By Cora Palumbo
The COVID-19 pandemic changed the communication landscape and the way people use the internet. From screen time to mental health, the pandemic reshaped the way stakeholders are living and it’s time for communicators to refresh their strategic approaches to accommodate those changes.
Your organization and the nature of its relationship with stakeholders set the tone for communication strategies. To best reach your audience, consider the following recommendations to navigate your key message reboot:
- Research your market segment
Understand your target audience’s communication habits both online and offline. Many people’s internet usage evolved as a result of the pandemic—find out how your target market is being impacted. A good place to start is Statista. You can find data regarding COVID-19, your industry or even specific stats for any country in which your organization operates.
- Revisit your website
What resources are available for your stakeholders to get more information? It is best to update your organization’s website to reflect the recommended health guidelines of your local government. This keeps your audience in the know of how the current restrictions and circumstances will impact your company’s operations.
- Re-write your key messages
As we adapt to new lifestyles and new ways of consuming, the key messages we employ should adapt to those changes. Using the research performed on your market segment, you should draft messages that are specific to your audience and considers their needs. Look to your social media channels as a resource, or use Google Analytics to collect data. See which posts received the most engagement, try to understand what key words they had, and use those same terms in your new key messages. Finally, make sure to align your website and social media to these refreshed key messages.
The internet is constantly updated with new information as it continues to shift behaviours at an exponential rate. To stay on top of ongoing changes with COVID-19 and to maintain relationships with stakeholders, these three steps should be carefully considered at your next comms meeting. Listen to your audience and adapt your communication to their needs to maximize relationship management through these continually trying times.
