Communication speaks for itself
Alison Anderson, Audio Branding Consultant at Fresh Air Studios, shares her experiences of using audio as an integral part of internal communications.
During a period of research I identified a gap in the internal communication channels mix. Whilst the benefits of videos, magazines and social media speak for themselves, measuring these channels can be a challenge. Measuring effectiveness and engagement levels are vital to improving engagement scores but might not be possible with many of the existing channels used.
So the Audio Programme for Internal Communications was born, yes ‘radio’ shows and podcasts have been done before and some have proved to be successful, some unsuccessful, however the delivery of such a channel is where the excitement begins.
Insight
Imagine knowing how many people listened to your message, how long they listened for, which message was the most engaging, what time of the day they listened?
Imagine delivering your message to that hard to reach group of employees, anytime, anywhere in any country in any language, in a tone of voice and language your colleagues understand.
All you need is a phone
Yes a good old fashioned form of communication which almost everyone has access to. I have worked with Fresh Air Studios on delivering communication programmes using a phone, which I have to say is becoming one of the top trends for 2014.
Downloading an informative, motivational, exciting, engaging, pro-active audio programme to an access point but with the interactive component of selecting which story, interview or report you want to listen to and being able to leave feedback, questions and suggestions. Genius!
I have been working with some very large organisations using our solutions over the past two years and have grown and developed them over this time.
News alert
Consider the urgent scenario of information being leaked to the press and about to break as a headline story on National TV.
Receiving a call to say the CEO wants to get a message to colleagues in advance of this to ensure they all understand the relevance (or non-relevance) of this report, and advise on how to deal with the outcome.
How exciting – deploying a special announcement made by a Senior Leader using an interview; selecting a target audience and over 75% of that audience listen to 100% of the message. That’s what I call a great result!
Audio can respond in a crises. It can be turned around very quickly (no bland statement to read or awkward camera moments).
A story to tell
It’s exciting stuff working with CEOs wherever they are in the world, and talking to field operators out on the road. Hearing about success stories within individual business areas, interviewing frontline staff, communicating the passion they have for their jobs, their customers; having an opportunity to shout about it and be recognised. This is what engagement looks like in my opinion.
Feedback
I undertook some research with a couple of organisations I work with and it was so pleasing to hear comments like “This news programme is a lifeline to the company”, “I pull up in my van, eat my lunch and play it on loud speaker, it updates me on what is happening within the organisation which is great as I deal directly with the customer”. A Senior Leader saying “I have a very busy diary so I listen whilst waiting for the train, good use of time”, and I think more importantly and one that has stayed with me is “I am dyslexic and find the written word very challenging so this audio format is great for me.”
I am very passionate about audio and the impact it can have on others (like the gentleman with Dyslexia, or the time-poor manager) and the turnaround in a crises.
You wouldn’t believe that you can tick so many boxes in an Internal Communications Strategy by using a phone would you?
> Let’s communicate
Contact Alison direct on 01752 229246, via our contact form or twitter @AlisonSound
Tell us what you think...
Share on Twitter
