Drugi jezik na kojem je dostupan ovaj članak: Bosnian
By: Manuela Šola, director of Komunikacijski Laboratorij
In the last decade the communications industry has changed more than any other industry. Moreover, the changes in this period are more significant than all the changes in all the previous decades combined. Whether we are talking about globalization, regionalization or digitization, each new “tion” has changed the face of communication almost from the ground up.
And with each new change lurk new opportunities and challenges for experts in the field of communication sciences, so the responsibility of every expert is to actively listen and look for new trends that will give their clients an edge over the others. Although the year has just begun, at the agency Komunikacijski Laboratrij (Communications Laboratory) we believe that three trends in business are clearly visible and stand out. For decades we placed emphasis on local business, and then at one point we suddenly started thinking globally about everything.
If the first trend was too limiting, the second was too optimistic, and for many impracticable. The key today is to think regionally. When we talk about a regional approach to business, it’s important to find groups (clusters) of countries with whom we have shared affinities and thinking. These groups are often historically and/or linguistically conditioned, but other factors should also be considered, such as mentality or belonging to a certain geopolitical circle (real or desired). The formation of clusters allows optimal segmentation and analysis of consumer behavior, identification of the incentives that work for them and the degree of loyalty to a particular brand, and ultimately the definition of a perfect communication strategy and plan.
Integration as an imperative
Devising communication strategies and plans that can be applied regionally is added value for the client that every agency must provide. Instead of the client having to look for a partner in every new market, the trust and expertise are transferred from one country to another, from one office to another. One of the challenges facing the public relations industry is the “deterioration” of traditional media and the boom of social, as well as the increasing permeation of what we call offline and online communication.
This course of events can cause anxiety and a sense of hopelessness in some communications experts. Others see it as an opportunity for the integration of services and strengthening links between public relations, marketing and digital communications. The line between public relations and marketing was rigid and impermeable for too long. But if you analyze the best and most successful campaigns today, you will see that they combine elements of all of these industries, taking the best from each.
Genuine content
Rather than being afraid of this trend, communications experts should accept it with open arms because they should have a crucial role to play in it. In fact, it’s up to them to identify the messages, as well as the tools that will make their messages find their way through the mass of others, reach the end user, and provide them with a unique user experience. Selecting the channels through which the brand should communicate is not a negligible task, and every communications expert should embrace these channels. Only then can experts in the industry and the industry itself thrive, and the client’s business objectives be met. The third trend has existed ever since large companies have existed, but it has never been more important than today.
The voice of a company or a brand, and their knowledge and experience, are invaluable and a tool that must be used. In these times of digital media, when everyone’s voice can be heard in real time, it’s sacrilege to sit idly by and not interact with your audience. Those who choose to communicate with their target audiences often resort to hiring so-called influencers or ambassadors, whose rich fan base ensures rapid expansion of the same generic content through most channels. However, if new media have taught us just one thing, it’s that the consumers of these messages crave for honest, genuine content and authentic “voices”. The communication of relevant, useful content and opinions can quickly position a brand or a company as a leader in the industry, and in terms of market competition this is essential for their differentiation.
For this reason, no company or a brand should miss the opportunity to position themselves correctly. Communications experts are crucial in creating quality content through which brands or companies present themselves to their audiences, regardless of whether they are addressing potential partners, customers or new employees. But the ‘sin’ that many PR agencies commit is that they don’t do the same thing themselves. This self-abnegation could cost them future opportunities and could deprive their clients of an additional channel for the promotion and dissemination of their message. (Poslovni.hr)