Are you suffering from information overload? If so, fear not, you are by no means alone. The world is becoming increasingly more connected, and so many different kinds of information is being shared. We can tweet, post to walls, update our status, write blog, take video, share video, text, read on an iPad, read on our phone, check out email, check into a location, and that is only the beginning, sometimes our accessibility to information and the connectivity we share feels infinite. We have accessibility to so much information and as a society, we are creating an unbelievable amount of data.
I came across an interesting article over on Mashable how Twitter reacted during the announcement of the recent healthcare ruling. If you haven’t seen the article, be sure to take a look – the article indicates that the healthcare ruling sparked 13,000 tweets – per minute!
So, with all this information being shared, communications professionals are now tasked to “cut through the noise,” and find where the real conversation is happening and understand the value of so many different channels. Here are three tips, and I’d love to hear some tips from the communications professionals in the trenches.
1) It’s Not You, It’s Me – Simplify Your Message
In any profession, it’s imperative to take a hard look at yourself and always strive to improve and grow. It’s a good mantra to have. So, to cut through the noise, make sure you aren’t inadvertently making more noise. Take a look at the photo below my Dad sent me, it’s a good example of a well intentioned message, but really, utterly useless. Key lesson – keep your message simple, engaging and focused.
2) Keywords are Crucial
As you start to condense your messaging, you’ll realize that there are some common keywords that keep coming up. Focus on these, look for the appropriate hashtag, and allow the keywords to help you think about how to create compelling and interesting content for your followers.
3) Find Your Niche
It’s important to find your niche – know what is really working and where the conversation is taking place. There are dozens of social channels to join and check out. It’s important to have peripheral awareness of what is happening in the market, but not always necessary to be on every network. Make the case for each network for how it will help you forward your mission, not everyone needs to have a Pinterest, Instagram, and Quora account. To set up an account and have it lay dormant, or with an unclear idea how to use the service, would be an error for an organization.
So if you’re feeling overwhelmed, try out these three easy tips – and be sure to share some of your own below. As always, thanks for the comments and for joining the conversation.
This post is brought to you by the GovLoop Communications & Citizen Engagement Council. The mission of this council is to provide you with information and resources to help improve government. Visit the GovLoop Communications and Citizen Engagement Council to learn more.
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