Navigating the new world of communications: Three ways to cut through in a fragmented audience landscape

But in a shifting world, as professional communicators, we need to pay attention to the things that remain constant: people’s humanity, and need to provide value, whatever that may look like.

If we want to resonate with audiences on a human level, and cultivate a long-term relationship with them, we need to communicate in consistent, authentic and relatable ways. We need to meet a well-defined target audience in the middle, staying true to our brand while providing genuine value to our audience through quality content.

That means balancing planned strategies and controlled narratives with flexible, responsive communication that remains responsive to the world around us.

Start with your story

Who are you and what do you want to say? Brands are like people. Stay consistent and reliable and you’ll win trust. Change too frequently and you’ll confuse us. We won’t know what to expect.

When a target audience migrates to a new channel or social platform, the obvious and understandable reaction is to follow them there.

“We need to start making TikToks! More visuals!”

But whatever the medium, it’s the story that remains key.

To adapt it to new pathways for our audiences, we need to consider how we bring together our message, our audience’s needs and the platform’s unique capabilities as a medium.

At Mahlab, we call this the 'sweet spot' – the ability to look both inward and outward at once, understanding a client's purpose and strengths and anticipating change around us.

Brand values are important. Crafting a clear message based on consistent values is a vital first step before thinking about a strategy to represent that message across different audience touchpoints.

The Edelman Trust Barometer reports brands are a reflection of social identity, with nearly half of Gen Z and Millennials saying they judge others for their brand choices. In the same way, clear and consistent brand values, no matter who you’re talking to, is a staple of social media success. Social media is social. In a mediatised world, engaging with content is not just about functional information gathering. It’s an expression of identity and personal positioning within a community.

Edelman’s Trust Barometer shows brands must have a clear, authentic narrative that explains how they fit into the broader fabric of society.

One story, many media

Having established the story you want to tell about your brand, you need to decide how this story unfolds across all the touchpoints of traditional, digital and social media. How do you keep the story unified and coherent? A fragmented media landscape demands a deep understanding of each channel. Equally, you can’t approach each medium as an isolated island.

To keep our message consistent and build trust, we have to approach each platform as a piece of a larger puzzle, with a well-established “why”. Ask yourself how the use of a particular channel adds an element of shareability, accessibility, visual appeal, depth or humanity to what you want to say. Instagram might simplify a complex subject through a punchy infographic or powerful still image. A podcast could humanise a cause with the intimacy of human experience related by real human voices.

Imagine your strategy as a pyramid, with overarching objectives, strategy and message at the top. How does the message trickle down as it enters the TikTok ecosystem, for example? How do audio-visual formats, conversational tone and fluctuating micro-trends interact with the content and distribution of your messaging strategy?

And remember, in the same way that mediums interact with your message, different channels are also in constant conversation with one another. A message delivered to an audience via a traditional media interview can spark conversations and engagement on LinkedIn, for example.

Curiosity endures

Change is constant, and always has been. But great brands have adapted and thrived across decades and, in some cases, centuries. The key to staying relevant is knowing your brand and your audience intimately. Be curious. What makes your brand what it is? Is that different to what it used to be? What do audiences need from it? Has that changed too, or is it just the same need expressed in a different way?

By properly understanding the fundamentals, your brand is well positioned to thrive – however channels and audiences evolve.