Welcome to the inaugural edition of the Rainmaker Masterminds Monthly Magazine. Every edition will offer introductions, talking points, opportunities for discussions, and subject matter expertise. You'll also see links leading you and your group to polls, online forums, and news of future events.Thank you again for your participation as a founding member of Rainmaker Masterminds.
Sherman Mohr, Community Director
June Mastermind Content
Social Business from
David Taylor, Kent, UK
How integrated is your corporate communications strategy?
Communications is a word which has long divided professionals. What exactly does it mean in a corporate context and how wide an area does it cover? To complicate matters further, in the new digital and social age, communications has seen its role enhanced even further.
Personally speaking, I believe that corporate communications is all about reaching internal and external audiences using a variety of content and channels to achieve specific business goals.
Therefore marketing, sales, PR, internal communications and even areas such as HR and IT should come underneath the comms umbrella. The problem is that in very few companies is there a wholly integrated communications strategy which joins these disparate strands together.
In the diagram above, I have highlighted the key communications areas in an organisation. The majority of companies will still base most of their communications around a website. This channel should be responsive, socially-enabled and regularly updated with interesting, relevant and engaging content.
However, of almost equal importance is the need for a strong intranet or internal communications channel such as Yammer, Chattr or even WhatsApp or Facebook Messanger.
What most businesses don't realise is that these channels should be treated more like websites. The only difference is that Instead of an audience of customers or suppliers, the audience is internal. In fact in some very large companies, this audience can number in the hundreds of thousands.
All the other key channels - marketing, sales, PR and social media - should all integrate not only with each other and the website but also with the intranet or internal communications tools. Why? Because the better informed your workforce, the more able they are to become brand ambassadors or even informal salesmen.
Most companies will have a variant of the diagram above. The challenge is joining up all the disparate parts to create a business without silos, where individual departments know what is going on in the company and where staff are empowered to become low level marketers for the brand.
The answer lies with having (1) a properly though-out, integrated communications strategy, (2) enlightened social media guidelines which equip staff to become brand ambassadors and (3) a culture of openness.
In larger organisations, it may also be necessary to bring in a head of communications who sits at Management or Board level and who's job it is to co-ordinate all external and internal comms activity, in line with business goals and an integrated communications strategy.
So how integrated is your communications? Do your staff know what is happening within the company? Is there a silo mentality or are your teams willing to share knowledge, experience and contacts? Do you think your employees could be inspired to be brand ambassadors? Do you have a decent, mobile, internal communications channel?
Becoming Steve Jobs by Brent Schlender (Author), Rick Tetzeli (Author).Why Read It? It's a first hand account of Steve Jobs' transition from kid to king. His classic screw ups and his maturation into one of the most skilled negotiators, CEO's, deligators, and visionaries of our time and perhaps history.
It's a quick read that keep me interested. I've witnessed my personal transition to Apple consumer and to read of the incredible second act that Steve Jobs pulled off to keep Apple alive is a testament to his tenacity and talent. It's a study in business and life. I highly recommend it.
Accountants and Trust Trends