Five Strategic Essentials Political Communicators Are Not Paying Enough Attention To

Every day as communicators, we turn to our workstations and enter a busy state. The time to do our work is usually scarce just like the resources and support from our management. Checking if the graphic is ready to go, if the article was approved, assessing if we should make an Instagram reel or rather focus on a Twitter thread, what are the social media handles of the author, etc., etc. We often find ourselves in a scramble to complete what needs to be done, and this affects the quality of our external communication efforts. The question of whether a particular post is on strategy, on brand, on message does not show up in our every-second chaos and eventually in what we “broadcast” from our brand accounts.

This could potentially infuriate my colleagues, but the truth can be harsh, and sadly our truth is quite visible. I completely understand how overwhelming it can be for a group of people constantly facing a changing industry landscape every six minutes while combating imposter syndrome, to admit that they are not considering all factors.

But the accusation that our work sometimes is not on strategy, on brand, on message, is not our responsibility alone. What goes out on external communication platforms is governed by lots of factors and (usually by more powerful) individuals within a typical non-profit industrial complex.

When I look back on my previous role as a communications officer at a political foundation, I wish there had been a way to course correct. A method, a platform, an avenue, a community that not only helped me do my job better but also helped me negotiate with my “i-know-better-than-you” colleagues, equipped with proven facts on how to communicate strategically. Based on my experience and learning, here are the five essentials that are indispensable for a communications strategy that’s fit for social today or any time in the future.

Raw, Hyperlocal, Real-time

People no longer crave heavily photoshopped images and stock videos. The success of Instagram Stories or the latest platform: BeReal, lies in its appeal to our affinity for the new, unknown, and unseen. As digital natives, we receive updates from our families, friends, and networks in real-time, hyper-locally — from ground zero— not nationally, not statewide, not citywide, but wherever and whenever it happens. Professionals must also adapt their strategies to share real-time updates from the ground, not providing outdated information that people need to take extra steps to understand.

Message Front-loading

Tell what you absolutely need to tell right in the first place — the first sentence or the first 3–5 seconds of your video. When the idea is clear right in the beginning, your audience is more likely to stay immersed in your message. Avoid providing knowledge that at best supports the message but is not directly related to it. For example, placing your logo animation that takes away the first 10 seconds of your video is a catastrophe. Instead, use those few seconds to make a statement that emphasizes the main idea you are trying to convey. We need to be mindful that we are competing in a scroll economy, and focus on making our content stand out from the rest.

Becoming a signal in the noise.

Humanize Content

Humans trust humans.

Engage your audience with a meaningful conversation and give them a memorable experience. Create content that tells a story, with face(s), voice(s), with emotions. If you look around your favorite social media platforms, you’ll easily notice content/posts with a face and a voice leading a story that evokes emotion are way more celebrated than the ones produced graphically. For example, when posting about a new publication, have the author tell the story behind it rather than simply sharing the cover picture and a download link.

Capture the Moment

The idea is to showcase that one moment or one aspect of your update that will resonate most with your audience rather than throwing the 360-degree version at them. For instance, when organizing a panel discussion, it is more effective to select a moment or quote that highlights the most important point, rather than broadcasting the entire session live. These snippets will be of more value to followers of your work, rather than watching a long live stream.

Moments get shared on social not the three-hour live streams ;)

Platform-specific Strategies

What works on Twitter doesn’t work on Instagram, doesn’t work on the website, doesn’t work on the newsletter, or any other platform. We need to make sure we understand how different platforms work; they differ in key features, formats, and algorithmic science (read black hole). Different platforms serve different audience behaviors and expectations and we need to fit in with that knowledge to stand out with our mission. So instead of creating one piece of content and simply posting it across all social media platforms as it is, we need to make sure we use platform-native formats to share the content. For example, a website article can be strategically dissected to create a Twitter thread to make it more comprehensible and shareable, or it can be used to create an Instagram carousel post. It can even be used to engage with the audience directly with Instagram stories, using the quiz, emoji slider, or poll stickers.

Same content, but made for different platforms.

Bottom Line

There are no rules about what sets a strategy on a success trajectory. But these essentials will definitely set a brand apart if implemented consistently.

Inauthentic messaging eventually becomes obvious — and nothing turns the audience off like a brand that doesn’t acknowledge the complexity of human realities and emotional intelligence.

Go break the monotony!