Communications Corner: How to figure out what media works best for your communications

Your customers/residents are used to getting information when they want it and how they want it. This means that if you want your audience to pay attention to your communications, you’d better give it to them the way they want it.

For most organizations, one approach doesn’t fit all. To effectively reach all your customers/residents, you’ll likely need to rely on a mix of print, PDF, HTML, and mobile message delivery. Each medium has its place, and the various types can work together to reinforce the information that you want to provide.

• Print – The original go-to means of communication for many organizations is still as effective as ever. People appreciate being able to touch and feel the paper as they flip through the pages. What’s more, people can post the printed page (of information they find valuable and/or interesting) in places where they will see it – and see it often.
• PDF – A good in-between for print and electronic communications. Organizations can save the time and cost of printing the material, but customers/residents can make copies if they choose. PDFs also allow people to embed links to online information. When people view the PDFs electronically from devices with Internet access, individuals can simply click on the link to go directly to the information. What’s more, people can pass along the information easily by attaching the PDF document to an email.
• HTML – With electronic communication, you can layer information. You may start with an email containing a big-picture message. For some people, this brief tidbit is all they want or need. For those who desire to go more in-depth into a topic, you can include a “read more” link.  Electronic communication also can allow you to track what people access and for how long through coded analytics. This data can provide insight into your audience.
• Mobile – More and more people access information on the go via their smartphones. By using text messages, emails, and mobile-enhanced websites (MEWs), you can reach your smartphone-dependent audience anytime, anywhere.