6 communication lessons to (re)build upon
Some changes are here to stay
Even in the midst of the unprecedented economic crisis brought on by COVID-19, we’re trying to stay positive by looking ahead to the recovery period that must follow — hopefully sooner rather than later.
While we will all be ready for things to get back to normal, some aspects of life will remain forever changed. And some changes that were already underway will accelerate.
Here are six observations from a communications perspective that we hope will be helpful, as local businesses and organizations look ahead to the recovery.
It’s essential to communicate directly with your audience. In the sudden impact of the coronavirus shutdown, organizations that already had robust connections and engagement on social media were in a much better position to quickly let their customers and supporters know how their business was being affected — and how they could continue supporting them through the crisis.
Multiple, integrated tools magnify your communications efforts. Facebook remains the biggest connection point for most people in our area today, but other social media platforms have their place, too. Those choices should be driven by the audiences you want to reach, rather than which platforms you like and use yourself. Tools like social media, email, videos, podcasts and websites are the digital complement to face-to-face relationship building. They will continue to multiply your efforts even after people start shaking hands again.
Your website needs to work hard for you. In a stay-at-home crisis and in ordinary times, an organization’s website is its public face and digital storefront. From search results to social media, a clean and well-functioning website is the hub to which all of these tools lead back. It should make it easy for people to understand what your business does and take the next step with you. We encounter a lot of websites that were built by “the IT guy” a decade ago. If you never look at your website and don’t know whether anyone else does either, you’re missing out on one of the most valuable investments any organization can make in today’s world.
Social media fills a need for personal connection. That’s even more obvious when it becomes our only outlet for personal connection! But this need is also what brought people to social media before the crisis, and it will continue to do so after. Businesses and organizations that understand this and share content that’s authentic and people-focused will make better use of these tools than those that share canned, generic-feeling content. For example, regularly sharing photos and stories that praise your staff. This is always popular content for the clients we work with, regardless of their industry.
Digital tools broaden our local economy far beyond its physical borders. We are part of a globalized world, for better or worse, and we’ve felt the downside to this reality in a profound way this spring. Even before the current crisis, though, our local businesses have been finding ways to extend their reach far beyond traditional borders, using digital tools to connect with customers in different parts of the country or the world. This phenomenon is not new, but it will accelerate for those businesses that have been solely dependent on their physical locations and foot traffic.
Digital tools broaden our local job market, too. Here in Oxford, before the crisis, there was already a robust-yet-invisible cadre of professionals working remotely for companies based in places like Seattle and San Francisco and Chicago. The trauma of experiencing something like the COVID-19 crisis in a tightly packed city will only make the lifestyle we enjoy here more attractive. One of the outcomes of our current nationwide work-from-home challenge is that a lot of people and organizations will find it actually works for them. In the recovery, Oxford and other communities in Mississippi can be well-positioned for growth simply by being a nice place to live. A warm and supportive community, where you can still enjoy plenty of elbow room, is going to look like an attractive place to work from an office or from home when the days of social distancing become just a bad memory.
Oxford-area entrepreneurs and business leaders gather monthly to learn and network at the Big Bad Business series, hosted by the Yoknapatawpha Arts Council and the Oxford-Lafayette County Economic Development Foundation.
Gatherings are canceled during the COVID-19 pandemic. Instead, we’re contributing to the series with this perspective on how communication strategies can support economic recovery, as well as by sharing our team’s work from home tips.
Learn more about the series on Facebook.
By LUCY SCHULTZE
Founder + Principal
Red Window Communications
This article was the foundation for an April 23, 2020, webinar presented by the Oxford-Lafayette County Chamber of Commerce, as part of Operation Restoration: A LOU Leads Recovery Series.
To request a link to view the recorded webinar, contact us.
