Ruth Atherley's Posts

How people take in information has changed. I read The Shallows: What the Internet is Doing to Our Brains a while ago and it resonated with me. Communication has shifted and people want short, informative pieces that they can quickly read, hear or view.

Years ago, when I worked at Maclean’s magazine, the People page was consistently the most read page in the magazine. It wasn’t because the people who read Maclean’s weren’t interested in the other longer pieces – it was partially because that page had information on interesting people and partially because the pieces were short bites of content that could be easily digested.

In working with clients, we often have to remind, encourage, cajole and even push them to edit their work. (Five pages is not a briefing document!) We have clients who are incredibly intelligent and sometimes that works against them. The curse of knowledge can be a challenge, as can the curse of words. For many of us, we grew up in a time when using “big words” was encouraged and many people think that way – they aren’t trying to impress anyone using those words; that’s just how they think. The challenge is in how people absorb what you are trying to communicate. If you use big words that some people won’t know the meaning of, they will tune out. If you use too many words – they will tune out. If you don’t focus on what they need to know and how they want to take it in, they may not tune in at all.

Writing for the People page prepared me for online writing and writing for social media – short, informative and engaging pieces with smart, cheeky headlines. Take a look at the last five communications pieces that you developed – how long are they? How straightforward are they? How engaging are they? Do they really meet the needs and expectations of your audience? These are tough questions to ask, but once you view your communications pieces through this lens – you will find they are more effective.

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I know we don’t usually post blogs on Thursday, but I was up drinking coffee, watching the national news and reviewing blog posts, articles and online media coverage this morning (which is how I like to start my day) and the fabulous Chris Brogan delivered this directly to me.

Anyone who reads this blog on even a semi-regular basis knows that we love, love, love Chris Brogan. He is smart, insightful, an excellent communicator and he’s authentic. His blog post today is on content creation and audience/community engagement. It is most definitely worth a read. Take five minutes and read his blog post, it will improve how you communicate with and connect with your stakeholders or target audience.

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We all know that visuals are a compelling part of your communication toolbox. They draw the reader in, they engage the audience and tell an important part of your story. They make a connection between the storyteller, the story and the audience. And thanks to leaps forward in technology, it’s no longer a challenge to create strong visual elements for your communications pieces.

While we are big fans of using professional videographers, photographers, illustrators and other visual medium professionals, the fact is there’s not always a budget to do so. That’s why it is important to identify ahead of time when it is necessary (sometimes even crucial) to bring in the professionals and when you can get away with using an image you took or a Flip-style video clip.

The way we see it here at AHA, if the communication piece is more casual, you can get away with a little when it comes to the visuals. For example, if it’s an update from the project manager, you can likely get away with a more basic shot of this person in action, on location somewhere. A message from the president, managing director, CEO or executive director needs a professional photo – in my opinion.

For social event photos and fun photos, someone at your organization who has an eye for photography can take them. They still need to be done well. I can’t tell you how many times we have had to go back to clients and tell them that they can’t use a blurry image or have important people half cut out of images. Even if you aren’t using a professional – you do need to have someone who has some skills in this area to take the photos.

Newsletters are obvious venues for images; you can also link to an interesting Flip-style video, if that medium resonates with your target audience. A blog needs visuals, as does your website. Don’t shy away from video; it is an effective medium.

Using just images to tell the story is another good way to attract attention. Finding five to seven good photos and letting them tell the story is a compelling way to communicate.

Depending on what news you are sharing, a photo or link to a video, as a component of your news release or pitch to a specific journalist, is also a good thing. We often send out photo releases – a great image with two or three sentences explaining the context. Media love great visuals.

As communicators, we often see ourselves as writers, editors, internal communicators, media relations specialists, corporate communicators and storytellers. At our PR agency, we have shifted that perception. We see ourselves as strategic advisors and storytellers, because at the heart of it all that’s what we do. And that includes a big focus on telling the story through images.

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A picture is worth a thousand words…

Images, photos, illustrations and visuals – they matter now and, the fact is, they mattered back in the “old days” too. When I worked for Maclean’s magazine, standing over the light table going through images was an important part of the storytelling process. You didn’t just hand that off to a photo editor or photographer (no matter how smart or talented that person was). You were involved because you knew that a great photo drew people in to the story; that it communicated what you were trying to share in a different way.  And today, some of our strongest assets at our PR agency are our relationships with exceptionally talented (and reasonably priced) photographers, illustrators and videographers. These creative professionals are an important part of our AHA crew.

These days, images are crucial to telling the story of your organization. Not only do they tell the story in a different way, they help you to humanize your organization, show behind the scenes and engage with your community in a different way. And, if you embrace this approach, your community will use images to communicate with you. It really is a two-way street. User-generated content is incredibly informative and valuable.

On Wednesday, I will talk a little bit about the different ways you can incorporate images (still and video) into your communications initiatives, including when it’s important to bring in the professional photographer, illustrator or videographer.

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Ruth at the White Palace in Chiang Rai, Thailand.

January is the time of year when we receive those end of year/new year messages, newsletters and blog posts. I know in the past week, I have received about two dozen of them. And I have to say, not many have resonated with me or provided any kind of value to me – which is the point of these communication outreach pieces, isn’t it?

I have heard how people are going to spend more time on finding their passion, travel more, make more effort to focus on their family life, live in Europe or Mexico or Belize for half the year, work a three or four-day work week, find work/life balance… And if I were sitting with a friend and hearing any of these things, my response would be: “Excellent! Good for you!”

However, some of the folks telling me these things are service providers – people who we bring into projects with our clients. Some of these lovely people provide support services to AHA, and our small-on-purpose agency relies on them. Some of these messages gave me pause and had me putting “find new option” on my to-do list. We’re all for work/life balance, spending more time with family, discovering your purpose and passion, and seeking out adventure; but there are ways to communicate those personal goals in a professional setting that showcases how this approach will benefit your client, strategic partner or service provider rather than worry them about how they will manage if you aren’t available.

All of our clients know that we’re travellers – both for work and for fun. We also make sure that they know that when we’re not in town, they won’t even notice that we’re not in the room. I have had Skype meetings with clients in Paris, Rome, Bangkok, New York City, Tampa… well, you get it – from anywhere and everywhere. I have co-presented in a Vancouver-based communications and social media workshop from Queenstown, New Zealand and have co-managed the media relations component of a high profile policy forum from The Bay of Islands, New Zealand.

Here at AHA, we feel a strong accountability and responsibility to our clients – and we want to have a full-on life – so we need to find a way that works for us and for our clients. And, in fact, our travel makes us better communicators, which benefits our clients overall. We see how things are done in other places, we discover best practices, we learn what works and what doesn’t work – and we bring it all home and deliver it to our clients. When we make a business or personal decision that impacts our professional life, it is always kept in mind how this can benefit our clients or what we need to do to make sure it – at the very least – doesn’t negatively impact them. And we clearly communicate that.

We got a newsletter from a designer colleague earlier this week that really got me to thinking about the missed opportunities in many of these year-end/new year outreach pieces. He said he and his partner were thinking about living in Europe for six months or a year – which as a human being, I think is a great idea. However, I think he missed an opportunity to clearly explain that he would be back in Vancouver regularly for clients if needed and that his move wouldn’t cost them anything. He could have explained how he would continue to service clients – citing how easily we can connect these days through Skype, GoToMeeting.ca and other technologies. He could have explained how getting some international experience could influence and evolve his skill set and how that would bring more to clients… but he didn’t. What I felt was concern that he was leaving and that I might be challenged by that.

Another professional connection sent out an email saying that they were going to chase their passion for cooking this year. And about three paragraphs in, I realized she meant that she was going to do this as a hobby or personal pursuit – that she wasn’t changing careers. If I had just glanced at this piece, that’s not the message I would have taken away. That could hurt her business development this year.

I think the biggest thing I noticed in this year’s batch of end of year/new year emails and newsletters is that, for the most part, they were all about the person writing them. It didn’t feel that they were about the recipient. There wasn’t anything in it for me as the reader of this piece (or as the client, strategic partner or service provider).

I think this is a key learning: When you are communicating, and you want the other person to care, give them something to care about – something that matters to them. Tell them clearly, even when it’s about you, what’s in it for them.

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