From Stakeholders to Megatrends: Challenges of Strategic Communication all organizations face
Communication is the key to success, or at least one of them for companies. If we want to communicate successfully we have to keep in mind, to who, in what way and what we communicate and that helps us to drive the goals of our organization. Basically we need to be aware who our stakeholders are, how they may act in regards to the organization and how we need to communicate with them. Let´s talk about it!
It can arguably be very hard to define one singular group of stakeholders for your organization. Because usually there are more than one type of stakeholders to consider when planning your communication strategy. There are stakeholder groups who are more powerful and more involved in the organization and its success than others. Important to note is that the communication needs to be different for each group and therefore needs to be tailored to that exact stakeholder group. That means the organization needs to provide the type and the amount of information that is important to each stakeholder on through the channel they prefer.
For instance, a financial investor needs information about revenue and other financial data that can be provided through a spreadsheet about the revenue, whereas customers need to know about services and products the organization provides, that could happen through social media. Now one can argue who is more important for the organization’s success and needs more active communication: The customer or the investor?
An organization needs to be aware of who they communicate to and should use that in one way or another to classify their stakeholders. That helps them to develop a strategy. Because a lot of organizations just communicate what they feel like is important to whoever and communicate without clear strategy. A clear communication with a clear strategy helps to communicate clearly with the right target audience. Therefore, sales can be increased and it is prone to have a positive impact on the reputation of the company. Some information may be benefetial to one group of stakeholders but not for others. So it can be very difficult to find a way to communicate the right information to the right target audience and it is even more difficult if your company does not have any communication strategy that includes and notes all groups of stakeholders and their need of information. Not having a strategy can be a fatal mistake and a lot of organizations do not have any strategy behind their communication and do not see the need for one. That means that they are not consistent in their communication and when someone does try to implement a strategy, they will probably have to face a lot of backlash from within the company and from the outside. Because not all people like change and that makes it even harder to implement strategic communication.
Megatrends mediatization and strategic communication
When talking about communication within an organizational setting, things like globalization, mediatization, individualization and pluralization or digitalization need to be considered as well. Those things have grown in their meaning not only for organizations but also for individuals and the society as a whole and could be classed as megatrends.
So what impact do those megatrends have? Let’s take a closer look at one of them: Mediatization. A life without media is unimaginable. All types of media have become an inherent part in the way organizations and people communicate. So in order to not participate in a certain media and to not communicate through that exact media channel organizations need to choose specifically not to communicate through it. However, they will still be part of that medium, because someone will communicate on the behalf of that organization. For example, an organization can choose not to contribute actively in any printed newspaper in the form of a PR article etc. A journalist however, can still choose to write about that organization and publish it in that newspaper. That means that in order to avoid unwanted publicity, organizations need to be present.
Also if a company is present in many different media types, it can help to reach their target audience and possible future stakeholders. So it is important to be present in the media. But with that in mind, organizations need to be aware that their strategic communication should be planned in a way, so that they don’t overcommunicate and do not publish too much information. As discussed above, it needs the right amount of information for the right group of stakeholders within the right medium. But the organizations need to be transparent, that helps to build trust and reputation.
In addition to that, the media landscape is changing as fast as it never has before. That also means that stakeholders change their ways of how they consume and communicate through the media. They use more channels and have more points of communication. That offers new touchpoints for the strategic communication of an organization to reach their stakeholders, but also possess more risks.
Those are just some examples of how mediatization influences strategic communication. But mediatization does not always mean change in a negative way or in a way that organizations suddenly have more work. It also offers a lot of opportunities to communicate to new stakeholders in a new and innovative way.
In summary strategic communication needs to consider the different kinds of stakeholders and their different need for information all while considering megatrends like mediatization, which possess a whole new chance of communicating. All those challenges can be a great thing if considered correctly within the organization’s strategic communication.
Source and further reading:
Cornelissen, J. (2020). Corporate Communication A Guide to Theory & Practice (6. Aufl.). SAGE Publications.
Also check out Lisa Dühringer here. She was an amazing teacher and tought me all I know about strategic communication.
