Online communications have changed, and even in technical sectors, the ability to grab someone’s attention and convey meaning quickly needs to be carefully considered. People don’t have time to figure out what you are trying to say. I like to call this the “punch them in the face” method of communication. You need to make an impact and stop your prospects scrolling. Now.

You can do this with great design (ask us), and you can do this with language. Words convey a considerable level of emotion, especially when combined well; examples below:

• Using power terms such as Know, Win, Best, Discover.
• Use buying words such as Now, New, Here, and Need.
• Using emotive language such as Pride, Happy, Excited, and Care.
• Use influence language such as You, Today, Help, Tell Us.
• Use questions and bold statements to capture attention.

It is also vital to make your content accessible and inclusive. If you are in the technical sector and want to recruit new talent, they might not yet know your terminology, and you might inadvertently ostracise them. This is something I learned many moons ago working in education; the terms FE, HE, AQA, SLT; you name it, there was an acronym. It was only at a meeting when a client asked me every time to explain each one that I realised I was talking like an alien most of the time, and people had been too embarrassed to ask.

Let your language let people in and create a connection. This is most important now in our new “genderation” (gender generation), where inclusivity of others of different pronouns is essential. But more than this, language and images can be used to include people from all diversities as long as it is kept neutral and human-centred.

Just like the “punch them in the face moment,” you want to encourage people to get in touch as swiftly as they wish.

Chatbots are a great way to do this; even better, a live chat with a team member. Visible email addresses and multiple phone number choices are also good suggestions. Another way to automate this process  is to set up a calendar booking function on your website. This might sound difficult, but most email account providers have a booking app that can be utilised; we have used Microsoft Outlook’s Bookings app for this purpose, which is free and effortless. You can also access several paid service versions of this, Calendly, for example. If you need support with this, give the team a call or email. The beauty of this feature is that it empowers the client and makes them think you are accessible to them when you aren’t even involved in the process.

Once people have decided to contact you or want to buy from you, you need to ensure they feel there is a personal touch to the next stage. That they have someone they can chat to, or some means of taking charge of the process.

How you operate your business, manage your staff and cultivate causes that support others and communities speaks way louder than your products and services. If you say you are a great company to work for that cares for its people, you need to prove it.

There is much negative press about companies who are “seen” as part-time advocates for causes when they could/should be embedded in their business culture. An example is Pride, when countless companies stand for the cause and advocate for an entire month, only for the month to end and the cause to go quiet.

While there is an argument here that companies cannot continually advocate if it takes away from their core deliverables, there must be a way for companies to weave their causes, values, and culture through their communications throughout an entire year and not just at critical times. The fact of the matter is that discrimination, mental health, and diversity are issues all the time, not just for their awareness month, and I think that companies leave themselves wide open to criticism when not embracing these causes honestly and meaningfully.

People connect to others through values, people and culture, and people care about causes. If you can plan more effective communications, both internal and external, that cultivate this, and if you can use visual communication to showcase this, i.e., video, podcasting, photography, imagery, and design, you will foster goodwill, demonstrate your certainty, create connection and also mitigate any negative attention from a part-time approach.

The adage “people buy people” is still alive and kicking, and for a good reason. 95% of people will buy from people they feel they know, and 90% will buy from people referred to them.

Your company communications can go a long way for you, especially when implementing some of the techniques above, but they will never perform like a person. This is because a brand is a brand; no matter how carefully curated, it is still curated, built, and developed, and people know this. We live in a far too tech-savvy world, and people know the tactics.

The influencer generation has been a gift and curse here too, as people now also know that people are commodities, but on the flip side, they still grow fond and choose to embrace some of this content. In short, they know, but they don’t mind because it is done well.

Our challenge is to consider how you can do this well and how your organisation represents the brand and values well. Who in your company could develop a more expansive social media presence and take up the gauntlet to become the face and voice of your company? You might have several staff for this task.

These advocates would no doubt do a thoroughly good job of communicating your brand, culture and causes in a much more impactful way than the company line could. Some suggestions for them might be:

• To use daily anecdotes on company activities and key learnings
• To tell stories of their development as it fits within your business (or because of it)
• To take first-hand photos and videos of company events and share these with takeaway thoughts
• To create longer content, i.e., blogs to help people better understand your company and mission
• To sit on panels and become a thought-leader on critical topics for your industry

If you have untapped talent who wants to progress in your company and their industry, this is something you should consider boosting your brand personalisation.

Our final tip here is a reminder that consumers are conscious. Clients, prospects, and customers are more aware than ever of being sold. An excellent way to mitigate the loss of interest in your communications and add some personalisation to your business is to consider your broader ecosystem.

Your communications don’t always have to talk about yourselves, your services and your products; you can extend the reach and foster good feeling by branching out and embracing your suppliers, partners, contractors and projects. You can talk about the people on the job and the long-lasting working relationships you have shared with other companies, and you can showcase what they do in the broader context of your operational success. This technique works in several ways:

• You foster goodwill with your partners, suppliers and contractors, leading to better relationships.
• You showcase the people behind the operations, which leads to greater trust with your customers.
• You stamp your authority by showing the prowess of your network and the success of the projects you have completed.
• You prove your personal expertise and show yourself as a powerhouse in working collaboratively with others. This is also called social proof.
• You enable people to forget you are selling something, and, at this moment, they can develop greater trust in your brand.