BLACK VECTOR – Ideas For A New Direction For Public Affairs

The tracks you lay, will guide the train you ride.

As organizations strive to have their voices heard on the communication stage, I can’t help but wonder how much thought is given to engagement. There are a myriad of examples where organizations have their messages out in the information sphere. I see these messages daily on Twitter, newspapers, television, Facebook, LinkedIn, etc. I understand why the mediums are used as they are to communicate organizational messaging. However, I see one thing seriously lacking – engagement.

There are those who engage and communicate well, but there are even more who do not engage their audiences or stakeholders; they simply communicate one way, like shouting out a message. As a result, I believe they are disengaging their audiences because one-way communications are simply not engaging to individuals.

Engagement takes time, resources and, frankly, an ability to connect to people. Often, it takes time to do this and may be why organizations fail at it. They lack the investment in time and effort. Yet, the way I see it, this investment will pay off more than any targeted campaign will. Why? Because you have an audience that knows you, cares about you, and sees value in their relationship with you.

So does your organization engage, have conversations with, and make your audience and stakeholders feel value in their relationship with the organization? Or, does your organization hold meetings, hire agencies, shotgun out messages on social media and hope for the best? If you are not engaging your audience and stake holders on a regular basis, then you are disengaging them from your organization, tune you out and find someone else to ‘talk’ to.

Engagement, it really is that simple.