When COVID19 first arrived in New Zealand, information and opinions came rushing at us. There has been a high level of noise ever since – an overwhelming stream of news, emails, opinion pieces, blog posts and podcasts. Some of this content and communication has been excellent, the kind that’s memorable for all the right reasons, and some of it has been vanilla, forgettable and even unhelpful.
In a new and complex situation, it can be extremely hard to get communications right. But get your approach wrong and you’ll soon hear about it. Or the opposite – you might hear crickets.
The upside is that we can take what we’ve learned from lockdown to help us in the future. So here are 3 ways to elevate your communications as we head towards better times.
Share thoughtfully, don’t just add to the noise
The last two months have been an incredibly stressful time for many of us. And when we’re feeling maxed out, the content we read and watch can either refresh us with new insights or drain us by adding to the mental clutter.
One of the best examples I came across early in the crisis was an article by Kaila Colbin, Founder and CEO of BOMA. It was a thoughtful, insightful and original article, particularly at the time it was published. It was so good that when I accidentally clicked away from it I spent 10 minutes trying to find the author again. Now I follow her on LinkedIn.
So how do you ensure your content and communications are helpful?
- Choose quality over quantity, most of the time. It’s better to spend time writing one excellent article or producing one memorable podcast than 5 low quality ones. This isn’t about being a perfectionist, but it is about striving to produce original, thoughtful and useful content.
- Take time to think before you write – so many articles recycle the same tired points What’s your perspective? What can you say that’s new? Or real?
- Think of your audience when you share something: it helps to picture one person. Are your key points interesting and relevant to them? Are they helpful, providing clarity or insight? And are they empathetic to their situation? Getting this last point right is especially important when your audience has ‘skin in the game’ – such management providing an update to staff on business decisions during COVID19.
When there’s uncertainty, create as much certainty as you can
At the risk of fan-girling our Prime Minister and Director-General of Health, they and the Government’s COVID19 communications team got this so right in the Prime Minister’s address to the nation on Saturday 21 March.
New Zealand’s borders had closed to the world and were starting to practice social distancing. Every day brought new and more alarming measures. What was particularly challenging during this time was not knowing what was coming next.
And then the Government set out the alert level system and the way forward came into focus.
We were in Level 2 and we understood what was expected of us. Two days later, it was confirmed we would move into Level 3 then to Level 4 in 48 hours. We knew what the rules were. We also had confidence that we’d move back down the alert levels and regain our freedoms if we could stamp out community spread.
COVID19 created uncertainty on two major fronts – public health and the economy – but we now had something solid to hold on to, and it was a breakthrough.
“… creating a semblance of certainty is among the most important tasks leaders can undertake at a time like this…”
– Adam Bryant, Managing Director of Merryck & Co, in an article on Strategy+Business.
The takeaway? When communicating with employees, customers or stakeholders during a time of uncertainty, focus on what you can tell them. Trust that they can handle the truth, even if it’s challenging. Try to paint a picture of the path ahead. How might they be affected by the situation? What can they expect to happen next? When will they get another update from you? Visual cues can help to create a higher level of clarity.
Be predictable, most of the time
We heard from our Government leaders every day at 1pm during the crisis, which added to the small amount of certainty we had. We weren’t set adrift for days while Cabinet made critical decisions about our future – we were kept up-to-date.
Talking to the public on a daily basis was a clear priority for our leaders – despite the immense pressure they faced.
This regular communication most likely helped to reduce the spread of ‘fake news’ too. Each of us had the opportunity to stay informed on new cases of COVID19, the latest expert opinions and key Government decisions. If the briefings had been less frequent, more people would have turned to sources like social media to fill the gap.
The value of predictable timing doesn’t just apply to communications in a crisis. For example, three of the e-newsletters I subscribe to are sent by Seth Godin (daily), The Barefoot Investor (weekly) and Marie Forleo (Weekly). These arrive in my inbox like clockwork and they’re the emails I most frequently open and read. If they forgot to hit send one day, I would notice.
This absolutely doesn’t mean you should be boring in how you communicate, but being predictable with timing helps build trust. This means when you choose to be creative in your messaging or delivery of communications, you’re more likely to get a positive response.
The takeaway: Sticking to a regular schedule for sharing information is a simple but powerful communications and marketing tactic that can be used in all sorts of ways – from updating your team on business results to sending out your company e-newsletter.
As we move into Level 2 and beyond, take these simple but powerful strategies with you: aim to share thoughtful, high quality content; seek to create as much certainty as you can for your stakeholders; and create predictability in the timing of your communications to build trust.
If COVID19 can do something positive for us, it’s to leave us a little better than before.
Keen to produce great content but never have enough time? As a freelance writer you can call on me whenever you need skilled help.
“Gemma was a delight to work with and I would recommend her to anyone looking for top quality work from an engaged and thorough communications professional.”
– Andrew Barnard, Senior Product Manager, Wellington