Consistency is key. Isn't that what they always say?*
Nothing could be more true when it comes to communications.
We all know how confusing it is when you’re trying to find out the opening times of a restaurant and its Instagram bio says one thing, Google says another, and all that’s available on the website is the 2023 Christmas menu.
That’s a very small (but still very frustrating) example of inconsistent messaging. It’s confusing, off-putting, and could potentially lose that business a sale or two.
The risks of inconsistent messaging for bigger businesses trying to influence people to feel positively about their brand are even higher. And if you have multiple people working across your comms team, on different aspects of your PR and marketing, inconsistency and lack of clarity make their jobs harder that they already are.
What you say about your brand internally, across its social channels, and in the media, all matter. The experience of your team filters through to the public by word of mouth, for instance, so if you’re saying online that you have the world’s most exciting benefits, it better ring true for your employees. You don’t want your audiences to have whiplash when they read about you in one place and then another.
Establish your pillars
We advise our clients to work from a ‘messaging house’ that defines what their company focuses on in its comms. The foundations of the house keep PR and marketing efforts on track, as they lay out the areas from which the teams involved can pull content.
These foundations are the company’s overall key messages. We normally say to keep these to three or four main themes with subtopics. The more concise and streamlined the pillars are, the less complicated the messaging will be, and the easier it’ll be to recognise what sits within each section.
The essence of the company sits as the roof of the house, and is held up by the pillars mentioned above. The roof of the house is the core statement of the brand’s identity: one or two lines about what the company is and does. This should be easily understood as it underpins all of the key messages that follow.
Help your teams help you
A clear messaging house helps your PR and marketing teams sing from the same hymn sheet.
Depending on the size of your business, you may have one or two people sitting across PR and marketing, or you may have very big teams spread across departments. Those one or two people looking after all your communications might work with (or be looking for) a PR agency like us (or our social media agency soda.) that helps them draft and publish content.
Clarity with your messaging maintains consistency for your brand no matter who’s creating content for it. It means that your one or twenty people know exactly what to say, even when they tailor what the brand is saying to suit the medium they're working with.
It’s also much easier to come up with content ideas (whether they’re for blogs, social media caption or staff newsletters) when you know where the boundaries are for what you can say. Limiting creativity isn’t always a benefit, but it’s easier to brainstorm within the confines of a messaging house when you deeply understand the brand you’re working for.
That deep understanding translates to your audiences through consistency, too. Remember that positive feeling you want to give people to win emotional buy-in? It’s much easier to achieve when the feeling you evoke in people is the same no matter where they see your brand.
To find out more about how you can build brand trust and credibility with a good PR strategy, click here.
The Clearbox Group
Part of what we want to achieve with The Clearbox Group of agencies is that consistency for brands. We’re consistent across our own channels (or are we? you tell us), and we can help you straighten out your messaging too.
Want to know more? Contact amy@clearboxcommunications.com
Got key messages but don’t know what to do with them?
For PR support you’ll want alana@clearboxcommunications.com
For social media support it’s hannah@sodaagency.co.uk
And for CSR, it’s hello@neighbourgood.net
We can rebrand you, too, through our allies - feelthefear@allies.studio
What are you waiting for?
*They is me on this occasion
