The Communicator

Blogging is a wonderful way to build relationships, showcase ideas and motivate audiences. But do blogs work in every industry and for everyone? Certainly not.  

Blogs facilitate the sharing of ideas with like-minded audiences. They can be used to motivate, inspire, educate or placate, but – at the end of the day – their value rests in their ability to communicate ideas and opinions. 

In my very first post on this blog (To Blog or Not to Blog), I suggested that certain industries and functions – in particular those that generate ideas or motivate people – had more to gain from blogs than most other sectors. Here are some examples: 

Not-for-profits: For organizations that depend on public good will, blogs provide an excellent way to motivate donors, inform volunteers and advocate for a cause. Blogs are also great vehicles for improving an organization’s profile with stakeholders, media and the general public. 

Professional Services: No industry produces more thought leadership than the professional services. For consultants and ‘rain makers’, blogs deliver a safe and certain distribution channel that can be branded and reused as business development or marketing collateral. 

Industry Associations and Unions: With a geographically dispersed membership and only the occasional formal interaction with the members themselves, blogs offer trade associations and unions a way to highlight certain issues and motivate the membership around advocacy. 

Politicians: In most democracies, the public likes to know what their elected officials are thinking, planning and doing on a daily basis. Blogs provide a transparent and approachable way for politicians to further their agendas, rally constituents, and win-over their detractors.  

CEOs: Regardless of the type of organization, blogs have a large role to play in Executive and Internal communications. It is critical – especially in times of change – that executive teams be visible, approachable and honest. Blogs can be an excellent way to provide context to corporate objectives, motivate employees around a cause or inspire innovation and collaboration.  

Just over two years ago I ended my post with the following advice for professional communicators:  

Treat blogs like you would any other communication vehicle. Evaluate their reach, impact, cost and effort against your objectives. And if it turns out that a blog makes sense, the first step should always be to ensure that you have a long-term commitment from your organization, and the right resources to ensure sustainable success.  

And – regardless of your industry – that certainly hasn’t changed.  

Want to talk about whether a blog strategy is right for your organization? Contact Peter at peter@communicationsunlimited.ca.

While growing up in Africa, I had a friend in the French diplomatic corps with a unique communication problem: while he and his household staff all spoke fluent French, they couldn’t understand each other.

You see, my friend had been educated at the Lycée in Paris and had a lovely Parisian accent, while his staff were from Côte d’Ivoire and spoke a local vernacular. Complicating things further, his new wife was raised in Haiti, and used that country’s unique French dialect. So great were the communications barriers that they may as well have been speaking Greek, German and Mandarin.   

It’s a common problem. Many professional communicators at global organizations agonize over deciding which version of a language they should use for their global communications initiatives.

In fact Mr. Gates’ most recent edition of Microsoft Word offers us 21 different versions of Spanish, 18 English dialects, 16 local Arabic options, and some 15 regional French languages.

There are no right or wrong answers. Regardless of which language or dialect your organization chooses, it is essential to formalize the decision and create a style-guide that will be relevant and appropriate for the long-term. The key is to provide a consistent and recognizable voice. 

Here are a few basic fundamentals to help you decide which dialect might be the right one for your organization:

• National or local companies should stick to local practice and grammar;
• Global companies should use the language prevalent at their Head Office or that of the country where their shares are primarily listed; and
• Companies looking to communicate in a foreign language should cater to their largest potential market.

However, the best strategy will always be one that recognizes and adheres to local custom whenever possible. Large multinationals may have the bench-strength to customize materials locally, but many organizations will need to maintain a network of regional communicators to provide those services on an ‘ad-hoc’ or as-needed basis.  

Winston Churchill is said to have quipped that Britain and America were “two nations divided by a common language”, but in reality there are now more than 80 nations who claim some version of English as their official language. Clearly, not every Anglophone is beholden to the Queen’s English. 

Need help customizing your communications tools? Contact Peter at Peter@CommunicationsUnlimited.ca.

iPhones, iPads, PDAs, laptops, cell phones, PCs… the internet is now truly ubiquitous. No matter where you go, the web always seems to be right at your fingertips. 

But for professional communicators, the rapid proliferation of web-accessible devices can be a double-edged sword. On the one hand, the public’s increased access to the internet can lead to more visitors for your website and thus a better return on your investment. On the other, the complexity of maintaining a consistent customer experience and brand identity across a growing number of platforms can quickly sap your resources and become a burden. 

For many organizations, there is no easy answer. Communicators will need to find a comfortable balance between maintaining an easily-accessible website and managing the host of other web priorities that drive their traffic and achieve their objectives. 

Regardless of your current strategy, we have noticed a few trends that we’ve picked up from leading websites: 

• Keep it simple: Don’t let your website get bogged down with long passages or huge pdf files. Remember that people may be accessing your site with different download speeds, screen colour capabilities, and data plans, so try to stick to simple text and a lot of white space to enhance ease-of-use. 
• Know your audience: While this may be a ‘no-brainer’ for most, it’s easy to get caught up in hype (or simply the desire to demonstrate your innovation to the world), and lose sight of the basic characteristics of your audience. Use your website metrics to understand how your most frequent visitors – or most valuable customers – access your site, and concentrate on improving their experience first. 
• Seek value opportunities: Regardless of their popularity, many new technologies and devices perform unique functions that can greatly enhance your message. Try gauging the added effect of incorporating tools such as interactive charts, streaming video and real-time updates to illustrate your point and add value. 
• Leverage free apps: Rather than spending too much time and money deploying video functionality or other cool applications, consider harnessing existing free sites such as YouTube or Twitter to perform some of those functions. Not only are they extremely cost-effective, but they can also gain much wider viewership than your corporate site alone. 

At the end of the day, it all comes back to the basic fundamentals of communications: know your audience, how to reach them, and what really matters to them. If you always keep that in mind, you can’t really go wrong.  

Need help adapting your communications material? Contact Peter at Peter@CommunicationsUnlimited.ca.

Let’s be clear: there is absolutely no excuse for bad spelling. Yet every day, I see websites, brochures and even newspaper articles where, in the author’s haste to produce content, they have decided to forego the rigour of a simple spell check. 

Indeed there seems to be a pervasive feeling these days that good grammar and good spelling are somehow passé. Has Twitter and texting killed the need for communicators to worry about spelling? 

Hardly. In fact, a recent story on the BBC’s website (well worth reading) claims that – as a result of poor spelling – UK companies are losing millions of pounds per year in revenue.  It seems that consumers don’t particularly trust websites that contain spelling errors. 

In fact, given the increase in fake websites, online scams and phishing emails, consumers have become increasingly wary of anything that does not seem on the up and up. No wonder: one of the surest ways to identify scam email (besides the obvious fact that very few people with $3 billion tend to legitimately need a Wisconsin retiree as a transfer agent) is their poor – often laughable – grasp of spelling and grammar. 

As self-styled Guardians of The Written Word, the responsibility of monitoring spelling and grammar often falls to professional communicators. So what can we do to eliminate spelling mistakes and destroy bad grammar in our organisations? Here are a few ideas: 

• Slow down: Given the pace of work for most professional communicators, we tend to see ‘editing’ as a nice-to-do rather than an absolute must. But taking the time to reread our work is absolutely critical and cannot be rushed or ignored. In fact, communicators may consider rethinking their content development process to create a formal review round that is focused solely on grammar and spelling.
• Get some help: A second set of eyes on a project can be invaluable. And while there are many great external editors (like us) with the right skills to make quick work of editing, communicators may also want to develop a ‘buddy system’ with a colleague that can act as an editor on higher-risk pieces.
• Know your kryptonite: When it comes to spelling we all have an Achilles heel that is impervious to spell check. For some these may be innocuous (‘fro’ instead of ‘for’), others can be more embarrassing (‘pubic’ rather than ‘public’). Self-aware communicators may want to keep a short list of these usual suspects by their computer and do a ‘find and replace’ to hunt them down and eliminate them. 

Finally, communicators should remember that an over-reliance on the spelling gurus at Microsoft and Apple is no solution and – as we pointed out in an earlier posting – can even be detrimental to your career (and your relationships). 

Need a great writer or editor? Contact Peter at Peter@CommunicationsUnlimited.ca.

Ever get the feeling that nobody is listening? Do you spend the better part of each day tweeting, poking and blogging, just to be met with stone-cold silence?

There is no doubt that peer-to-peer (P2P) networks and social media offer an unparalleled opportunity to engage people, but many communicators have found that maintaining audience interaction and creating real dialogue takes more than just regular participation.

While there is no magic formula, there are a number of ways for professional communicators to enhance the value of their organization’s social network:

• Content is King: It’s not enough to simply churn out new content every day. The key is to offer some value to your audience. Try to always provide actionable advice or new ideas rather than simply dissecting a problem or repeating other people’s insights.
• Stay on point: Be clear about the value – or unique perspective – that you offer, and resist the temptation to go ‘off script’ with topics irrelevant to your audience. Your followers will be more active on issues that have the greatest impact on them, and will quickly disappear if too many posts miss the mark completely. 
• It’s all in the approach: Each social networking tool has a unique characteristic that defines its value and use (i.e. YouTube for video content and LinkedIn for business networking), so make sure you are using the right media for the right purposes. A common strategy is to use one vehicle to carry the main message (in my case, this blog) and other tools (Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter) to deliver the content to specific audiences, taking care to tailor the message to enhance participation and drive discussion.
• Count everything: One huge benefit of social media is the ability to gain instant feedback. Beyond the immediate comments you may (or may not) receive from your more active readers, make sure to track and use other easy-to-collect metrics, such as number of visits, re-tweets and fan data to help you monitor trends and target your content.
• Out of sight, out of mind: Most social network participants seem to suffer from Online Attention Deficit Disorder, and without consistent interaction, readers will quickly forget all about you and move on to a competitor or “You 2.0”. Each vehicle and audience is different, but once you find the right frequency, be sure you stick to your schedule and stay top of mind.  

Finally, remember that social networking can easily devour hours of time and serious resources, sometimes with few noticeable results. Be realistic about your objectives, stick to your plan and understand that social networking is a long-term strategy. Above all, don’t be disheartened if something comes along and steals your limelight… most topics simply can’t compete with the naming of a celebrity child. Seven? Really? 

Need help focusing your content? Contact Peter at Peter@CommunicationsUnlimited.ca.

Let’s face it: most thought leadership is bland, heavy and unappealing. Boiled up in corporate boardrooms and agency sweatshops, thought leadership is generally considered the ‘meat and potatoes’ of the Communicator’s Cook Book.

But while the recipe for your garden-variety thought leadership may be relatively easy to duplicate, most end up with a product that is either too cumbersome to consume or too dry to digest.

There are, however, a few trade secrets that can help professional communicators turn their Hamburger Barn into Le Cordon Bleu:  

Use fresh ingredients: Any cook will tell you that making a great meal is all about the quality of the ingredients. Make sure your main idea or thesis is fresh, new or provocative. This is no time for leftovers.

Watch the calories: When serving up your thought leadership, take every opportunity to trim the fat. Try to get one main idea across and stay single-minded about communicating that message. Remember: there’s nothing wrong with a lean, yet high-impact meal.

Offer a balanced diet: Man cannot live on data alone. Thought leadership demands context and illustration. Always try to include a healthy dose of case studies, diagrams and charts to support your ideas in more creative ways. Much like with meals, side dishes should always be selected based on colour and nutritional value. 

Cater to demand: If nobody’s ordering what you’re serving up, you should rethink your menu. Thought leadership has to be relevant to your audience and provide them with some level of value. Know what your audience wants, and focus on delivering it to them on a silver platter. 

Feed the brain… and the stomach: Thought leadership is no place for cerebral musings or scholastic theories. To be of any value to your audience, your ideas need to be both achievable and actionable. Always try to offer readers a level of prescriptive advice – without sharing your secret ingredients.

Hire an experienced Sous-Chef: In the end, the quality of thought leadership still largely depends on the experience of the chefs and the recipe they use. To provide a consistently appealing product, make sure that everyone on your team – from the original subject matter expert to the contract writer – are the best people for the job and are fully briefed on the tone, scope and objectives of the project.

Bon appétit!

Need help spicing up your thought leadership material? Contact Peter at Peter@CommunicationsUnlimited.ca.

The Economist magazine doesn’t usually make me laugh out loud. But I do remember one story about a $2.5 billion deal between Russia and Nigeria for natural gas exploration rights. The correspondent quipped that the new company, ‘Nigaz’, showed a “refreshing ignorance of politically incorrect language”. 

Examples like this are not difficult to find. What seems like a brilliant marketing idea in one culture may be horrifying to another. Europeans are not likely to want to drink ‘Pee Cola’, a popular soda brand in West Africa; Canadians would have never voted for CRAP (the Conservative Reform Alliance Party); British tourists to France were not about to buy “Smack” cereal for their children; and Americans didn’t trade in their vacuum cleaners after hearing that “nothing sucks like an Electrolux”.  

While certainly humorous, these examples are indicative of a larger issue prevalent in most global organizations: one-size-fits-all communications. 

In an effort to reduce cost, align messaging and manage risk, many organizations follow a centralized communications model, where all content is generated from Head Office and disseminated into the colonies. 

There are a number of risks inherent with this model, not least of which is pandering to the lowest common denominator. 

The greatest risk, of course, is of committing a cultural insensitivity (the likes of ‘Nigaz’) that negatively impacts or even devastates your corporate reputation. 

That being said, if you’ve been reading my posts, you would know that I am a huge proponent of centralized messaging. It is vital to your brand and your corporate reputation that everyone is on the same page and using the same key messages. 

But on the country level – or even regional (think Quebec or Hawaii) – the most successful strategy lies in local customization. While globally-approved key messages should form the backbone, local resources must be engaged to provide strategic guidance, and to ensure that the content and intention are not misunderstood. 

Global communications should be a well tailored suit, not a one-size-fits-all Mumu. 

Need to have your content updated or altered for different audiences? Contact Peter at Peter@CommunicationsUnlimited.ca.

The English language is full of words that have lost their meaning. Many – “awesome”, “cool” and “sick” for example – were hijacked by pop culture years ago and patiently moulded into our minds with completely new meanings. Others were usurped by the business world to metaphorically represent complex ideas to the public in simple terms (some of my personal favourites are “deliverables”, “synergize” or “utilization”). 

But there are a growing number of once-useful words whose meanings have been diluted through extreme over (and occasionally improper) use. 

A prime example is the term “innovative”. At its root, innovation is about creating something completely new. Think Thomas Edison or Alexander Cummings.  Until recently there was a high creative threshold to be crossed before you were considered innovative. Today all you need to do is install the latest software package or use social media in order to brandish this innovation badge. 

As professional communicators, we have all been complicit in the proliferation and dilution of once emotive and strong terms such as innovation… even though it’s sometimes difficult to avoid jumping on the bandwagon for fear of seeming out-of-touch or being left behind by your competition. 

However, from a marketing standpoint, innovation has become an extremely overcrowded market to compete in. Let’s be honest: any value that remains in the term innovation is being fought over by old-world leader GE and new-world upstart Apple, and I’m guessing your pockets aren’t deep enough to seriously challenge either of them. So (as Al Ries and Jack Trout would say) rather than trying to compete in a category with a behemoth incumbent, try to create a new category that you can own in your audience’s minds. 

For example, look for adjectives that are meaningful to your audiences and products, or that articulate your value to your customers and define your core brand characteristics. Try to avoid terms too popular within your industry and too metaphorical or cliché to have any real impact. It’s always best to avoid fads – unless you are the one setting the trend. 

At the end of the day, the key to success has always been to differentiate yourself from your competition. Why should your words be any different?  

Need help giving your words meaning? Contact Peter at Peter@CommunicationsUnlimited.ca or visit www.CommunicationsUnlimited.ca for more information.

Summer is just around the corner. But if you were expecting some much needed R&R… think again. 

For professional communicators, The Dog Days of Summer represent the best (and often only) opportunity to focus on the fundamentals. As executive teams start to shift their thoughts from goals to golf, many communicators take advantage of the relative ‘down time’ of the summer to prepare for the business year ahead. 

Not sure where to start? Here are five areas that should be a priority for any communications team this summer: 

• Clean up your website: All too often throughout the year, press releases, feature stories and news items are rushed onto organizational websites in an ad-hoc fashion to meet an immediate need or crisis – sometimes with little regard to strategy or process. The quiet summer months provide an ideal opportunity to bring some much-needed focus and discipline back to your website(s).
• Update your corporate collateral: With long review and approval cycles, multiple stakeholders and complex production schedules, updating your brochures, press kits and other corporate collateral can be a time consuming business. While the summer season won’t necessarily speed up the process, you will find that key stakeholders (Finance, HR, Operations, etc.) are much more open to participating in these types of projects when their plates are less full. 
• Media train your executives: The worst time to media train an executive is in the middle of a crisis. To be effective, proper media training starts in a relaxed environment, free from distractions and competing priorities. Many executives benefit from group training sessions, which are also much easier to coordinate over the summer.
• Prepare for issues: While most issues are – by nature – unexpected, there are several ways that communicators can use the summer to prepare for the unknown. Standby statements, draft Q&As and position backgrounders are great ways to get ahead of a crisis, and the summer provides the perfect timing to conduct table-top exercises to ‘stress-test’ your crisis manuals.  
• Build/maintain relationships: Never underestimate the intrinsic value of a strong working relationship. Take some time this summer to build on your valuable relationships with your colleagues, peers and suppliers, as well as any key opinion leaders in your industry (media, bloggers, industry gurus, etc.). Besides, it’s a great time of year for a few drinks on a patio!   

Above all, take advantage of the comparative calm to take a vacation, long-weekend or afternoon off, and remember that achieving work-life balance is (or should be) just as important as achieving your business objectives. 

Looking for help to get ahead of your communications strategies this summer? Contact Peter at Peter@CommunicationsUnlimited.ca.

Have communicators completely consigned their spelling skills to Microsoft and Apple? All too often these days, I find myself the recipient of emails rife with glaring spelling mistakes or sporting a completely out of place word. 

I’ll be the first to admit that I am often schooled by Professors Gates, Jobs et al., particularly when I’m short on time or enjoying the blessings of an (all too infrequent) brainwave. But rather than blindly right clicking and accepting the first offering that the magical red wavy line suggests, I always try to take the time to see my mistakes and learn from them. 

An even worse scourge, however, is the ever-helpful ‘auto-correct function’. This little gem has been responsible for frequent careless and often embarrassing mistakes around the office. I myself have been guilty of blaming the looming ‘pubic health crisis’ for many of society’s woes. 

Here’s the problem: as professional communicators, a basic command of spelling and grammar is a must. A disregard for spelling – and in fact for editing – only erodes your credibility as a communicator. Sure, your friends and family will forgive you the occasional mistake or misplaced word, but at the office, few will give you the benefit of the doubt. In the corporate world, spelling mistakes are indicative of two types of people: those who believe themselves to be too busy for ‘quality control’, and those that simply can’t spell. Communicators should fall into neither camp. 

Regular readers will know that I always like to provide a selection of actionable and practical advice for the challenges I raise. In this case, however, there really is only one solution: Always make the time to read what you have written. And while the importance of rereading your work should not diminish based on the length of the piece or the audience for which it is intended, communicators who have just pounded out a 30-page dissertation (or a short yet crucial quote from your CEO), will want to make sure they walk away from their drafts and return to re-read them with fresh eyes. And it’s never a bad idea to get a colleague to take a look over projects you have been staring at for a while. 

At the end of the day, communicators that do not take this simple but critical step may suddenly wake up to find that they have lost both their ability to spell and their credibility around the office. 

(Editor’s note: those with dubious sensitivities will roar in laughter at some of the ‘autocorrect’ horror stories found at http://damnyouautocorrect.com/. You may want to close your office door.) 

Looking for a professional communicator that understands the importance of good grammar and quality control? Contact Peter at Peter@CommunicationsUnlimited.ca.