Appunti di: Corporate communication (in inglese)

Challenges = clutter (internet infinite information), declining reach and response rates, credibility

Earned media

E.g. word-of-mouth, viral spread of content (people talking about an org. online)

Stakeholders online word-of-mouth about the org.

Role = generate traffic to owned media, may be strengthened by owned and paid media trough viral content

Benefits = most credible and authentic, stakeholders may become advocates of the org.

Challenges = no control, can be negative, hard to measure

Examples of "unconventional" SoMe campaigns:

Man lives in Ikea: a youtuber told that his dream was to live at Ikea, they use this information and transform it to an opportunity to do advertising, they realize the dream of this youtuber and they got the change to publicize their brand and engaging with their fans

Barbie computer engineer: when a girl plays with Barbie she imagines all the things she can be in life, for the past 60 years Barbie has taken underrepresented roles, now it's

The moment to demonstrate to girls they can be what they want in life. Classifying SoMe4 theories based on:

1. Social presence theory: contact that can be achieved between individuals as they are communicating, influenced by the intimacy and the immediacy of the medium.
   • Intimacy = interpersonal (direct conversation) or mediated (you use a medium for conversations)
   • Immediacy = synchronous (chatting, call) or asynchronous (email)
2. Media richness theory: amount of information that can be transmitted in real time (instant messages, face-to-face conversation), effectiveness in reducing ambiguity in communication
3. Self-presentation theory: how a social permit to transmit our image and to form a positive image of us
4. Self-disclosure theory: conscious or unconscious revelation of personal information that is consistent with the image one would like to give

1 and 2 first dimension, 3 and 4 second dimension.

1. Establish your SoMe objectives
2. Learn about your audience
3. Decide channel strategy
4. Develop content strategy
5. Track your SoMe efforts

SoMe activities should be aligned to the business

Goals:

Each goal should be SMART:

• Specific: what exactly do you want to achieve?
• Measurable: how will you know when you've achieved the goal?
• Attainable: is it possible to achieve it?
• Relevant: does it contribute to your company's success?
• Timely: when do you want to achieve the goal by?

A comprehensive media measurement plan includes at least several metrics from each category, the choice depends on:

• Objectives: set for SoMe campaigns
• Metrics: aligning with the goals of SoMe campaign

They are: Followers, Reach, Impressions, Engagement, Social Sentiment, Video Views, Response Rate, Visitors Growth

Example:

Objective: build brand awareness

Goals: boost social share of voice by 20% by the end of the year

Metrics: impressions, reach

2. Defining personas help you understand your audience

You need to know who your audience is and how to engage with them for planning and measuring your content on SoMe:

13Where to reach your audience - dig into your quantitative data on SoMe:

demographics, interests and hobbies, behaviors, engagement What to write in your content marketing efforts - look at your non-SoMe analytics: CRM (customer's information database), website How to talk to your audience - perform qualitative analysis: workshops, market researches, interviews 3. Decide Channel Strategy The industry where you operate determines the most suitable SoMe platforms to be active on. - Where is your audience? - What are your objectives? - What kind of content are you going to create? - What is your budget? SoMe audit - comprehensive overview of what your corporate brand is doing across all social media channels - helps identify new opportunities and potential threats - tells how to stand up against competitors You can use 3 different methods: SWOT analysis: analyze Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats Competitive assessment: analyze different SoMe platforms comparing them to each other Social Listening: analyze which social media platforms to use based on which ones are the most popular and relevant to your audience.most popular at the moment 4. Develop content strategy Planning: decide SoMe platforms, frequency of posts, types of content to create Distribution: develop campaigns, create content tailored to specific SoMe channels, choose metrics to track Management: develop content calendar, determine tools to schedule contents and manage SoMe, establish analytics 5. Track your SoMe ROI (return on investment) 1. Define objectives - connect your SoMe objectives with business ones 2. Set SMART goals 3. Track right metrics 4. Understand costs - know the sphere of investment in your SoMe activities Track, analyze, optimize… Track your results Analyze the metrics Set up reports Develop insights -> optimize CorpComm strategy and planning 1. The process of communication strategy It involves: - Bringing stakeholder reputations in line with the vision of the org. - Reinforcing existing reputations of stakeholders IF broadly in line with how the org. wants itself to be seen Strategic intent - plan to arrive at a

Goal

The change or the consolidation in the company's reputation

Suggests a set of communication tactics and activities that aim to affect the mind of stakeholders

Tactics = finger of the strategy (palm)

Strategy formation characteristics

It consist of:

• A combination of planned and emergent processes
• A general direction and not simply plans or tactics
• The organization and its environment

A strategy can be:

• Visionary (emotional and innovative)
• Deliberate and planned
• Ad hoc and spontaneous
• Analytical (more concrete)
• Bottom up (top management listen to the advice of the stakeholders, from stakeholders to the top management)
• Top down (top management decide the strategy, from the top to the stakeholders)

Communicators

Communication technician: not involved in strategic management decision-making concerning communication strategy (do the things)

Communications manager: makes strategy decisions and have the responsability on a campaign's success or failure (decide the things)

The content of communication strategy The Reputation-vision gap forms the basis for the formulation of a strategic intent. 3 stages in formulating the content of a communication strategy: 1. Strategic intent - understanding what i need for aligning vision and reputation 2. Themed message - understand what theme will have the message 3. Message style - e.g. Apple's "happy birthday Mac" video (emotional) 3. A strategic planning model Communication program - A set of activities towards targeted internal and external stakeholders, by which the organizations and their employees communicate with audiences and has no pre-set endpoint Communication campaign - Restricted to the use of a mediated form of communication towards specific stakeholder audiences and restricted to a single point of time How to organize them? Starting with Vision and Reputation, we then have… 1. Strategic intent 2. Define communication objectives (what i want to achieve with my strategy, toappeals to stakeholders with a particular message so they can support the organization's objectives. The objectives must be SMART (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, Time-bound). To achieve this, the following steps should be taken: 1. Define the organization's objectives (what the organization wants to achieve) 2. Develop a clear and compelling message (to appeal to stakeholders with a particular message so they can support the organization's objectives). The message should be SMART. 3. Identify and prioritize target audiences (who the organization wants to talk to) 4. Identify the message theme and style (based on the targeted audience, the theme may relate to the organization as a whole or to more specific areas such as products. Multiple styles can be used simultaneously to communicate with different people. The message can also relate to the organization or only to a certain area of it) 5. Develop a media strategy (identify the most effective and efficient means of reaching the target audiences within the budget and determine the right mix of media to use) 6. Prepare the budget (determine how much will be spent on the campaign. Based on the budget, practitioners may have to change or adjust something) For example, Nike's video campaign on YouTube and TV is an inspirational and emotional campaign targeting people who feel different from others. The people in the video are the targeted audience, and this approach is a bottom-up strategy. Nike's objective is to be seen as a brand that appeals to individuals who feel unique and different.strategic communication: regarding a specific audience. Survey procedures: Conducting surveys to gather data and insights from the target audience. This can be done through online surveys, phone interviews, or in-person questionnaires. Sampling: Selecting a representative sample from the target audience to gather data. This ensures that the findings from the survey are applicable to the larger population. Summation method: Analyzing and summarizing the data collected from the surveys to draw conclusions and make informed decisions. Segmentation: Dividing the target audience into smaller groups based on similar characteristics, wants, and needs. This allows for more targeted and personalized communication strategies. By segmenting your audience, you can communicate more effectively and efficiently, reaching only those who are interested in your organization and its offerings. This helps to maximize the impact of your communication efforts and minimize unnecessary expenses. Remember, not everyone will be interested in your message, so it's important to focus on those who are most likely to benefit from or pose a threat to your organization. By understanding your audience and tailoring your communication strategies accordingly, you can achieve better results and drive success.