How can you design messages that align with your organization's goals?

Delving deeper into Purpose : Understnding the core principle of 2 'Why's. 1. Organisations 'Why': Why does your organisation do what they do or what is the core principle of this task. 2. Audience's 'Why' : Why should your target audience want to read or listen to your message. Bridge the Gap to suceed : Once you are able to build a connect between the 2 , you will see a right direction. Key is to build a connect between the Purpose and your audience. Remember "WIIFM" Connection: It is vital to note that everyone consiously or subconsonsiusly thinks about "Whats In It For Me?" .. It is important to align to this, so that you resonate with their needs, feelings and beliefs

Sharing a sharp, clear but intriguing title of the note is crucial. Emails and message we get everyday are hundreds. A trigger to open and read a note is absolutely important.

I keep a note on my computer monitor reminding me to ask the question, "Why is this important?", for every communication I write or review. If the answer to this question isn't clear, it is not worth the time to create the piece, let alone ask an audience to read it.

A great concept to build a powerful message that actually shares your company’s purpose is the Simon Sinek's Golden Circle. It consists in understanding the reason to believe or purpose of your company from the inner part of the circle, “why”. When we have a clear core purpose it will be easier to build a message. According to your audience, you must understand which is the most relevant way to communicate this message. To achieve this you can analyze their passion points, paint points and interests. As a result you will get a relevant message that actually stands for your purpose.

When thinking about communicating an organisations purpose, one thing that I have learnt it to start of with a simple clear message that brings people together. Add the layers depending on the audience so that the communication is effective. I find it extremely useful to give an example of how this purpose can be realised so that it feels tangible and relatable to those that are being communicated to.

“How do you want your audience to feel, think, or act?” This is a great checkpoint to ensure messages are not all about what or how much we know, what needs to be shared, or told, but HOW it received and engaged. Simple, but easy to overlook when excited about the topic and message. I often write something “really great” then review with this question in mind. Regularly, I backspace and restart! :)

Use the AIDA model: The AIDA model is a well-known marketing framework that can help you structure your messages. AIDA stands for Attention, Interest, Desire, and Action. By following this model, you can create messages that are more likely to capture your audience's attention, keep them interested, create desire, and motivate them to take action. Use a call to action: Every message should have a clear call to action. This is what you want your audience to do after reading your message. Make sure your call to action is specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound. Use visuals: Visuals can be a powerful way to communicate your message. They can help to break up text, make your message more engaging, and improve comprehension.

Outline purpose with intentionality. As communicators, intentionality is key to defining purpose and developing tactics that align with our goal. If we want to reach our target audience with desired results, empathy is a required trait to intentionality. Being actively intentional is a skill that can be honed over time. This means asking ourselves to reflect over decisions we make. Being empathetic means stepping out of our own bubble and imagining ourselves as our target audience. Who do I want receiving this communication? Why them? What’s the impact I want to achieve? What action do I require from my audience? How will I reach my desired audience? Developing a habit of intentionality creates empathetic communicators.

Asking why is a good approach, but you should also ask yourself: Why not? This is called the flip-flop technique and it helps you to clarify your purpose. By answering the Why-not question you shape your message and will know if your Why is strong enough.

Always keep in mind it's not only what you want to present to the audience. Don't neglect what the audience is expecting. Allign with those expectations for a genuine success.

For communicators, ‘no’ is a very empowering word. Saying ‘no’ to undefined or undefinable audiences means we can focus. Then, we can target our resources at the people we need to persuade on the way to reaching our strategic goals. What we’re doing here is audience segmentation: dividing up your audience into groups that share meaningful characteristics. There are four signs of a useful audience segment. One, the people it contains are relevant to your organisation. Two, it’s significantly distinguishable from other segments. Three, it’s large enough to be worth targeting. Four, its members are in reach of your communications.

I believe in saying 'yes, and' or 'yes, but' when targeting audiences. It's inevitable that people try to expand good content across multiple audiences. Using 'yes, but' acknowledges the contribution and helps reframe the conversation for contributors. 'Yes we can include this group, but what if we did the following instead to better target their needs...?'

A consideration that I often see missing in digital communication design is accessibility. Your message needs to be as easy as possible to access and understand while delivering the highest impact possible in a timely manner. Tailoring the message not only to the devices and networks that may be used by audiences but also their time availability, audio/subtitle inclusion as well as network connection stability are some of factors which greatly impact accessibility for specific audience groups.

In addition to analysing the demographics of your audience , it's vital to grasp the behavioural mindset of your audience. Put yourself in thier shoes to truly understand their perspective Remember, for them it is less about what you want to say, and much more about what they want to hear. Having a deeper insights into their mindset can help you customise you communication in a manner that they listen and not just hear Afterall It is all about "Talking such that they want to listen"

Coming to the table with a wealth of subject area knowledge serves the presenter well as it demonstrates the expertise the audience will benefit from and even forms an integral part of the value the audience will see in you as the featured speaker. Coupled with the power of being information savvy is the strength of a presenter's audience awareness. It serves no purpose to spew examples that in no way address the 5 W's of the subject and how they align with the goals of the audience. WHY the specific goals? WHAT will be gained from the information presented? WHEN will results be derived? WHERE will the goals be focused? WHO benefits from the targeted goals? Adhering to the 5W's is a useful guide to building audience sensitivity.

It is important to have a stakeholder communication plan so that you are able to identify the different audiences that you are communicating to. What the message you are communicating is and the reason for the communication. How frequently will the communication take place nd the mode that you are using to get as much reach as possible. I have found it extremely helpful to get feedback from my audience so that any changes to the language or the tone of the communication can be altered. Keep the message as simple as possible, not everyone is comfortable with organisational jargon and terminology.

Ask yourself: "Do I really know my audience?" In this rapidly changing world you always need fresh insights and first-hand perspectives from your audience. Make sure you are questioning your assumptions, especially if they are based on your long-standing understanding of your audience. What was true two years ago or even last year, may not be as relevant or current as you need it to be. You need constant touchpoints with your audience, not just the personas you developed in the past. That includes knowing the digital platforms and spaces where they are spending their time and looking for information and community. Those details can change quite abruptly.

Investing your time in getting to know your audience is vital before you start writing a single word! Whether you create personas, user stories, stakeholder maps or something else - bring your audience to life. Think about how the work they do relates to the organisation's goals. Why should they care about your message? Think also about the channel options you have, and which most resonate with your audience. Finally, who does your audience listen to and respect? Will your message have more power and resonance depending on who's saying it?

Many a time it is easy to get swayed by thoughts and drift away from the context. It is vital to keep reminding yourself of the key storyline and stay relevant to the medium used for communication. As a wise man once told me 'Think in bullet points, write in bullet points, speak in bullet points'

Great messaging is not created by throwing everything you can at the wall and hoping something sticks. Instead, it must always align to your business objectives and put your audience at the heart. What are you trying to achieve by sharing this message? Who is it for? What do they need to know? Remember, your audience are always the hero of your messaging, not you.

This is so important and something that I learnt the hard way. On communicating exciting organisational changes involving the introduction of automation and digitalisation, I failed to into account the current organisational restructures and job losses due to redundancy. My initial message landed and came across as insensitive. " You are losing your job and will be replaced by robots" - one of many statements that were fed back on the back of my initial comms. Listening to my audience and understanding the context and the purpose for my communication, I was able to change the narrative. By communicating the exciting new role and opportunities as result of automation and digitalisation I was able to mitigate against the damage caused.

AIDA model has been a staple in marketing campaigns and communication. some thought needs to be given if it can be amalgamated with the concept of Golden Circle by Simon Sinek. Attention can be bridged with "Why", Interest with "How", Desire with combination of "Why" and "How" and last Action with "What".

Leading a corporate communications email, article, text, video, etc. with the details on how the information following will impact the reader is a sure way to grab attention from the start.

The AIDA model is a great example of intentional and responsible communication and can be used in personal as well as professional settings. Whilst the model refers to the interest of the audience you are hoping to captivate, it is extremely important that the message is engaging and interesting so that you are able to capture and maintain the focus of your audience.

In the dynamic landscape of contemporary communication, where capturing the audience's attention has become an exceptionally valuable asset, the application of the AIDA model (Attention, Interest, Desire, Action) emerges as an indispensable tool. This model provides an efficient framework for developing impactful messages, ensuring the capture of attention from the very outset, fostering continuous interest, arousing desire captivatingly, and ultimately inducing the desired action. Understanding the value of attention as the new primary asset propels the strategic use of AIDA to construct engaging narratives, thus converting captured attention into tangible results.

One thing I've learned is that you need to be very aware that different words can carry different connotations for different audiences, based on subculture, generation, and life experience. Carefully research what words may provoke an unanticipated reaction. Make sure your mass communication is evaluated by people who are different from you. One wrong word can render your communication ineffective.

Connect messages with the values, vision, and mission of the organization. The core identity of an organization should be the anchor which holds messages together. Frameworks such as a message house, created in collaboration with several internal departments, will help develop messages that are consistent with the organization’s identity, purpose, and values.

In my personal experience from 3500+ live sessions and 500+ webinars, I've found that connecting to the mindset of the audience is key to building a long-term impact. Sometimes, the results may not be immediately visible; however, over the long term, there's a cumulative effect. Eventually, this can create a domino effect, tipping the campaign in your favour.

Keep your messaging simple, along with communicating it with a regular rhythm and cadence. This will ensure consistency, but also ensures your audience receives it in a variety of ways. Finally, your messaging should: 1) teach your audience something new 2) if possible, help your audience in their day-to-day decision making 3) offer up a clear call to action (ex. Download a tool or resource, get in touch with you, etc.)

It’s not even a message if it doesn’t Meet organisation’s goal. Make sure you turn the goals into a matrix and then create a template to ensure message is planned, designed and delivered as per standard messaging

Measure what you are doing. For example, regularly review your analytics. If you can learn from what's working well and what isn't, you'll be more impactful and more focused when you develop new messaging.

Understanding your company positioning in the market and being able to see how user/customer is headed is very crucial Clarity on user/customer future needs in conjunction with industry movements will help razor focus on top 3 messages for any company