Podcast: Using influencers to bridge Internal and External Comms

Jonathan Davies

26 mins read

Table of Contents

Creating mind space in communications

Frank van de Koppel: This is a great question. I've given this one quite a lot of thought. I also just coincidentally published a blog about social media trends yesterday, which is more focused on External Communications in which I highlighted that hygiene factors are very important. And they are always very important, but I think this year they are incredibly important. Then I specifically highlighted things like community management and clarity. Having this added value in your communication, really thinking about what you're saying, but also why you're trying to say it, which is very relevant.

For the past few months we were living in a pandemic. We had a US election. We had the inauguration, we had Christmas, the holiday season. We've had many big events that I know with social media, it's the consensus that when there's a big conversation trending, you probably won't get in between with your brand message. I've experienced this firsthand with a #thedress for those of you who still remember the dress that was either gold-white, or black-blue. That went viral from Tumbler.

I was working for Netflix at the time and we were just launching "House of Cards" and this was the only thing that was trending higher than "House of Cards". That was like, "wow, what's happening?" Which brings me to my point that a lot of people have a lot of things on their mind. And if there's no mind space, which you can measure by looking on Twitter, what people are thinking about for example, then you shouldn't bring a message in between that you think is important.

Reaching audiences internally and externally

Frank van de Koppel: This is an important observation, particularly in the context of community management within internal platforms. We need to nurture our communities, engage them in conversations, and understand their environment which, especially now with the transition to remote work, is more chaotic than ever.

We've both experienced significant world events that impact employee attention and mental space. Those in remote arrangements, as you mentioned, may face even greater distractions than those in a physical office setting.

Measuring employee engagement vs measuring happiness

Jonathan Davies: It's essential to not just measure outputs like reads or likes, but to track understanding and engagement holistically. For example, after releasing an internal article about strategic priorities for a given year, it would be a good practice to survey a sample of readers to gauge their comprehension and overall experience. You want to know not just if they read it, but if they assimilated the information in a meaningful way.

Frank van de Koppel: Exactly, and that can be accomplished through baseline research, employee engagement surveys, and continuous feedback mechanisms. We can amplify feelings of inclusion and alignment with the company's purpose by focusing on targeted communications and actionable insights derived from such metrics.

The difference between brand ambassadors and brand advocates

Frank van de Koppel: Employees can easily transform into brand advocates. They can share knowledge and enthusiasm about the company's practices, becoming informal brand ambassadors if given the right tools and guidance. Implementing influence programs within an organization enables people to feel empowered to share and uphold the brand’s values in their unique voices, which ultimately fosters internal cohesion and external credibility.