According to a 2021 Forrester study, offline TV/video use fell from 13 hours per week on average to 8.6 hours per week between 2010 and 2020. Online TV/video consumption jumped from 1.7 to 7 hours within the same time period. The pandemic's shock hastened the shift to internet content consumption.
Consumers in the United States are showing no signs of cutting back on their internet activities: 46% say they spend the same amount of time on their personal devices today as they did last year when the pandemic limits were implemented, and 39% say they spend even more time (Lai, 2021).
Most internet users in the United States believe that digital technology has a positive impact on their lives, according to the Pew Research Center (Anderson, et al, 2021). Yet, a steady drumbeat of concerns about the personal and societal impacts of technology has been growing that has led to congressional hearings with private social media company leaders regarding their power over Americans’ lives.
Based on the concerns, fears and the reality of Americans’ experiences related to the digital world, it makes it incredibly important that communicators not only understand how to use the digital tools that are available—but, use these tools in an ethical and truthful manner.
Since there is no going back (based on the statistics cited above), the challenge arises in terms of how communicators can provide content using digital tools that is mutually beneficial and truthful. While there are many skills communicators can develop to ensure an open, transparent culture in information/communication exchanges, here are three that I recommend based on my 25+ years as a communication professional and experts like the Forbes Communications Council (Forbes Council, 2017).
• Data & Analytics
• Ability to Create & Develop Professional Content
• Fluency in Visual Communication
Data & Analytics
Good data is required for effective communication when it comes to creating mutually beneficial content and ultimately audience engagement. Creating and delivering engaging content stems from understanding everything about your audience.
Data allows communicators to go deeper than they ever have before in terms of intimately knowing and delivering meaningful content. For example, with so much “noise” now on the intranet you need to be able to use data to ensure your content shows up in your target audience’s feed. Data will show you exactly where your target audience is online and how to reach them.
Bottom line: understanding how and where to get good data, along with the ability to cross-reference data sets, enrich data, and exploit native data will make you an incredibly valuable communications professional (Forbes Council, 2017).
Ability to Create & Deliver Professional Content
Because organizations are exploring new ways to convey their stories in their own unique ways, having excellent writing skills is a valuable talent for communication professionals.
The demand for content has never been greater, including material, such as company blog entries, thought leadership articles, or white papers. Additionally, grammar isn't the most glamorous talent--but it's essential for a writer to master. Any piece of text that uses proper grammar and syntax will be more professional and clearer. For example, if you are a social media specialist you must be able to write “clean” captains to go with your posts. Even though social posts are mostly visual, you can’t have poorly written captains as it reflects poorly on the brand you are working for (or yourself).
Bottom line: learn how to write. Do whatever it takes, including much practice to become an excellent writer.
Fluency in Visual Communication
Marketing and communications professionals will need to be "fluent" in visual communication creation. For years, visually driven content has outperformed text-based content, and organizations can no longer afford to ignore including outstanding visual material. “When people hear information, they're likely to remember only 10% of that information three days later. However, if a relevant image is paired with that same information, people retained 65% of the information three days later (Brain Rules, 2018)”
According to a HubSpot poll from 2018, 54% of consumers wanted to see more video content from a brand or company they support (Hub Spot, 2018).
Mastering the art of being able to create content that is visual to tell a story or relay key messaging can be used for almost any communications role. For example, if you are a PR professional and write a press release for a client that includes lots of data, creating an infographic to go with a written narrative will help the reader comprehend the information in a simpler, more organized, and visual manner.
Sources:
Anderson, J., & Rainie, L. (2020, August 17). The future of well-being in a tech-saturated world. Pew Research Center: Internet, Science & Tech. Retrieved April 10, 2022, from https://www.pewresearch.org/internet/2018/04/17/the-future-of-well-being-in-a-tech-saturated-world/
An, M. (2020, January 21).
Content trends: Preferences emerge along Generational Fault Lines. HubSpot Blog. Retrieved April 10, 2022, from https://blog.hubspot.com/marketing/content-trends-preferences?_ga=2.9968821.1614594043.1649573284-1490970749.1649444987
Council, F. C. (2017, December 21).
Council post: 16 Skills Every Marketing Pro should master in 2018. Forbes. Retrieved April 10, 2022, from https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbescommunicationscouncil/2017/12/21/16-skills-every-marketing-pro-should-master-in-2018/?sh=5de449cd345b
Lai, A. (2021, June 21).
Post-pandemic media consumption: Online streaming accelerates a new content experience. Forrester. Retrieved April 10, 2022, from https://www.forrester.com/blogs/post-pandemic-media-consumption-online-streaming-accelerates-a-new-content-experience/
Mawhinney, J. (2021, February 16). 50 visual content marketing statistics you should know in 2021. HubSpot Blog. Retrieved April 10, 2022, from https://blog.hubspot.com/marketing/visual-content-marketing-strategy
Medina, J. (n.d.).
Brain Rule Rundown. Brainrules.net. Retrieved April 10, 2022, from http://brainrules.net/vision/
Team, D. J. (2022, January 3). The best writers share these 5 content writer skills. DemandJump. Retrieved April 10, 2022, from https://www.demandjump.com/blog/the-best-writers-share-these-5-content-writer-skills
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