Your audiences are facing information overload.
News, content and advertising is coming at them from every angle. The political conversation is about to reach fever pitch with the election, and after that there will be holiday promotions, an inauguration and new world events taking center stage.
How do you stand out, connect with key stakeholders and continue to advance your agenda in this environment?
It’s nuanced, of course. But there are several guiding principles to keep in mind:
Take the time to evaluate: What truly needs to be communicated and accomplished in the next 180 days? This is not the time to say something that doesn’t really matter – you'll run the risk of being dismissed. Instead, build trust with stakeholders by sharing information that is directly relevant and newsworthy, or offering insights that add value to their personal or professional lives.
Once you’ve determined the message that must be shared, boil it down into its simplest, most authentic form. A crystal-clear message can slice through even the noisiest environment. If it’s too complicated, people will tune out.
News editors are masters at this. If you want to be inspired, scroll through some headlines and see how much of the story you can immediately understand from the few words of a headline. For example:
Simple. Clear. And immediately intriguing.
Center your message around a story. A story is your best communications tool. It allows audiences to instantly grasp the importance and complexity of your topic, with details that make the concept relatable. To borrow Malcolm Gladwell’s phrasing, a story will “stick” –and continue to resonate – long after someone has forgotten the finer points of your message.
Focus more on the reverberation than the communication tactic. Start with your goals for your audience – what action do you want them to take after hearing from you? Do you want them to endorse a piece of legislation, reconsider a position, or move down the sales funnel? Those goals will inform your communications strategy and may lead you to less common – but more effective – campaign tactics. They will also help you know how to create the right environment for your campaign, priming your audiences to hear and receive what you have to say.
Prioritize direct communication. You don’t want to be in competition with all the other messages flowing through mainstream and social media right now. While those are useful and valuable channels, directly engaging your audience through trusted voices and peer networks is likely to have more resonance in today’s environment.
Be ready for the response. Today’s communications environment is not just noisy – it's intense. New controversies seem to pop up every day. If your message touches on something politically or culturally divisive, take the time to think through potential backlash and develop mitigation strategies, with a plan to pivot in real time as needed.
Your audience’s attention is more fragmented than ever – and that’s why consistency is the heartbeat of any campaign. A clear, consistent and strategically targeted message will still resonate and drive action, no matter what the news cycle is like.