Elevate Your Message Above the Noise
When you log in to Facebook and look at your news feed, what do you see? I’ll wait while you go do that, just remember to come back…
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Oh hello, nice to see you again! Did you get distracted by an article someone shared titled “21 Signs You Know You’re From [insert city/state]?” A crazy basketball trick shot video? One of your friends going on a political rant? Maybe it was a “What Animal Are You?” quiz. (For the record, I’m told I’m a hedgehog. So I got that going for me, which is nice.)
My point is, Facebook has turned into a mess of noise. I had an account since the site’s early, college-only days. Where Facebook was once a coffee shop, it’s now an 8th grade cafeteria. You have to scream and/or throw food to get noticed. Everything else gets drowned out in the noise. Maureen’s last blog about the effectiveness of the Ice Bucket Challenge is a perfect example of the fight to get noticed on Facebook.
When you have something to say or a message you really want to get across, it’s tough to cut through the noise. And it’s not just on Facebook, it fills our lives. Junk mail catalogs, spam email, and telemarketers all add to the mess.That is why I deactivated my account. I just couldn’t stand the amount of garbage flooding my news feed (no offense, friends) and realized I wasn’t even being entertained or informed. Facebook wasn’t serving any kind of purpose for me, so it was time to cut it loose.
Early this year, our company was tasked by a client to cut through the noise in an effort to enroll as many participants as possible in its smoking-cessation program. It was a job that required careful planning to elevate our message above said noise while keeping costs minimal. And so far it’s been a success; enrollees in the program as of this summer were up 300% year to date. When planning your own messaging and you want to get your message across, here are three things to keep in mind.
Timing: Choosing the best time to distribute communications is vitally important. It’s also not a one-size-fits-all variable, and can be dependent on the subject matter.
Delivery Method: How you distribute materials is key in determining whether your communications are even noticed at all. Sending an email during peak work hours could mean it gets put on the backburner and doesn’t get noticed. Messages don’t make an impact when they aren’t read.
Points of Contact: How are you touching base with your audience? It’s helpful to try to reach out through various channels to ensure you’re heard loud and clear.
How do you try to make your communications stand out? Let me know at [email protected].