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January 27, 2006
Is print more engaging than other media?
Need to make a case for your print publication? A recent study of consumer behavior demonstrates that people are more engaged by print media like newspapers and magazines than they are by electronic media like TV, radio and the Internet.
By “engagement,” the authors—academic researchers at Ball State University’s Center for Media Design—mean the amount of concentrated time that consumers spend on media. Known as the Middletown Media Studies, the research is based on more than 5,000 hours of direct observation of consumers using media.
The upshot: People are much more likely to devote their full attention to print publications than they are to other media. So although consumers spend far more time on TV, radio and the Internet, they’re also likely to be multi-tasking, having two or more of these channels on at once, or using an electronic medium as “background” while involved in other activities.
(Can a study about external media be applied to internal communication? Absolutely, because employees use media in similar ways, no matter where the information comes from.)
If you manage a print publication, I recommend you learn more about this study, and use the results to demonstrate the power of print to your boss, senior management, or anyone else who asks, “Why, in this day and age, do we still have a print publication?”
The reason is simple: good print still works—and works in ways that electronic media cannot.
To download a report, go to http://www.bsu.edu/cmd/availablereport/ To read an article summarizing the report (free log-in required), visit this site and click on the study link. Or, to learn more about the Middletown Media Studies, visit http://www.bsu.edu/cmd/conmedexp/
Posted by Alison Davis at 12:47 PM
January 20, 2006
What a junior colleague can teach you about technology
Youth may be wasted on the young, but there’s no doubt that some of the more junior members of your team have a better grasp on technology than communicators who are, shall we say, more seasoned.
For example, I was in a meeting the other day with three very experienced communicators and their (much) younger colleague who is responsible for managing the company’s news/information intranet page.
Everyone in the room was smart, but the junior member had, by far, the best grasp on both the potential and the pitfalls of technology. At one point, we were talking about how to encourage employee participation in the intranet—how to get employees to ask questions, make comments, enter a contest, contribute content. The young communicator was well-versed in all the latest gee-whiz possibilities: blogs, wikis, portals, instant messaging, etc. She knew the best ways to use these technologies—and the limitations (both technological and political) of each.
“Duh!” you might say. “Of course younger people know about this stuff! They’ve grown up on video games and computers, so they’re completely comfortable with technology. Why even mention this, much less write a web log entry about it?”
I bring it up because far too often, the junior communicator doesn’t get listened to—either by his or her more seasoned colleagues, or by senior management. Younger communicators are much more attuned to how their cohorts use new technologies, yet they don’t get the opportunity to put this knowledge to work, because they have to submit to the wishes (and sometimes the whims) of more senior people, many of whom wouldn’t know a wiki if they fell over it.
This is a missed opportunity, especially to anyone over 40, who still remembers when faxes were high tech. Don’t let the wonderful technological expertise of your younger colleagues go to waste.
Posted by Alison Davis at 09:44 AM
January 09, 2006
Three articles you really should read
Inspiration comes from everywhere, as do smart ideas that help you communicate more effectively. As I’ve often written in this web log, I encourage communicators to look outside the narrow confines of the usual information sources (IABC, Melcrum, and those darn consultants) and seek inspiration from marketing, advertising, academia, and other disciplines.
In that spirit, here are three articles you really should read:
Most influential information source? Word of mouth.
It’s true when it comes to purchasing decisions—especially when buying electronics—according to a study by BIGresearch. http://www.bigresearch.com/news/big122005.htm
Here’s the question to ponder:Is word of mouth the most influential information source in your organization? (And if so, what are you doing to leverage it?)
Companies use online magazines to woo consumers.
My attitude is simple: Keep an eye on Procter & Gamble, probably the smartest marketer on earth. According to a recent article in USA Today, P&G has invested heavily in “online magazines,” informational websites that help customers solve problems and only subtly promote products. http://www.usatoday.com/tech/news/2006-01-02-online-mags-target_x.htm
“Since its launch about five years ago, P&G’s homemadesimple.com site has grown from 300,000 subscribers for its free monthly e-mail newsletter to a projected 10 million in 2006. It’s among seven sites . . .that combine information aimed at the target markets for its varied consumer products,” says the article.
Here’s the question: Does your intranet site help your employees meet their needs? (If not, how could you make simple changes to make your web site more relevant and useful.)
The 10-second e-mail
Long e-mails just don’t cut it, according to a study by Marketing Sherpa, because recipients spend 10 to 20 seconds at most reading a typical e-mail message or newsletter. And being attractive doesn’t increase the amount of time people spend, but designing for the screen has a big impact on how people view an e-mail. http://www.marketingsherpa.com/sample.cfm?contentID=3146
Here’s the question: Can employees get the meaning from your e-mails in just the few seconds they spend reading them? (If not, how can you make your e-mails more concise and direct?)
Posted by Alison Davis at 09:31 AM