any company’s comprehensive strategic communication program.

As the Baby Boomer generation ages, use of the Internet by “older” groups continues to grow. Younger generations have grown up with the technology, so it is doubtful their use will diminish. Rather, the tech-savvy generations may become more discriminating in their sources of information.

Blogging

As a format for sharing information, connecting with customers, or demonstrating an area of expertise in a particular field, weblogs continue to grow. As noted in my previous blog entries, “citizen journalists” use blogs to drawn attention to issues not covered by mainstream media or from a slightly different perspective than the same stories that are covered by mainstream media.

Credibility continues to be an issue for bloggers. The ability to demonstrate support, proof and reasoned commentary through the use of blogs will be increasingly important to those who desire to be professional and successful bloggers. Journalists often maintain supplemental blogs in addition to their published works on either broadcast or print media, helping to solidify the overall credibility of blogs.

Journalists aren’t the only ones using blogs. Companies use social media like blogging to build their brands. According to Richard Honack, lecturer of executive programs at Northwestern University's Kellogg School of Management "social networks do not sell product, do not sell services, they sell brands, they are brand builders."

Even leading communication/journalism educators, helping prepare future practitioners to be well-rounded, diversified strategic communicators are incorporating ongoing blogs to be part of the student’s coursework.

Branding

Branding is not a new concept. Building and strengthening a brand via the Internet is becoming much more important. The basic building blocks of branding online are the same, essentially, as off. The Internet merely allows these traditional functions to happen at greater speed and with increased need for responsiveness by the companies looking to establish and build their brands.

As noted in a great introduction to using the Internet as a branding tool from 2007, to build a brand a company needs to understand its customers. What motivates them, what attracts them, what turns them off. A company needs to utilize a full spectrum of marketing communication channels and techniques to gain insight and have interaction with their current, past and future customers. And finally, the content supplied by these companies has to have value.

Information supplied and collected via use of the Internet moves at a much faster pace than branding efforts in a traditional marketing branding model. Social media like Facebook, Twitter and even blogging allows companies to establish direct connections with potential, current and former customers in nearly real time, allowing for a deeper, more personal connection between the consumer and the brand.

What does it all mean?

Simply put, the Internet and use of blogs will continue to grow as a highly targeted interactive communication vehicle, enabling communicators – regardless of their professional capacity – with an opportunity to establish and build brand awareness and loyalty for their business endeavors or clients. The savvy communicator needs to recognize this opportunity and get on-board with this developing technology in order to remain relevant in the marketplace. The alternative is that you will be left behind.

Sources:

Internet service providers - quarterly update 4/15/2013. (2013). (). Austin, United States, Austin: Hoover's Inc. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/1341267270?accountid=38769

"Put yourself in the Spotlight; Evolving your brand means evolving your marketing. All signs point to social media as the way to go. Just ask broker-turned-marketing-guru Ryan Hanley." Employee Benefit Adviser 1 May 2013: 24. General OneFile. Web. 5 May 2013.

Simmons, G. J. (2007). "i-branding": Developing the internet as a branding tool. Marketing Intelligence & Planning, 25(6), 544-562. doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/02634500710819932