Are You Overlooking Your Most Important Audience?

Know your audience.

Every good communicator understands this credo. Most of us, in fact, are quite adept at identifying who we’re talking to when we create a new campaign, send an email marketing message, or deliver a new report.

That’s because we know that our success hinges on delivering messages that connect with the people we most want to reach.

Too many of us, though, forget to pay attention to likely our most important audience: our internal audience.

Our colleagues — the people who work for our organizations — can make or break any new announcement or campaign.

If they don’t feel like they own the message we’re sending or if they’re confused about what to say, our internal audiences can sink us. And that doesn’t just spell trouble for the message you are trying to amplify, but also potentially for morale and engagement.

Yet we assume that our internal audiences are automatically on board with each public announcement our organizations make — and that they fully understand every new initiative or strategy.

And because we fail to fully engage them in the process or brief them on what’s coming, our external announcements get torpedoed by mixed messages, apathy, or (worse yet) vocal opposition.

The good news is that you can fix it.

It starts with building internal communications into every significant external communications campaign.

Tell them what’s coming.

Answer their questions.

Provide them with key messages and timelines.

If it’s a big announcement or strategy, involve them in the messaging and provide training.

When you take these steps, you eliminate confusion and increase buy in. You also empower your colleagues to become ambassadors who help amplify your message — not undermine it.