No. 1 – Relevancy
Be sure your communications – no matter what medium you use – are relevant to your customers. Communications need to contain sources, examples, and images that customers recognize. Information on water quality becomes more relevant when you use a picture of your local water tower or water source instead of a generic, stock photo.
No. 2 – Brevity
Think billboards and snippets, not long blocks of texts or speeches that go on and on. Respect customers’ time and understand that attention spans don’t last that long. Make a message quick to make it stick. A 150-word article or a one-minute video is about as long as you should ideally push it. Images are also important to making a message memorable. One image with a few words can be more effective than a page-long story with several photos.
No. 3 – Funny
People like and remember messages and images that are entertaining – ones that bring a smile to their faces or make them chuckle. People also respond better to a more light-hearted approach than one that comes across as preachy or authoritative. Don’t be afraid to have fun with your communications.
Communications need not be complicated to be effective. If you make your messages relevant, short, and humorous, you can get people’s attention and get them engaged.