It’s a given that technology is always evolving—and digital communications does along with it. PRNEWS attended a Chief Communications Officers Roundtable on Emerging Trends and Tactics at the Mid-Atlantic MarCom Summit on Oct. 30, 2024, in Arlington, Virginia, in which panelists discussed innovative strategies used to connect with their audiences.
The distinguished panelists included Kathy Baird, Chief Communications Officer of The Washington Post, Josh Morton, VP, Head of Corporate Communications, Nestlé North America, Scott Stanzel, Chief Communications Officer, Truist Financial Corporation and Lydia Sermons, Chief Communications Officer, Howard University. Sean O’Leary, Vice President, Susan Davis International moderated the chat.
Themes surrounding data, artificial intelligence and content platform and delivery dominated the discussion. All speakers noted the importance of utilizing digital to create elevated storytelling and deliver important information to an intended audience.
Deciding on a Platform for Your Platform
Many newspapers launched their initial websites in the 1990s at a time when print and digital teams remained separate. Today, it's important that journalists branch out across various platforms to connect with audiences, says Baird. And that includes social media platforms.
“You have to think about your audience first in terms of what they're consuming, why they're consuming it there, who they trust, in what formats, etc.,” Baird says. “Two years ago, I never would have said, you're never going to get your news from Instagram. I couldn't have imagined that to be true. But Instagram is one of our highest performing channels, as is YouTube. And then we started TikTok shortly before the pandemic. It's a really interesting way to think about how news is being created, with humor, dealing with serious topics when it's needed, but in ways that are consumable, audience-centric… and it’s really impactful to us.”
Baird also noted how platforms worked to build the reputations of journalists as well as build trust with the audience.
“From the perspective of our journalists, who you trust matters, and how we leverage that voice and how we amplify this [personality based journalism] is very important to us,” she says. “People also want to know how the reporting is done, so that level of transparency into why you made this decision, why you chose that angle. What did you experience as a reporter in the trenches in terms of garnering access to certain things? That piece of the story is really interesting, because sometimes it feels like it's a bit self-focused but our readers are really engaged when we're able to show them on the inside and to be transparent.
Building Your Team for Digital Communications
The panelists agreed that it’s important to have conversations about what an ideal digital team looks like, as well as to invest in the right leadership. Not everyone can be an expert in all things digital.
Sermons talked about her eagerness to learn, saying she made a deal with a younger staffer at a former PR firm position—they teach her how to do something in digital, she teaches them advanced PR strategy—but she also noted the importance of having the right team in place.
“At Howard I've come in and revamped the team so that I've got an AVP of media, strategic communications and editorial, an AVP of marketing communications, who oversees our social media, and then an AVP over our web and digital platforms,” she says. “[It’s about] hiring really great people who understand those platforms and how to leverage them."
Stanzel asked the audience if their social teams worked within marketing or corporate communications where they worked. The answers varied. He noted the importance of conversations about digital content needing to occur consistently between all the teams.
“What is the content? Why do you have the content? Where is it going? What are you trying to do with it?” he asks. “How do you service that person, that connection, that partner, that client, how do you turn them into an advocate? We have to work very closely with the corporate communications or marketing team to talk about the type of content that we might produce. And it's complex. Should we use different platforms for different types of outreach, whether that's to reporters, policy makers or influencers, community groups, and should there be separate channels for customers?”
Unique Comms Uses of AI
AI continues to be a dominant topic in the world of digital communications. Almost the entire surveyed audience raised their hands to say they have used it at some point in time. And the panelists shared revealing ways their organizations have used the tools to further campaigns and messaging.
Morton talked about the importance of employee engagement at Nestlé and how they are allowed to experiment with AI to learn, apply, build and repeat.
“Somebody at Microsoft once told me AI is like an overconfident intern, so it's gonna look really good, but you have to check its work,” Morton says. “So use it for research, but you know that you need to check it. There's a tool where I can actually go in and chat with a consumer segment. So I can go in and talk to an AI version of the Coffee-mate consumer, and ask that person about their preferences, their day-to-day habits, and that gives me really great insight as a communicator about how I can reach them better.“
Stanzel says his team uses AI to test how content will be covered thanks to an idea from Frank Shaw, Chief Communications Officer at Microsoft.
“I happened to participate in a discussion with him last year, and he [said], everyone in this room should use Microsoft Copilot or ChatGPT to ask this question with your earning script: How is this going to be written by a reporter that reports for Bloomberg? How is this going to be written by a reporter that reports for Reuters? And anonymize that data before you do it, and see if the message that you want to tell about your company gets spit back at you in a way that your messages are actually resonating.”
Share the results with your company leaders ahead of time to see if that is how they would want the message to be interpreted, he adds.
Find more ideas and information from the Mid-Atlantic MarCom Summit here.
Nicole Schuman is Managing Editor for PRNEWS.