A 3 Ingredient Recipe for Effective Communications

Updated: Aug. 31, 2017  |  Categories: StarChapter Admin, Member Communications, Responsive Communication, Goal Setting, Board Productivity  

Who doesn’t love a recipe that is time tested, straightforward to make and tastes good? You may not be a whiz in the kitchen, but that’s OK.

This easy 3 ingredient recipe for effective communications will satisfy the information hunger your members experience.

Recipe for Effective Communication

Ingredient 1: Content - the message or what you tell members.

Ingredient 2: Frequency - the number of times a message is distributed in a course of a week, month, year or a given period in time.

Ingredient 3: Medium – the platforms used to share your message, such as email or social media.

Don’t Substitute Ingredients

Have you ever accidentally left baking powder out of your pancakes? The entire chemical reaction gets out of whack and you’re left with an inedible mess.

Just like in baking, every component of your communication recipe depends on the other.

If you devise a winning message but over communicate it, your members might get overwhelmed and choose not to take the required action.

If you create a terrific message but share it where your members aren’t looking, and nobody will know about it.

And even if you share your message the optimal amount through the right channels, if your communication is flat, members won’t feel inspired to take action.

How do you determine your organization’s secret recipe?

Content, frequency and medium all depend on the organization’s size and type.

Large organizations, for example, will benefit from targeted messages that would appeal to different sub-groups.

Organizations with tech-savvy members would probably be inclined to utilize social media platforms to communicate with members. And even with social media, the scope changes, whereas some would utilize Twitter, while other organizations would find most of their members on LinkedIn. 

Don’t just assume SnapChat and Instagram are popular among your members. Some underused tools might be more effective than they appear.

Direct emails, newsletters and website blog are still very effective in getting the message across.

Using emails, you can refer your members to other channels and increase targeted messages based on groups and sub-groups in the organization. (If you need a refresher on how to create a powerful newsletter, check out this article).

Remember, effective communication is all about matching the content, frequency and medium to the members of the organization. Take some time to determine your organization’s best recipe and you’ll have members wanting more of what you are serving.

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