Do you have a message strategy?
If your answer is ‘yes’ – great stuff, go to the top of the class. If your answer is ‘no’, or ‘what’s a message strategy?’ or ‘why would I need to do that?, read on…
What is a message strategy?
A message strategy simply means getting really clear and precise in answering some key questions about the fundamentals of business communication:
- Who am I talking to? If you’re vague about who your audience is, they’re going to be vague about you. If you can identify them exactly, you can speak directly to them, in their own language.
- What are their goals and aspirations? Waffling on about generalised issues doesn’t cut through the masses of messages your audience hears every day. Hearing their own dreams reflected back to them does.
- How do I help? There’s no point in articulating your audience’s goals unless you can very clearly state how you help them get there.
- How do I prove it works? No matter how good your story, unless you can prove it with facts, statistics and concrete examples, it will lose its power.
- How does my audience benefit? If you’ve covered all the points above, the benefits are obvious, surely? Not necessarily – you need to spell out to your audience how their world will be different if they work with you.
- Where’s the passion? Even in business, you’re communicating with people. People connect on emotion (even though they think they use their heads). So what do you share to ensure that strong connection.
Why do I need one?
Put very simply, it saves you time and money, and ensures you’re communicating in a way that wins you more business.
If you create your own content, a strategy will save you time. If you use an external content creator, it will save you money through clearer briefings.
You’ll have no ‘scattergun’ comms – meaning that most of it misses its mark. You can be a sniper, with a laser focus on your target audience and messages meant just for them.