14 Dec The Hard Work of Cohesive Messaging
Managing thematic consistency is a necessity, but there’s more to it than simply copying and pasting the same image or boilerplate language from one platform into another. At a high level, it starts with considering your goals, building a narrative, and thinking of each and every earned and paid media opportunity as a chance to tell your story. It’s exciting to think big and live in grand thoughts of success. However, when the strategy sessions are over, that’s when the real work begins. It’s time to create a plan, assess your communications tools, and tailor your words and graphics to meet your target audiences where they go to consume content. A big part of that is knowing how and when to tell the same story in different formats.
Where there’s audience crossover in short-form ad platforms like tv, radio, and direct mail, using similar imagery and language across advertising formats can be valuable to message penetration. However, in longer form news segments, publications, and online resources, it’s important to do more than just mirror existing content. Taking the extra step to offer consumers an opportunity to dig deeper, respond to a call-to-action, or engage in discovery generates excitement, share-ability, and ultimately, more eyeballs across your promotional material.
Generating that kind of buzz doesn’t happen by accident. It requires careful planning, attention to detail, and dedicated time for creative writing and design. There’s also the consideration for where and at what time unique demographic groups are going to view content, and how different (or not!) each marketing touch should be across those demos. There’s a lot to keep track of.
So what are some good resources to help manage the workload? Here are a few tools and tactics I use on a regular basis and recommend to clients:
A Good Comms Calendar is critical for planning and project management. It’s essential to be able to see important benchmarks at-a-glance so you can schedule announcements, press releases, media appearances, ad drops, social posts, and more.
Recommendations: Monday, BaseCamp, Asana, Google Sheets, Microsoft Excel, Google or Outlook Calendar
PRO TIP: Take a disciplined approach to keeping your comms calendar up to date. This will allow you to pivot in response to current events, holidays, and the unexpected.
Block Scheduling is important for the time management required to meet deadlines and complete projects, especially when you’re juggling multiple assignments.
Recommendations: Block time for yourself early in the morning before traditional work hours, silence text notifications, create a calendar event that lets colleagues know you are unavailable for meetings.
PRO TIP: Don’t abandon the time you’ve made for yourself to write, edit, and create the content that’s going into your marketing and communications material. It can be difficult to stay on-task when distractions abound, but set reasonable expectations for yourself and consider this time sacred.
Graphic Design and Editing Apps are a necessity to creating digital content that supports your storytelling and communications goals. While there is no substitute for professional graphic design, the availability of easy-to-use design apps have made creating eye-catching social media content at-scale more accessible and budget friendly.
Recommendations: Adobe Illustrator, Canva, Snapseed, Text Art
PRO TIP: Save time and make things easier for yourself by starting with in-app templates and AI tools. Just make sure you are adding enough creative elements and edits to ensure your graphic is unique, effective, and attention-grabbing.
Professional Photography and Video will showcase the very best of your events, products, and services. Engagement data shows that including photo and video can increase conversion by 161% when compared with digital assets that feature only text. Professionally shot images have the advantage of setting you apart from competitors who aren’t making the same investment in the look and feel of their promotional tools.
Recommendations: Contact Foresight Messaging for referrals.
PRO TIP: Capture a mix of specific and evergreen content so that you always have flexibility in the timing and content of your PR. And don’t forget the B-roll!
There’s no shortage of grunt work in producing great PR, but the real reward comes when that effort translates into measurable feedback and tangible wins. Foresight Messaging is here to share in the work and celebrate your successes. Be sure to contact us to hear more about how we can help you organize and execute on your earned, paid, and grassroots marketing goals.