Why your internal communication needs to get MUCH more personal.
Algorithms are a lot like wigs – you only notice them when they’re really bad.
And to stretch this decidedly dodgy algorithm/wig metaphor even more thinly, when they good, they’re seamless. And a perfect fit.
All of which has made life much more difficult for internal communicators. Because with audiences increasingly accustomed to personalisation and algorithm-driven curation, it’s truer than ever that trying to appeal to everyone means you appeal to no-one.
We get it. Going niche can feel counterintuitive when you’re under pressure to shout to as many people as possible. But our audiences’ lives outside the workplace have made them so expert at speedily editing out the irrelevant, that it’s time for us to step up and learn new, improved ways of connecting.
Hit them with the good stuff
Every communicator has a first hurdle to clear: to get noticed by your audience.
And whether it’s through humour, friendliness, inspiration or education, getting noticed starts by demonstrating that you understand exactly who you’re talking to. In the split second you have to grab them, your audience is scanning to see what problem you’re solving for them or how you can get them what they want. In short, they’re looking for relevance. We’ve all learned that our eyeballs and attention have value and we’re not prepared to give it unless we’re clear it’s going to be worth our while.
One size fits no-one
If you don’t already know the story of how the US Air Force discovered that one size fits no-one for themselves, read about it in brief here, (it’s a piece that applies the thinking to education, but you’ll get the gist).
It’s a pleasant tale, beloved of people writing articles about creative thinking – but what’s this story of cockpits and seatbelts got to do with the way you communicate with employees and candidates? Not to mention your workforce and potential employees?
OK. Here’s a familiar scenario: you’ve been asked to send out an update to 1,000 people. You pull together an email, perhaps, or an intranet article. It’s signed off and, at the tap of a button, you fire it out to all 1,000 folk. Instant blanket coverage. Job done. But have you really thought about who you’re talking to? What if 900 of those 1,000 aren’t affected by the update? Sure, maybe they needed to know the headline but if it's only of passing interest to them, here’s how it might land: they’re busy, slightly stressed, and now you’ve interrupted them with yet another ping in the inbox that’s turned out to be less than relevant. What happens next time they see your name or function in their inbox? A jab of irritation? A half-subconscious decision to scroll past without opening?
Their 100 colleagues on the other hand, are directly impacted by this change. But they’re getting a jab of irritation too. Because for them, the message doesn’t have enough information. In your attempt to hit the middle ground for everyone, you’ve left this group baffled about the reasons behind the change and the details of how it’s going to affect them. It’s a scenario we see all the time. People get so wrapped up in what they feel they need to put out there, that they forget to really think about who they’re saying it to. The sweet spot comes when we remember that communication is a two-way street. It comes when we balance what we need to say with what our audiences need from us.
Permission to think differently
There are lots of reasons organisations continue to play it safe when it comes to communicating.
Let’s imagine that update you sent out is now a campaign about employee rewards and benefits.
You feel hidebound by the complexity of the subject matter, acutely aware that you’re working in a fairly traditional business, where trust and professionalism is important, and the board members have been managing some tricky initiatives, so they’re keen to avoid ruffling any more feathers. At first, you might enthusiastically pitch a few innovative campaign ideas. But after getting repeatedly knocked back, you begin to play it safe. Do you really need a reputation for pushing the boundaries – especially when you’ve got a mortgage to pay? So, you rinse and repeat. Everything begins to look and sound the same. It’s safe, it’s boring and... it’s ignored.
What if you could back sexy suggestions with science? What if you went into the boardroom armed with a blueprint for boldness?
Consumer-style know-how for all audiences
The answer lies in going back to those personalisation and niching techniques we talked about at the beginning and baking them into everything you do.
Yesterday’s basic personas (‘meet Rob, aged 43, two kids, drives a Tesla’) actually tell you very little about Rob’s dreams and ambitions. What makes Rob get up in the morning? Why does he do the job he does? And why does he work for your organisation.
With no understanding of Rob as a person, how are you going to connect with him? Let’s categorise two men you might have heard of into your basic persona matrix. They’re both British and were born in 1948. Both have been married twice and both are impressively wealthy. In fact, they both have enormous country piles that they call home. You’re popping them in the same persona category, right? Wrong. Because one of these men is King Charles and the other Ozzy Osbourne.
Don’t get us wrong: catch-all categorisation facts such as age, location, team, salary band or the like are important.
But they’re just the beginning. And they’re not enough of a catalyst for a meaningful story.
Drill deeper
Using data to understand specific impacts on people gives you the capability to segment further and more thoughtfully. Instead of categorising by the basics, you start to segment by motivation and preference – and to use that to send out increasingly relevant information to smaller groups of people.
They’re happier because they don’t have to sift through a haystack of words to find a needle of meaning. And the reputational pay-off for you? They’re more likely to take notice of your communications.
But don’t stop there. By this stage you’ll be noticing that things have changed. People are clicking, watching, engaging, opening. And you’re on the path to a truly dynamic communications approach, using your metrics about how people reacted to previous experiences to create mega-relevant information on preferred channels or in favoured formats. The result? They feel listened to and cared about.
It’s as close as you can get, at scale, to the reaction and interaction that we favour as humans.
You don’t have the budget to be boring
Of course, metrics and digitalisation can only carry us so far. Enabling real-life feedback and establishing a more democratic, dialogue-led mindset helps you to create a psychologically safe environment where you’re able to innovate, test, learn and iterate.
At IC Partners, we love the expression, ‘you don’t have the budget to be boring’.
Sure, if you’ve got a billion-dollar bank account, anyone can get noticed. But cut-through communications come from creativity and courage. Delivering memorable messaging only happens when you’re free to fly new ideas, make materials look visually stunning and speak your audiences’ language. Hearts and minds are won by making people laugh, or love, or empathise, or dream. Loyalty develops when your communications build on your brand and deliver a consistent experience.
Every communication you send says something about your business and what you stand for. And not communicating says something too. If you’re inconsistent or settle for ho-hum, hastily constructed messaging and design, you’re sending a clear message to the person on the receiving end that they’re not worth your time or investment. Thoughtfully designed copy that makes them sit up and take notice. Imagery that people can see themselves in. Layered resources that always tell you what to do or where to go next, says that you know them and you’re listening.
So, it’s over to you. How do you want your audiences to feel? Bored and baffled? Or inspired and engaged? How effectively can you build your basic personas into living, breathing people who you truly understand?
Standing out and cutting through doesn’t need song and dance, a cast of thousands and a bucketful of glitter. Instead, the secret to giving your audiences bold, thoughtful and tailored campaigns that demonstrate both confidence and empathy lies within your audiences themselves. Our job is to unlock it.
At IC Partners, we bring deep expertise in understanding audiences to everything we do. It’s the foundation for adding memorable insights, copy, content, design and branding to your internal communications campaigns. To find out how we can transform your messaging and materials, get in touch.
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