The ABC of talking to XY&Z

3 Steps to Win:Win in Your Digital Comms

I’ve found that a simple three step tick-list creates a solid foundation when talking to the digital savy. Whether it’s engaging with my own paranoid and transitional Gen X’es, bowing down to the narcissistic and demanding Y’s, or aligning with the new independent and digitally native Z’ers. Underneath it all, we're all looking for the same thing, and it’s is as easy as A, B, and C!

Born to be served

My daughter is 9 and I can already see the challenges of a communicating with someone born into the digital age. Having life's needs on-demand is an expectation, and 'reaching for the stars' in a world that she's told can be her oyster has been engrained in her thinking from day one. It’s this engrained self-belief of being unique that sets the modern psyche of Generation Z and our cultural communications with them.

What do I say to her when she believes that I should be the one doing the listening? How can I get her to want what I want – even if it is only to tidy her room? Hmmm, this is bigger than 'Parenting 101' - this is a whole new level of social interaction I'm working with

For her generational peers, now in their early 20’s and entering the workplace, together with previous Generations X and Y, they all have the same access to their own digital airtime as a global brand!

With this obsession to share their point of view with the world, together with the ease of having a social presence, it means there's a lot of noise out there. So with everyone speaking at the same time and everyone wanting to reap a benefit from it, who is doing the listening? And if someone IS listening, who are they listening to? From parents to brands, how do we achieve rewarding communication in 2019?

3 Simple Steps

A - AUTHENTICITY

Gone are the days of huge brand loyalty and an unquestioning consumer. Now distrust and social justice rule the world of social, so you need to put AUTHENTICITY right up there when talking to your prospects. If you simply try to tick a marketing box and not be honest with your approach, you’ll soon be an online lamb to the social slaughter. A misjudgement of tone; a suggestion of trying too hard to be something that you’re not; bad creative intent - could all spell the immediate end of your integrity. (The good news is that they’ll be another social disaster along tomorrow to take the heat off you, but the damage will have been done).

Nike’s recent Superbowl spot in time for #InternationalWomensDay and fresh from #metoo firmly focusses on gender equality and identity but, as GingerTree Marketing questions, it’s all very beautiful and stunning to look at, but is it authentic? You can see my comments there too, but personally as a piece of content I think it’ll be something that looks incredibly dated in just a few years, very much a brand performing in a zeitgeist.

Authentic content comes from aligning what you say to your core company value.

B - BUILD TRUST

At a last count of just under 6bn, we're heading towards a time when there'll be more webpages in existence than people on the planet! Isn’t that incredible? And considering only half of those people are internet users, we’re realistically currently only at half capacity as access continuous to expand!

With so many website pages out there, there’s a constant fear of falling behind the curve. The pressure to continuously create engaging content rises with every post. I won’t mention the quality of the content produced under this kind of churn pressure, but it certainly focusses on feeding the audience rather than aligning with them.

Rather than uncontrollably vomiting content, a timely and targeted interaction is enough to put you back on a trusted pedestal with your audience - a generous retweet, a like that puts a user centre-stage or a share to new global audiences is a clear indication to individuals that we (the brand) love you too! And, all we need is love

The digital wall of noise is ever growing and technology is fluid too so the competition to stand out is enormous. Our marketing learns through Gen Y to build and maintain trust is to start by thinking like a consumer, rather than a brand. When marketeers embrace and encourage the power of the consumer, then they're harnessing the customer's power to generate loyalty by likes, shares and the promotion of your brand through their own channels. Trust between peers has a powerful impact.

C - CONSISTENCY

Lastly, being AUTHENTIC and BUILDING TRUST is wasted if you can’t maintain it. Ok, there may be times when it’s a quick win that’s driving the strategy, but mostly, a business wants to grow, establish their place in the market and seize opportunities. That’s only going to happen if you can continue to move through the digital space with a true awareness of who you are, and who you’re talking to. Your plan will soon come unstuck if you rush your interactions to fit a new trend.

In 2019, the internet is a nasty hostile place and can bring out the best and worst of us all as soon as you put a foot wrong. Once you’ve found your niche, a comfort zone with an audience, don't feel pressured to throw it up in the air. Best to use that as a consistent base to grow from, to stretch your boundaries or to take considered risks to improve your reach.

The Ultimate Question

All three of these steps are completely dependent upon, and even motivate, each other. They sit at the very top of the funnel of an incredibly complex online customer journey which is driven by on Generational ‘Identity’.

Identity is such a hot topic at the moment. Ironically, it’s trending at a time when being an ‘individual’ with a voice isn’t actually that unique after all – we’re all at it. Why? I think because X, Y or Z, we’re all searching for some sort of answer as the digital age continues to boom on move deeper into the unknown. Who am I? Which tribe do I belong to? What’s my place in the world? What should I believe?

You can summarise the A,B and C steps above, in a short communication mission statement -

"We will build trust with a consistent, authentic voice"

Let's switch this around to give the perspective of the consumer - what need does this meet for them?

"I want to someone that I trust, to give me the answers that I'm looking for, today and tomorrow"

I've read Sapiens and whether it's pre-digital or post, all communication continues to be fuelled by a deeply human desire to ‘belong’, driving all our interactions, superficial or otherwise.

If you're a brand looking to expand, or just a parent trying to inspire his daughter to clean her room, start with the approach that, just like your audience, you’re vulnerable too, simply looking for an answer. Get your ABC in place and move forward with your audience together so that you both can achieve communication Heaven!