In my last blog (read it below the one) I touched on vision. In this blog I'm going to talk about national influence and the type of vision required achieving that. I’m not going to bore you with the complexities but rather briefly signpost the way forward.
To even begin to reach a position of national influence in communications for any organisation, it has to decide what that means to them:
• Is it a supporting role to bridge the gap between the core business and political lobbying in which it can top and tail the efforts of an executive board?
• Is it part of the overall strategy to grow a business and bring new business on board either directly or indirectly?
• Where a business has multiple brands, is it to help grow awareness of them and the work they do/ products they have?
• Should you turn your back on the brands and concentrate on the core business?
To do the latter would surely be to the detriment of both brands and core business. That said one can only do so much so we have to ask ourselves how best to spend our time.
A huge part of national influence can be achieved through talking and listening. A very difficult thing to qualify so it takes a brave and trusting organisation to charge someone with that role – to understand there is no mathematical or work evaluation that can identify where, or even if, it is having an impact. Nonetheless, for those brave enough to enter this arena the unseen rewards can be endless.
Profile = national influence. Don’t underestimate the importance of a simple tweet exchange between your communications professional and the media.
These days some of my most effective work is done via private DMs (Direct Messages) on Twitter and Facebook.
I’m presently working on a temporary contract at Bromford Group and it’s really refreshing to see the trust they put in all their colleagues. They take the view that they trust their people with the most vulnerable in society and to going into other people’s homes, so they have decided they should trust them online too. It takes a brave business to do that but a wise one nonetheless.
It is as much about talking to people face to face, by telephone, email or social media as it ever will be about your next press release.
So to the questions posed at the start:
• Yes it can top and tail to any lobbying and increase its effectiveness.
• Yes it should be part of your overall business strategy and can bring new business.
• Yes it should include growing awareness of brands.
• Of course it should play a key role in brand communications.
Allow your communications professional charged with national influence to cherry pick the projects they work on to the benefit of national influence – trust them like Bromford trust their people with social media – have vision.
The future’s bright – the future’s influence.
I enjoy following the Tweets and blogs of Bromford folk. Ideas are thrown around like confetti. Great for inspiration.
ReplyDeleteWhat seems to come across very clearly to me is the sense of organisational self confidence and I think that’s why there can be trust and consequently a belief that Bromford can and should have an influence on the national stage. Without these attributes being part and parcel of senior management’s view of itself, organisations won’t venture beyond the local. They tend to carve out a place for themselves where they think they rightfully belong. There’s nothing necessarily wrong with that but it’s often a belief that achieving a higher profile, or influence, is all about ‘resources’ but I feel it’s about whether or not you have the desire. Georgette, Optima Community Association
Thank you Georgette. You couldn't be more correct. There is certainly that desire and I'm thrilled that we manage to convey it.
ReplyDelete