Written by Linda Hamman
If your internal comms isn't sticking, here are the top eight reasons you should investigate:
- The method of conveying the information isn’t suited to your audience consumption preferences – if you can’t reach them or you can’t even get them open the message because the headline isn’t working – failed mission
- Nope one size doesn’t fit all – if you’re doing a ‘spray and pray’ you might get eyeballs but not engagement. If the audience you’re addressing your communication to can’t find the relevance – it won’t stick
- You’re competing against a myriad of sensational, graphic rich, topical or even trending (read sticky) information from hundreds of sources – is that a memo in aerial (worse still times roman) you have there??
- Is the message meaningful – does it matter to the reader? Is there a clear PURPOSE to the message being conveyed?
- Great graphics, great interesting content – what must I do now that I’ve read it. Is the call to action obvious or concealed and hidden by a thousand inconsequential words?
- Can the audience make a direct correlation to how this will impact their function if not their function but take them one step closer to reaching the company’s business imperatives
- Does your message have heart? Given the fact that you are dealing with human’s it can’t just be a list of instructions, provide context, give it soul tell a story, add in some spice with an analogy or two
- Are you communicating frequently enough? The passing of time is bound to create a gap in understanding – trying to remember the beginning of the story if you heard it a while ago is difficult and this takes the middle of the story out of context, losing the meaning and stickiness
For a message to stick, your audience must:
- Focus
- Understand
- Believe
- Remember
- Care
- Act
That's not easy to do... which is why you need to Talk2Us. We'll take you through the communication ecosystem; from the one-liner link on social media to your intensive messaging platforms like blogs, vlogs, and journals; and then follow up with consistent messaging that sticks.
Here is what we help you do...
- Focus - get attention focused immediately on what your message must achieve
- Understand- keep it simple, sexy, significant
- Believe - make the message credible, no question
- Remember - make it memorable for ultimate stickiness
- Care - tug at the heart of the reader; people remember emotions not words
- Action - be clear on the action you want them to take
Communicators striving for stickiness should be viewing their message efficacy often, and with a critical eye.
But first, take the Talk2Us Stickiness Health Check to see what needs improving. For the stickiness Health Check, click here. The scoresheet can be downloaded here.