ON January 28, 2021, Ipra Philippines, a chapter of the London-based International Public Relations Association, launched its webinar series titled “CommuniTalks.”
Its first session “Communication in 2021 and beyond,” featured Ipra President Philippe Borremans, and four Ipra Philippines speakers tackling different PR topics. The highly rated virtual session was attended by a global audience from the US, Africa, Europe and Asia Pacific.
My talk was “Communication Transformed: Your Niche in the Multichannel World.” It covered the reality of having many channels we can tap into today for our programs, and considerations when choosing from among these channels. The purposive choices we make in our media mix, platforms and content, take on an even greater importance to define our unique brand and find our niche. That in turn, can deliver results and make sure that what we do contributes substantially and sustainably to the bigger campaign, the larger picture, the macro reason for being, for which the channels were chosen.
An array of channels
TODAY we have the legacy or traditional media of radio, TV, print, film; the new media of mobile, online, social and digital; and in-person events and other touch points that we hope to have again when the pandemic ends.
Newer and faster communication channels will always arise, creating many more choices for us as communicators and PR professionals. We are not obliged to use all the channels just because. Audience preferences change, resources may decrease, so we must make purposive choices with agility and innovativeness.
When the pandemic hit, virtual and remote channels took the driver’s seat. In-person events stepped back. Professionals, institutions and businesses found out that it was an advantage to already have reliable online platforms before the pandemic hit, for faster turnaround and response time for business continuity.
Initial trends
IN the Philippines in January 2020, just before the pandemic broke loose, a study (https://datareportal.com/reports/digital-2020-philippines) showed that the top three social-media platforms among 16 to 64 year old social-media platform users were: (1) Facebook, (2) Youtube, and (3) Facebook Messenger, with (4) Instagram and (5) Twitter following behind. These platforms were also the top 3 in the third quarter of 2019.
However, by the third quarter of last year, with the pandemic raging globally, the trends being tracked, though these may not yet have been fully published, showed (1) Messenger overtaking Facebook for the top spot, followed by (2) Facebook and (3) Youtube, with (4) Google and (5) Gmail in fourth and fifth spots, respectively. And that social media, messaging and online video calls were consistently the top 3 activities, in that order.
The social-media users surveyed were from 16 to 24 years old, spanning Baby Boomers to Gen Z, combining both digital immigrants and digital natives.
- Digital immigrants—Traditionalists and Baby Boomers (56 years old and older)—will be more adept with legacy media.
- Digital natives (25 years old and younger) who are the Millennials or Gen Y, and the Gen Z, iGen or Centennials, are those born with the Internet and digital. They are the “always on” generation, especially with the latter’s proficiency in multitasking.
- Gen X (around 45 to 56 years old) would be what I call a cusp, listed under digital immigrants but born in the Internet times.
Research
THE more we know about them through research such as through data analytics, immersion and interaction with the target audience, the better.
Research gives us insights into their social-media behaviors and platform use that can determine the channels we will choose. Back to the January 2020 results, social-media user-respondents spent an average of three hours a day on social-media, with each person having an average of nine social-media sites.
And in a day, nine hours and 45 minutes were spent on the Internet, three hours and 53 minutes were for social media, and three hours and 49 minutes were spent watching TV.
And then, let’s not rule out that media that has converged into a smartphone that we can’t leave home without. Our Gen Z’s preschoolers and even toddlers naturally gravitate to it and effortlessly and quickly learn to handle and navigate it.
Let’s see in next months how media usage and preferences will go in 2021.
Returning to choosing our channels, foremost to consider are what fits, what works and where stakeholders will get their information. Can I sustain the online platform or page that I have started? Do we need all these? Who will manage the backend? Are my message and channel too intrusive? Are they appropriate and timely? Does the message uphold diversity, equality and inclusion? What do I want to achieve with this multi-channel mix?
An equation to consider
DO consider this equation when choosing channels:
With your purposive intent, you assemble your communication ingredients of key messages, measurable objectives, strategies and tactics and desired results.
Think of your strengths and core, your resources and limitations; and align these with your deep knowledge of your target audience including their media use, exposure, preferences and frequency. Know where they are, and when. These can help you arrive at the impactful channel choice and mix.
Knowing our core means a real, honest acknowledgment of who we are and what it is for which we stand. For institutions, it is their vision, mission, objectives and values as their reason for being. These define and guide us in picking our battles and making our decisions.
Immersing and knowing what’s on the ground is important. My previous company in the energy industry espoused integrity, quality, productivity, teamwork and malasakit (concern, empathy, solicitousness), training us in what the quality movement would say “Go to the gemba,” (a Japanese word referring to the shop floor) where the action is and where value is created.
In my other previous company that was into manufacturing, we were all expected and required as corporate leaders to do plant walk-bys to know firsthand what the actual work conditions were. Having dirty shoes and pants ( “Mis zapatos y mis pantalones estan sucios.”—Spanish for “My shoes and my pants are dirty.”) meant you were in touch with realities and got to know what mattered to co-workers.
Eight tip
HERE are eight tips that may help:
1. CORE. Go back to your core, your strengths, your identity, your reason for being. Be clear about your uniqueness and ethics.
2. SEGMENT. Know your audience in great depth and be where they are. Consider that not everyone is a digital native.
3. ASSESS. Take stock of your resources and the multiple channels.
4. COMPOSE. Have clear, crisp, consistent messages that resonate with the defined audience.
5. FIT. Find the channel fit. Choose well, choosing what delivers the results that meet stakeholders’/target audiences’ needs and/or wants.
6. AUTHENTIC. Be authentic because virtual has leveled the playing field. Anyone can now create content.
7. RESEARCH. Speak with data and research-based insights.
8. ECOSYSTEM. Channel choosing and mix is part of the communication ecosystem.
Change is constant. Our niche is defined by the choices we make. No niche is too small if it is yours, per Seth Godin, and may I add, if it is effective.
I believe that in choosing media channels, major ingredients of an effective communication plan, no channel is too old if it is relevant to your target audience, sustainable and effective.
It’s got to make sense to you, to your target audience, to your client or organization. It’s got to fit. It’s got to be sustainable. And most of all, it’s got to deliver results. Let’s choose our media channels well. Let’s keep on tracking and learning about it.
PR Matters is a roundtable column by members of Ipra Philippines, the local chapter of the United Kingdom-based International Public Relations Association (Ipra), the world’s premier association for senior communications professionals around the world. Ritzi Villarico-Ronquillo, APR, IABC Fellow is a Consultant, Coach and Speaker on Business Communication and Strategic Public Relations with 40 years of experience in leading internal and external communication and PR in corporate, communities, academia and associations.
PR Matters is devoting a special column each month to answer our readers’ questions about public relations. Please send your questions or comments to askipraphil@gmail.com.