As the world continues to cope with Covid-19, the health and safety of family, frontline workers, employees and colleagues remains the priority. Without a clear road map for navigating this unprecedented situation, companies have been left to sift through and respond to the ever-evolving daily updates on the world and their industries.
While it’s hard to know what tomorrow will bring, it’s important to build a strategic and tactical communications calendar to maximize your efforts for the remainder of the year. Maintaining a consistent corporate communications program during tough times is important: It builds trust and credibility and provides a strong platform for your ongoing story.
Many are asking: How do I appropriately maximize our communications through the remainder of the year? We believe it’s best to embrace these priorities:
1. Embrace the virtual event format – it’s here to stay!
While we all look forward to the day when we can once again meet in person, virtual and hybrid experiences will become a bigger and more significant part of strategic communications going forward (on the Microsoft Teams platform alone, daily users have grown from 20 million at the beginning of 2020 to 75 million users now!) There are many advantages to the virtual format: reduced travel and production costs, more efficient use of executive time, and ease of attendee participation as virtual formats become more familiar and more expected. Now is the time to get in the game. As people learn to adapt and work effectively in the virtual world, attend and participate in virtual conferences to see what works well.
2. Broaden exposure to leadership
Ensure all your stakeholders (investors, partners, employees, customers and even competitors) have access to leadership, and visibility into their honest perspectives, during this time. This is a great opportunity to shine the spotlight on your leadership bench – from CEO to COO to Chief Diversity Officer – and doing so with authenticity and a bit of vulnerability fosters trust and builds credibility. Additionally, video storytelling can provide a deeper look into company initiatives, introduce new members of your team and provide insight into the human story behind the narratives (including numbers or data). The value of producing a video message, narrated by someone from your organization or C-suite, that shows how your company has responded to customers, employees and the community in light of Covid-19 can move hearts, encourage minds and inspire action across various company and social channels.
3. Enhance and integrate your team
In this complex environment, aligning your team has never been more important. Alignment and clarity are key to delivering your comprehensive story across your strategic communications calendar, including external news announcements, corporate events and internal communications efforts. From strategic development of key messages on through presentation design and video storytelling, there are many touchpoints to consider. To amplify your team’s work, consider partnering with an external professional or team who can help you navigate the challenges (and opportunities!) associated with uncertain times, while keeping your long-term strategy at the core of your story.
By building and maintaining a communications calendar for the remainder of the year, you build your company and its people a road map. Yes, being nimble is key – the message, modality or venue might change – but consistency is equally important. Amplifying the voice of your leadership team and ensuring access to company updates by embracing virtual meeting formats builds your company’s trust and credibility with all stakeholders, and expands interest in your story.