Over the last two years, as I have worked with or talked to organisations wanting to build their brand on the digital mediums, it’s become clear that while they want to pivot their communication efforts, putting story and people at the centre, they are not very equipped to do so.
Most company pages look like bulletin boards, a static display of the big and small events being conducted, promotional offers and sales, announcements of congratulations and goodbyes.
And just like old-school bulletin boards, they do not warrant more than a cursory glance.
But people online do not want to look at this board, no matter how pretty. They want to listen in, sitting in the classrooms and the staff rooms, learning, gossiping, and joshing around, figuratively speaking.
How do you bring these stories out?
How can you make an employee spotlight valuable or a campaign be more?
What is the angle? What is the hook? Why is it relevant or how do you make it so? When do you decide to put something out or conceal it?
These are the questions that must be asked when devising content and communication strategies today. This requires not just a marketing skill, but a journalistic one – developing the craft of knowing what is going to click with a reader, and how to pool varying data points into a cohesive narrative.
I have been seeing a lot of internal journalist roles doing the rounds, and starting today I will talk more about why organisations need to consider hiring for one.
Ultimately, it is this journalistic expertise (or keeda, as I like to call it) which will help them adapt to operating like a media company, because let’s face it, they are all one today.