5 Tips for Message Delivery
It doesn’t matter if you are sending a tweet, writing a blog post, or distributing a good old fashioned print newsletter to your audience, a quality message that resonates with your audience is always the goal. Here are five tips for effective messaging whether in the form of a 140 character tweet or a 500 word news-style article.
- A picture is worth 1,000 words. Pictures are a great way to snag your reader’s attention. An image can help you convey your message with less words, or serve as a tool to draw your reader in and drive them to click to read the rest of the story on your website. Facebook and Twitter postings with images receive over 100% more engagement than the average post.
- Avoid jargon. Jargon, industry specific terms, and business buzzwords often become part of our vernacular but using these terms should be avoided when communicating with outside audiences. These terms can cause confusion and drive a wedge between you and your audience.
- Short, sweet, and to the point. Important information should be delivered up front, saving the details for the end. People want to understand what your point is before they invest time into reading. Also, use shorter sentences and fewer words.
- Authenticity is key. Engaging your audience by producing informative or entertaining content allows them to connect with you. Authentic content also allows you to be yourself and give a human aspect to the organization you are writing for.
- Include a call to action when appropriate. A call to action provides your audience with the opportunity to engage with you. It also gives you an opportunity to collect metrics to evaluate the effectiveness of your message. Calls to action include asking readers to subscribe to a newsletter, make a purchase, or like your Facebook page.
These five tips will help you create effective messages for your organization. For more ideas on how to improve your communications, read our other “Insights” articles or subscribe to our monthly newsletter.