Communicating in the New Age

By Julia Holtzman

We are living and working in unprecedented times. We have emerged—for the most part—from a global pandemic that has transformed the workplace and put a premium on communicating. Indeed, we will survive in business and thrive as professionals based in large part on how effectively and humanely we communicate across a plethora of new mediums like Zoom, Teams and Google Meet.

These new virtual mediums—along with social media—have removed barriers between us as colleagues and toppled bureaucracies in traditional communication platforms. They also present us with new challenges for engaging our clients and other important stakeholders. Communications professionals have always been required to remain agile to adjust to a dynamic business and media landscape. We are experiencing a shift in real time to a new era of communicating. We can help shape it.

We have experienced this transition first-hand at LEVICK, where we have adopted a “virtual” workplace. Internally and externally, we are adapting to both the realities of the virtual/quasi-virtual workplace and the many new digital mediums and online communication platforms at our disposal. In fact, this new “digital-first” approach must be a central part of internal communications departments and agencies’ service offerings to clients, for they are also struggling to navigate this brave new world. Key elements to this approach include:

1. Focusing on a blended strategy of traditional PR, SEO, and social media management. Ensuring that you have a fully stacked team with experts in each of these subjects is essential to operating successful communications efforts. Agencies should be helping clients manage their social media presence and create content for platforms such as Facebook, Twitter and Instagram in addition to the traditional forms of media relations. Another key strategy is to specialize in creating and managing digital advertising and promotion campaigns on platforms such as Google Ads and Facebook Ads.
2. Personalization from your company. Customers want to feel that the companies they hire understand their specific needs and preferences. The need for human connection is on the frontline of a successful business today. Utilizing your CEO and C-Suite executives in order to interact with your potential customers is vital.
3. Creating video content. CEOs and high-level executives can release video and audio content such as vlogs, interviews and podcasts to communicate with the public in a more personal and engaging way. Make your CEO’s personal social media a tool for projecting a voice behind the business.
4. Building and growing networks. Platforms such as LinkedIn are ideal places for companies to speak substantively and authoritatively to like-minded, interested audiences. Creating panels and seminars and posting commentary that demonstrates subject-matter expertise are great ways to engage your stakeholders in actual dialogue.

When it comes to communicating in the new digital era, we at LEVICK are committed to leading by example and sharing the latest ideas and strategies with our staff, clients, partners and industry colleagues. We look forward to seeing and speaking to all of you in these new global commons.