Hi everyone! Please read and comment on my response below to our Week 3 Discussion for COMI610.
Please respond to Argenti, Howell, and Beck's (2005) characterization of communication as part of an organization's overall strategy. Do you agree or disagree? Please explain.
I agree with Argenti, Howell, and Beck’s characterization of communication as an essential part of any organization’s overall strategy because of their use of excellent supporting details and scenarios that stemmed from their research. Throughout the reading, the experience of several companies that relied on strong communication in order to continue growing as successful businesses without jeopardizing their reputations and relationships with their employees and consumers.
Also, how does this characterization apply to marketing, advertising, and other elements of IMC -- and even social media?
I think that this can best be answered using a quote directly from the text, that "the need for a consistent communications strategy becomes even more critical because it must communicate to a diverse and rapidly expanding array of constituents while remaining relevant to all." (Argenti, 2005) A company must learn to grow with its consumers, and by doing so they must adapt and communicate through the networks and channels that their consumers are using.
How can social media play a role in an organization's overall strategy?
Social media has the potential to play a vital role in an organization's overall communication strategy. By utilizing social media, the organization has the ability to reach consumers through communication channels other than the traditional advertising, marketing, and media channels that have been used throughout the years. Social media enables organizations to reach groups of consumers across the world.
And how can we "align" each of IMC's elements and many social media channels to "enhance [our company's] strategic positioning"?
I think that one of the most important lessons from the text is that "[We integrate] because we’re concerned with maintaining the integrity of the brand. The brand means different things to different people, and we don’t want counterproductive moves or multiple divisions pitching to the same media.” (Argenti, 2005) As long as the company stays focused on its strategic positioning throughout each channel of communication, including social media, the best way to align each of the elements is to make sure they communicate the same message across all boards.
Works Cited
Argenti, P. A., Howell, R. A., & Beck, K. A. (n.d.). The Strategic Communication Imperative.
In MIT Sloan Management Review. (Reprinted from MIT Sloan Management Review, 46(3), 2005)
Hey Nicole,
ReplyDeleteGreat post. I like you included a graphic to better illustrate your point and picked up on key quotes from the text as well. You are right on in your analysis on companies utilizing multiple social media channels. As you say, "As long as the company stays focused on its strategic positioning throughout each channel of communication, including social media, the best way to align each of the elements is to make sure they communicate the same message across all boards."
One can often hear a tone when it comes to social media posts. For businesses this can be key. It has always seemed sloppy to me if you can see a difference in tone between a brands Facebook page compared to their Twitter for example. This is simply bad branding of a product. I do believe that different channels of social media needs to have a message that is relevant to the forum. For example, hashtags on Twitter are more effective then when they are used on Facebook.
Great post and thanks for posting in a timely manor as well.
Dan
Thank you Dan!
ReplyDeleteThough Facebook and Twitter are completely different social networks, it is important that when representing a brand they share the same tone, feeling, and messages. If the tone is different from one network to the next, it can hinder then consumer's impression of the brand or products being marketed. I think Qualman summarizes this best when he quotes "C. C. Chapman on the blog 'Managing the Grey'; 'Brands need to wake up to th efact that "new media" isn't going away and in fact, I'd argue that it isn't new anymore, but is here and at the forefront so you either wake up and pay attention or you lose business to the company that is paying attention." (Qualman, 2013) Companies who make sure to keep their Facebook and Twitter pages clean and up-to-date are going to be more successful in the long run over companies that do not.
Qualman, E. (2013). Socialnomics: How Social Media transforms the Way We Live and do Business (2nd ed.). Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Hey Nicole,
DeleteHow do you think companies can modify the same message on different social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter for example?
Hi Dan,
DeleteI believe that type of modification relies on the intelligence and success of any company's communication and public relations department. In fact, I think the best way for companies to make sure the same messages is effective on all social media platforms is for the different departments to work together. Integrated Marketing Communications isn't just 'communications.' Effective communication strategies are about integrating all of the key components, resulting in success.
Nicole
Well stated Nicole! Great conversation this week!
DeleteThanks for the feedback Daniel!
DeleteNicole,
ReplyDeleteI agree with you that the authors utilized great companies and examples to drive the message home. I especially like how FedEx focused on their employees during a difficult time, however, met business needs (pg. 84). As a company, this thoughtfulness for employees was well executed.
I like how you reference growth and the diverse array of an organizations constituents. This is a great statement and very true. As the article states, organizations need to know which social media platform to use and when as well as how to reach the masses. Below is a great presentation on just that.
article
Brand integrity is so important for overall success. From the examples in article research, it is clear that organizations that have strategic communication strategies implemented, show greater success. However, reaching that goal requires specific lessons and processes to provide full execution.
Very nice post.
Thank you,
Joanna
References
Argenti, Howell, & Beck (2005). The strategic communication imperative. MIT Sloan Management Review. Retrieved from
https://www.dartmouth.edu/~opa/communicators/fall08/reading/Sloan_MIT_Strat _Comm_Imp.pdf
Hi Joanna,
DeleteThanks for your post! I also admired Fed Ex in reading about how well they managed during difficult times and that because of effective communication they were able to meet their business needs.
One of my favorite key points from the article you shared was in reference to using social media as a business tool. "It‟s an ideal, relatively inexpensive, fast constituent services tool; you‟ll learn about your constituents in a way that helps you effectively aid them with theirs issues and concerns." (Matters, 2012) I think this should be among the top reasons for all businesses to get on board with social media. What's better than free marketing and advertising?
Matters, A. (2012, January 29). UPDATED: Communicating with Constituents Via Social Media. Retrieved February 6, 2014, from /http://www.slideshare.net/audiencemattersmedia/communicating-with-constituents-via-social-media
Nicole,
ReplyDeleteGreat post! I particularly like your comment about branding and that the brand means different things to different people. We recently went through a rebranding project in 2008 in which the entire department changed its logo. This was a very tedious process that still continues today. It was particularly difficult to get people to understand why consistency is important and the reasons for the change. Having 24 different logos within one department is never a good thing!
The next challenge that we face is branding ourselves effectively with social media. It is very difficult when you have a department with 23 different teams who all want to do their own thing. There still has to be guidelines put into place so that there is still some consistency even though the message is different. Nike does a good job with this throughout their social media accounts. Their football, basketball, soccer and running accounts each have a different spin, but all fall within Nike’s well-defined image.
Another item that you addressed is keeping Facebook and Twitter pages up-to-date. I am always astonished by the number of companies and organizations who do not update their pages on a regular basis. Social media has to be a daily venture in order for it to be effective. Many small businesses struggle with this due to a lack of staffing. It is a very important item that can fall through the cracks.
Hi Travis,
DeleteThanks for your post! Its funny that you mention the Marist logo re-branding project. I think I actually remember casting a vote for which new Marist logo I liked to the best. Since I started undergrad in 2006 and graduated in 2010, I have several old and new Marist t-shirts, sweatshirts, and sweatpants where the Marist logo is in a different font. Some with a fox, some without. But I have to say that my school pride doesn't stop me from wearing any of them!
It sounds like it must have been very challenging having so many different people involved in the process, especially when you want a brand to be cohesive. Nike does do a very good job bringing all 23 different teams together with their iconic 'swoosh.'
Nicole
Hi Nicole -
ReplyDeleteI completly agree with you (and the other commentors) that integrating social media within broader communications strategies is crucial to the development of brand equity and relationships with consumers.
Recently I've felt, as I'm sure that others have as well, that I sometimes suffer from "information overload" - particularly because of my involvement in multiple social media platforms. Omar Diab of The Stanford Daily writes, "News feeds filter out the noise, consolidating information the world considers important. Yet, according to a Pew poll, not a single news audience is well-informed about current events"
Do you think that as brands develop a presence on multiple social platforms (twitter, FB, YouTube, Pinterest etc) consumers will tend to pull away from connecting with them as they are bombarded with content?
Citations -
Diab, O (2013). "Information Overload and Social Media" The Stanford Daily. Retrieved from http://www.stanforddaily.com/2013/11/15/information-overload-and-social-media/
Hi Adrienne,
DeleteI completely agree with you on the information overload. When I started my first Twitter account, I found myself completely addicted to it. I would constantly check my Twitter feeds on any and all updates from who I chose to follow, which was a lot. It came to a point where I was following too many accounts and I couldn't keep up. I tried to go through and "unfollow" as many as I could but I became uninterested because there was TOO much content. As a consumer, I completely pulled away from Twitter and deactivated my account. My @nvalerioIMC account is completely new and now the only account I use on Twitter.
The article you posted posing a very interesting and debatable statement. "Not a single news audience is well-informed about current events." (Diab, 2013) Do you think this is because of all media that people are not well-informed on current events, or specifically those who use social media?
Hi Nicole - I think that people are less-informed because some of the news that is being reported (formal and informal news) may not be "news" at all.
DeleteFor a hypothetical example - you may share the fact that you're spending the week skiing in Vermont (leading up to, while you're there, and posting photos afterwards) more frequently than you'd share the fact that your mother's birthday is today (a one day post). I, as your family friend, may feel that the "news" I need to know is about your mom's birthday - because I need to put her card in the mail. But because that post is in between multiple posts about skiing - I miss it.
Again - totally hypothetical situtation :)
The same type of thing happens with formal news channels - The Today Show loses credibility as a "breaking news" sorce when they have a 10 minute segment on Lindsey Lohan.
I think we're losing the ability to differentiate between "need to know" and "nice to know" because our brains are constantly bombarded with messaging and information - many of which may not be important to us - and we haven't developed the ability to sort through it as effeciently as possible. The technology to communicate is (sometimes) outpacing our ability to process.
Just my personal POV!
Hi Adrienna,
DeleteI couldn't have said it better myself. There is difference between "need to know" and "nice to know" and I believe that sometimes the "nice to know" can go a little too far. This is especially the case with news. I remember a few months ago when the dog from Family Guy was killed on the show show, and it was all over the news and on the radio the day after it happened. This may have been interesting news for people who watch the show, but for those who do not I felt that it was a little too much to be broadcasted across all media channels.
Then, when the 'Brian' the dog was brought back onto the show it made the news again, along with a tweet from the writer, Seth MacFarlane. His use of social media stirred the audience and yet again it made the news.
Here's an example of one of news articles-
http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/tv-movies/family-guy-dog-brian-griffin-triumphant-return-controversial-death-article-1.1549227
Sacks, E. (2013, December 16). 'Family Guy' dog Brian Griffin makes triumphant return after controversial death. Retrieved February 8, 2014, from New York Daily News website: http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/tv-movies/family-guy-dog-brian-griffin-triumphant-return-controversial-death-article-1.154922
Hi Nicole!
ReplyDeleteI love your post, and I am particularly interested in two subjects being discussed.
The first is the statement you made about: "A company must learn to grow with its consumers, and by doing so they must adapt and communicate through the networks and channels that their consumers are using."
This has become a huge pet peeve of mine, and I am not even a social media junky. However, I am currently working for two companies that refuse to see the major importance of social media in their business strategies. What's even worse is that they have half-heartedly tried utilizing Facebook by creating pages, but neither company is monitoring their pages, or even responding to anyone's post comments. This makes both companies look worse than they would have if they never started using Facebook to begin with! To add insult to injury, both companies' pages have ads posted on them by other companies, leading the viewers from their Facebook page to that other businesses page - it is ludicrous to me that even business professionals that know very little about social media wouldn't feel that monitoring the Facebook pages would be important, at the very least. In one case, a competitor has posted a link to their page on the page of the company I work for. When I explain to them what is happening, and how to fix the problem, even offering to do the monitoring and responding voluntarily, the companies do not want to invest the time or energy to do it, but still complain about the bottom line getting further and further below expectations.
The other area of interest is from Adrienne's comment: "I think that people are less-informed because some of the news that is being reported (formal and informal news) may not be "news" at all."
I think this is a huge problem in today's society, and with today's news channel outlets. One outlet I am continuously aggravated with is The Weather Channel. When Australia was in a direct path for the largest cyclone to hit them since 1918, The Weather Channel was continuously providing information about the snow storm in the Midwest. Now, do not misunderstand me, that snow storm was also very important news, but when they reported the same stories, with the same interviews, and the same videos over and over ... and nothing, not a single thing, about the Australian cyclone, I was floored. I was so angry I posted a comment on Facebook, and I got "likes" ... and eventually, after days of complaints, The Weather Channel posted an apology. I currently refer to them as the 'non-weather channel', because they play (and repeat) more shows about weather, than they actually play the weather information. I think organizations, no matter what the industry, need to remember what their main audience is looking to them for, and utilize the new media channels to enhance what their offerings are, while still providing the right messages to the right constituencies. To be fair, I have to admit my niece was in school in Australia when this was happening, and she lived right on the beach where the cyclone hit ... so to say my emotions were running on high gear would be an understatement, but my point was still valid.
Great post!
Hi Dawn,
DeleteThanks for your post! I can't believe the information you just shared about the largest cyclone since 1918 hitting Australia. I hope your niece fared the storm okay! I'm somewhat ashamed to admit that I didn't know about the cyclone in Australia and probably for the very reason you were so aggravated with The Weather Channel, I didn't hear about it. I was aware of the snow across the country though. You're correct when you mention that organizations need to remember what their main audience is looking to them for while also utilizing all media channels to enhance their offerings. I'm sure you were not the only person irritated about the redundancy of their weather reporting.
Hi Nicole,
DeleteI did forget to mention that event happened in 2011 ... but you still would not have known about it - because they never reported it! Argh! Still makes me crazy just thinking about it. Lol!
Thanks, my niece made it through without injury, but the doors in the house she was in blew out, and parts of the roof caved in. She was really scared, but she loved it, because she is in school to become a marine storm chaser.
She is currently on a ship in Alaska training for her Captain's license, and she lives in Hawaii ... Oh to be young and adventurous again!
Wow! Sounds like she's living the dream, glad to hear she made it through okay and that she didn't let the storm stop her from pursing her dreams!
Delete