The Need for Alignment
For communications to be effective, alignment is
imperative. The communications strategy
must be in alignment with the overall strategy for it to accomplish
results. T. Michael Glenn, president and
CEO of FedEx services says it this way: “Communication is at the center of
everything. You can’t execute a strategy if you can’t communicate about it” (p.
84). The strategy must be clear and understood so that marketing, advertising,
public relations, social media, and all other components of IMC work together
to fulfill the clear objectives of the organization’s overall strategy
communicated to its publics.
The Need for Consistency
The second essential component for
effective communications strategy is consistency of message. Todd French,
executive vice president and CFO of Textron Inc. says, “Communications now have
to be crisper and give more clarity” (p. 86).
It’s crucial that the message of the organization remain simple, clear
and consistent. Where there is no unity
and frequency of message, there is no ability to accomplish objectives and
build a brand. Thus, it’s important that
whatever message is given and however it is communicated, that it is done
consistently for maximum impact.
Click here to find out more regarding strategic communications for nonprofits.
Click here to find out more regarding strategic communications for nonprofits.
The Need for
Measurement & Adjustment
Lastly, effective strategic communications needs to be
measured, monitored and adjusted based on results. Engagement is possible to measure through
digital marketing dashboards, social media engagement software, Google
Analytics, and other methods. This gives
the strategic marketing communications professional an ability to monitor if the
message is hitting its intended target and to make the adjustments needed
accordingly.
IMC professionals have the ability to use an organization’s
resources to ensure that proper messaging is implemented within their allotted
budget with intentional outcomes that are viewable to upper level
management. Social media plays an
important role in actively creating two way conversations around these
strategic messages. The strategy part is
essential to ensure that there is a clear call to action that justifies the
effort and builds the brand of the organization. References
Argenti, P.,
Howell, R. and Beck, K. 2005. The
Strategic Communication Imperative. Retrieved on February 3, 2014, from: MIT Sloan
Management Review: https://www.dartmouth.edu/~opa/communicators/fall08/reading/Sloan_MIT_Strat_Comm_Imp.pdf
Hey Issac,
ReplyDeleteYou reference message consistency as being a large component of IMC strategy in addition to strategic communication. In many instances, message inconsistency is a direct result of silo efforts internally within an organization [see my blog http://socialbybrianna.blogspot.com/2014/02/strategic-communication-strategically.html where I discuss the importance of message consistency]. Argenti, Howell and Beck use FedEx as an excellent example of this internal approach to create consistent messaging, where FedEx worked "with [their] HR group and external suppliers on numerous highly detailed and personalized communications" (p. 84).
In addition, Cendant Corp. agrees that consistent messaging is key to developing successful communications. "In a large, complex company with multiple operating units such as ours, all the pieces get lumped together..." (p.86) justifying that all efforts must be made in order to push the same message across multifaceted platforms.
Have you seen organizations use social media to push out multiple messages or multiple campaigns over a similar period of time? Do you find that to be an effective strategy or does is confuse the user and reduce two-way communication? I think that would be an extremely interesting case study to find the effectiveness of parallel communication strategies as opposed to one main focus, and congruently, the downfall of such an approach.
References:
Argenti, P., Howell, R. and Beck, K. 2005. The Strategic Communication Imperative. Retrieved on February 4, 2014, from: MIT Sloan Management Review: https://www.dartmouth.edu/~opa/communicators/fall08/reading/Sloan_MIT_Strat_Comm_Imp.pdf
Brianna,
DeleteI have not found companies using multiple messages at the same time across multiple platforms to be an effective way to build brand equity. I think it confuses the user. Additionally, based on our readings this week, I prefer the centralized social organizational structure that has a social media team that distributes information and posts through various business units (Qualman, 2013). The downside of this model can be the slower response time. However, control over the brand, including it's voice and personality is easily held under this model.
What model did you think is the most effective for establishing brand equity based on Qualman's book?
References:
Qualman, E. (2013). Socialnomics (2nd Edition). Hoboken, New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons, Inc. .
Hi Isaac,
ReplyDeleteYou make some excellent points and I really enjoyed listening to Rick Kelly. I like how Rick Kelly simplifies the value of strategic communications. He states that we have to have a plan and an idea of where we want to go to be able to use communications as a means to get there. That is so true because communications can cause more problems and confusion if it is not well-planned and targeted to pre set goals. Companies without long-term plans basically put out fires. As Argenti, Howell, and Beck mentioned many companies take a tactical, short-term approach to communicating with key constituencies, which is nonstrategic but might be inconsistent with the corporate strategy or even impede it. (p.83)
You brought up two of my favorite topics: measurement and monitoring! I cannot agree more that with social media, companies have the ability to monitor if employees are understanding the message they are getting through two way communication and also if messages are being communicated correctly. I find that companies tend to neglect this type of monitoring because it requires additional resources. Given your marketing responsibilities, does your organization perform sufficient communications monitoring and if so, how often is data reviewed?
References:
Argenti, P., Howell, R. and Beck, K. 2005. The Strategic Communication Imperative. Retrieved on February 4, 2014, from: MIT Sloan Management Review:https://www.dartmouth.edu/~opa/communicators/fall08/reading/Sloan_MIT_Strat_Comm_Imp.pdf
Hey Ana,
DeleteMeasurement and monitoring are two enormous components of social media marketing. However, two-way communication simply engages the users, it does not necessarily showcase that the employees themselves understand the messages. Internal social networking platforms have begun to emerge, helping organization to push initiatives directly to employees prior to executing them on external social platforms. In what respect would you be able to gauge if the employees who are not managing the social content understand the message effectively?
Anderson and Edmiston agree, showing that a recent study by "IABC Research Foundation and Right Management
Consultants, Best Practices in Employee Communication, illustrated that [the]challenge is one shared by communicators around the world. It highlights the urgency and importance of using communication to help employees understand and actively
participate in the execution of a company’s strategic direction. The study reported that 83 percent of companies ranked "motivating employees to align with business strategy" as the first or second on their list of communication priorities. Only 37 percent believed their companies were managing this effectively" (p.1).
In addition, "On a scale of 1–10, employees ranked "the importance of understanding strategic direction to my day-to-day job" at 9 on their list of needs" (p.3). There is clearly the need to develop employee involvement in strategy, outside of those creating the content.
References:
Anderson, C., and Edmiston, A. (2007). Communicating and measuring employee contribution to strategy. Retrieved on February 4, 2014, from International Association of Business Communicators: http://aepr.ca/In%20the%20News_files/Communicating%20and%20Measuring%20Employee%20Contribution%20to%20Strategy.pdf
Hi Brianna,
ReplyDeleteI agree with you that measurement and monitoring are major components of social media marketing. Let me give you an example of how we can also use social media to see if our employees understand the overall message or not. I manage 30 IT engineers at IBM and after a Corporate podcast about cell phone policies employees were upset and blogging about how absurd the new policy was. I scanned the internal blogs for additional information on employee sentiment about the new policies and I came across a lot of misunderstanding about the new policies. Employees simply did not understand the new policy so they were upset about what they believed the policy was about.
By looking at the internal blog sites I was able to create a questions and answers presentation to help employees. I held a meeting with my employees the very next day and I could see the relief in their expressions once the concerns were clarified.
Since then I encourage my peer managers to look over the internal blog sites to see if they identify areas where employees are dissatisfied due to miscommunication. Managers have a responsibility to help propagate company’s strategies. I completely agree with the quote you provided: “On the scale of 1-10, employees ranked the importance of understanding the strategic direction to my day-to-day job at a 9.” (p.3)
References:
Anderson, C., and Edmiston, A. (2007). Communicating and measuring employee contribution to strategy. Retrieved on February 4, 2014, from International Association of Business Communicators: http://aepr.ca/In%20the%20News_files/Communicating%20and%20Measuring%20Employee%20Contribution%20to%20Strategy.pdf
Ana,
DeleteExcellent example and very nice handling of crisis control! I'm glad you provided this example for us, because it poses a great 'what-if" scenario. Internal platforms are successful for reasons as you mentioned above, to subside employee concern and manage inconsistencies with internal messaging. You were fortunate that IBM partakes in internal social platforms, because, if you hadn't, the culture habit would have been to blog or post the frustrations on external platforms which would be accessible to consumers.
Do you have the capability to automatically scan your internal platform for key words that could be flagged upon posting? That could also reduce confusion early as opposed to having to manually scan through the blogs. Also, how was the podcast produced? Argenti, Howell and Beck emphasis the importance of CEO buy-in for communication strategy (p.86) and sometimes, if an initiative is not first introduced by a CEO, the message could be misinterpreted and might not convey an "active interest or inherent understanding of communications" (p.86).
Rather than hold a face to face meeting to solve the confusion, was your CEO involved in the crisis control? How would you have handled the misunderstanding of the message if it was posted externally as opposed to your internal platform?
References:
Argenti, P., Howell, R. and Beck, K. 2005. The Strategic Communication Imperative. Retrieved on February 5, 2014, from: MIT Sloan Management Review: https://www.dartmouth.edu/~opa/communicators/fall08/reading/Sloan_MIT_Strat_Comm_Imp.pdf
Ana,
DeleteHave you used the app mention? I have it on my phone and it does a good job of scanning all relevant articles and information related to keywords you are searching for that are of interest. A company name could be included to scan all relevant content on the web and give up-to-date information on what people are saying. We are using it right now to measure what people are saying about our institution, along with targeting keywords that will help us shape our strategy on theological higher education. While this doesn't necessarily solve the internal situation that you addressed, it does help monitor what is being said across the world wide web on a mobile platform.
What resources have you used and how did you handle communicating via social media to your people based on the misunderstanding?
Hi Isaac,
DeleteI am not familiar with the app mention but I am definitely going to check it out. Thank You for bringing it up.
In the example I provided, I did not use social media to address the misunderstanding. I chose to talk to my department in a face-to-face meeting with remote employees dialed in. I am all for technology and tools but they do not replace a one on one dialogue in my opinion. Don’t you think? I like to talk to my employees directly when I can and I think they appreciate that too.
Hi Brianna,
DeleteThank you for the feedback. Given my current line of business ( My department is responsible for the technical support of the Operating Systems for large companies) I do not normally scan our internal platforms on a regular basis for mentions. I think that is an excellent idea but I only do that when I am specifically concerned about a topic such as a new policy or a new announcement from corporate.
You brought up a very good point about an internal platform for employees to express themselves. I agree with you that they do help us avoid some issues from time to time. But negative comments from employees and ex-employees do arise often externally too and are normally handled by our communications department. We have a well defined roles and responsibilities that expects managers not to attempt to resolve communications issues directly externally.
Given IBM’s size it is not possible for our CEO to introduce policy changes on a regular basis. Our CEO will introduce the more strategic and important ones and other VPs have to take on the to do to handle all others. That makes sense to show the priority of the messages too.
This was a great reflection.
Thanks Ana!
DeleteStrategically I think it is interesting how your organization is set up internally regarding social media. It appears that each individual has different roles regarding different instances and responsibilities. You said that the communications department handles the negative comments; does the social media department fall under communications or marketing? Here is lies an entirely different topic regarding internal organization structure. I wold think social content managers would be responsible for the management and monitoring of the brand on social platforms, but it appears they aren't.
Do you see any benefit to your current structure or do you think there are too many hands trying to handle and manage these platforms?
In my PR class which was also taught by Mark, we read an excellent book, Social Media and Public Relations by Deirdre Breakenridge, which outlines key players in the development of social media practices. She focuses on how social media practitioners can systematically expand their roles, improve their processes, and sharpen their strategies to engage with today’s more sophisticated and socialized customers. I would love to see how your internal structure matches up the 8 key players that Breakenridge addresses in her book.
Ana,
DeleteI completely agree about talking to people face to face. There is nothing that can replace genuine face to face time, especially when communicating around sensitive matters and the interpersonal dynamics of body language, etc.
Hey Issac,
ReplyDeleteGreat initial post to this weeks forum discussion. As the authors state “strategic communications requires an integrated, multilevel approach. Each communication function fulfills specific objectives, is targeted at specific constituencies that are critical to meeting those objectives and is delivered through the channels most appropriate to and effective for those constituencies (Argenti, P., Howell, R. and Beck, K, 2005). Especially in IMC, all of its components Marketing, Advertising, Public relations and the outlets it uses needs to keep a clear and consistent message. Any message that sends mixes signals can cause the message to be unclear. Typically messages that are not clear lead to poor results. As proven by Dell and Fed Ex case studies communication needs to be part of the overall corporate strategy to have a meaningful impact.
Reference:
Argenti, P., Howell, R. and Beck, K. 2005. The Strategic Communication Imperative. Retrieved on February 3, 2014, from: MIT Sloan Management Review: https://www.dartmouth.edu/~opa/communicators/fall08/reading/Sloan_MIT_Strat_Comm_Imp.pdf
Isaac,
ReplyDeleteI think that it is really important that you brought up the idea of alignment as an effective and vital component of differentiated communication. It is not just alignment within the communications strategies and company message that play an integral part of successfully conveying a consistent message, it is also important to have alignment within the company as a whole. To avoid any notion of inconsistency or any chance thereof it is imperative and can avoid confusion for the consumer. Companies such as Textron as you have mentioned, acquired so many smaller companies so fast that, “one of the repercussions of such frenetic buying and selling was the absence of common systems, procedures and a shared culture across the corporation.” (Argenti, Howell, & Beck, 2005pg.85) If corporate culture is non-existent or not cohesive, if becomes increasingly difficult for communications to have an aligned approach. An article in Fast Company put it beautifully:
A vibrant culture provides a cooperative and collaborative environment for a brand to thrive in. Your brand is the single most important asset to differentiate you consistently over time, and it needs to be nurtured, evolved, and invigorated by the people entrusted to keep it true and alive. Without a functional and relevant culture, the money invested in research and development, product differentiation, marketing, and human resources is never maximized and often wasted because it's not fueled by a sustaining and functional culture. (Parr, 2012)
References:
Argenti, P. A., Howell, R. A., & Beck, K. A. (2005). The Strategic Communication Imperative. MIT Sloan Management Review.
Parr, S. (2012, January 24). Culture Eats Strategy For Lunch . Retrieved from Fast Company: http://www.fastcompany.com/1810674/culture-eats-strategy-lunch
I think you make some great points about the importance of consistent communication that is aligned across all departments of the marketing mix. Strategic communications also requires an integrated, multilevel approach, so once departments have their approved messages, they need to know how to use them (Argenti, Howell & Beck, 2005, p. 87). For media relations teams, they use channels like press releases, executive interviews, pitch letters and social media posts. Employee communications uses town hall meetings, memos, weekly e-blasts and newsletters. Financial communications is relayed by the CFO through top executive meetings and conference calls. Community relations is communicated through philanthropic events, press conferences and local media interviews. Government relations is communicated with local officials and through lobbying efforts. Marketing communications leverages billboards, advertisements and point-of-sale.
ReplyDeleteTherefore, it’s not only important that you have a consistent communications strategy, but it’s equally important that you know what to do with these messages when you receive them. As you mention, it’s also important to anticipate any upcoming announcements or potential crisis management situations to better communicate and resolve any issues.
Who do you think is ultimately responsible for the creation and dissemination of the communications plan? There are so many departments involved, it’s hard to determine who should be giving the marching orders to ensure consistency across all channels.
Also, how do you think social media should play a role in the communication strategy? Many companies with a strong social media presence have monthly editorial calendars with pre-determined content. Who should own and make decisions for what content is used?
References:
Argenti, P. A., Howell, R. A., & Beck, K. A. (2005). The Strategic Communication Imperative. MIT Sloan Management Review.
I really found your social landscape guide helpful. It really provides a great visual to support to channeling the message and tailoring it to target a specific audience. I like how the chart gives specific guidelines to how to better use each application. It's nice to see how these can work together. I am still struggling a bit terms of blog content and structuring, but your blog was very helpful.
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