COMMUNICATING
6 New Year’s Resolutions for Better Digital Communications
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s this year comes to a close, many are reflecting on what went well for our businesses in 2020 and what needs extra attention going forward. Due to the pandemic, 2020 provided the necessity for more industries to really embrace technology for most of their communicating—and there are some best practices that are well worth keeping long after physical distancing is no longer required. Take a look at these digital communicating resolutions to help you stay connected with clients and prospects, grow your business, and build your brand in 2021. The best part is, they are not expensive or difficult to do. Just set aside time to tackle some or all these resolutions and make a commitment to keep it going to measure the impact.
Resolutions for 2021 . . . 1. Be Helpful Do you have a blog or email newsletter? The most effective thing you can do to get people interested in your messages is to be useful. Share your expertise by answering questions you’re often asked or insights about the industries with which you work. 2. Be Authentic Are you on LinkedIn? That is by far the best digital channel for networking. • Ensure that you have a current and detailed personal profile set up and start exploring. You’ll find others in your industry . . . clients, prospects, and aligned professionals there.
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Jean Beale
5. Be Inquisitive
Ask your clients where they heard about you. • Post industry-related articles, ask questions, and request feedback. Being yourself while still being professional is very engaging and gets more attention than “salesy” comments. • Connect with people, “like,” and comment on others’ posts to show your interest, and reply to those who contact you.
3. Be Engaging The power and challenge of using social media for your business is the need to grab people’s attention in a crowded space. On Facebook for example, share engaging, interesting, or unique information—and include a high-quality photo or graphic to help get noticed. Use Facebook to share the more personal side of your business, too—by highlighting your team members or your community. 4. Be Current Things change—how about your website? Now is a great time to review every page of your site and make needed updates. • Is contact information current or are you now offering a service that hasn’t been added to the website yet? • Has your team changed? Make sure your site reflects who you are today. • Also, look up your free Google business listing and update it. People are searching for you online . . . what are they finding? BC Notaries Association
earn more about connecting L with clients—from your clients! • Ask your clients where they heard about you. • Ask if they’d like to sign up for your email newsletter. • Ask if they have questions you can answer. ost people are on at least one M social media platform, which one do your customers use? Be on the one where most of your clients are.
6. Be Consistent And finally, communicating consistently online is a habit that can be learned; you’ll soon be looking for opportunities to share your expertise and get attention for your business. • Try writing something short every week or film a 2-minute video. • Share a link to something interesting you’ve read and add your own comment. • Keep a list of questions you are often asked or things you’ve learned. • Ask your team members to contribute regularly, as well. That will all become content for your blog or newsletter or for The Scrivener or social media. One interesting piece of content can be tweaked or shortened for publishing to multiple places online. s
Jean Beale is a partner with Intersection Digital, a Vancouver-based agency that develops and manages digital marketing strategies that help organizations connect with their audience. Volume 29 Number 4 Winter 2020
