Crafting Messages for Digital Channels

1. Identify the major digital channels used for brief business messages, and describe the nine compositional modes needed for digital media

2. Describe the use of social networks in business communication.

3. Explain how companies and business professionals can use information and content sharing websites.

Learning Objectives (1 of 3)

4. Describe the evolving role of email in business communication, and explain how to adapt the three-step writing process to email messages.

5. Describe the business benefits of instant messaging (IM), and identify guidelines for effective IM in the workplace.

6. Describe the use of blogging and microblogging in business communication, and briefly explain how to adapt the three-step process to blogging.

7. Explain how to adapt the three-step writing process for podcasts.

Learning Objectives (4 of 7)

Digital channels for business communication

Social media

– Twitter

– Instagram

– Telegram

– Facebook

Media Choices for Brief Messages

• Social networks • Information and content sharing sites • Email • Instant messaging (IM) • Text messaging • Blogging and microblogging • Podcasting

Compositional Modes for Digital Media

• Conversations

• Comments and critiques

• Orientations

• Summaries

• Reference materials.

• Narratives

• Teasers

• Tutorials

Creating Content for social Media

Writing for social media than for traditional media. Whether you’re writing a

blog or posting a product demonstration video to YouTube, consider these tips:

• Remember that it’s a conversation, not a lecture or a sales pitch.

• Write informally but not carelessly.

• Create concise, specific, and informative headlines.

• Get involved and stay involved.

• Be transparent and honest.

• Think before you post!

Communication on social Networks

• Choose the best compositional mode for each message, purpose, and network.

• Offer valuable content to members of your online communities.

• Join existing conversations.

• Facilitate community building.

• Maintain a consistent personality.

Email Email has been an important communication tool for many companies.

• Email is universal. Anybody with an email address can reach anybody else with an email address, no matter which systems the senders and receivers are on.

• Email is still the best medium for many private, short- to medium-length messages, particularly when the exchange is limited to two people. Unlike with microblogs or IM, for instance, midsize messages are easy to compose and easy to read on email.

• Email’s noninstantaneous nature is an advantage when used properly. Email lets senders compose substantial messages in private and on their own schedule, and it lets recipients read those messages at their leisure.

IM (instant messaging) Computer-based instant messaging (IM), in which users’ messages appear on each other’s screens instantly, is used extensively for internal and external communication. IM is available in both stand-alone systems and as a function embedded in online meeting systems, collaboration systems, social networks, and other platforms.

Text messaging has a number of applications in business as well, including marketing (alerting customers about new sale prices, for example), customer service (such as airline flight status, package tracking, and appointment reminders), security (for example, authenticating mobile banking transactions), crisis management (such as updating all employees working at a disaster scene), and process monitoring (alerting computer technicians to system failures, for example).

Adapting the Three-step Process for Successful Blogging

Audience You want an audience large enough to justify the time you’ll be investing but narrow enough that you can provide a clear focus for the blog.

Purpose A business blog needs to have a business-related purpose that is important to your company and to your chosen audience.

Make your material easier to find by tagging it with descriptive words. Your readers can then click on these “content labels” to find additional posts on those topics.

Microblogging A microblog is a variation on blogging in which messages are sharply restricted to specific character counts. (Twitter, Instagram)

The length limitations call for a different approach to composition. Microblog messages often involve short summaries or teasers that provide links to more information.

#hashtag (the # symbol followed by a word or phrase), which makes it easy for people to label and search for topics of interest

Although microblogs are designed to encourage spontaneous communication, when you’re using the medium for business communication, don’t just tweet out whatever pops into your head. Make sure messages are part of your overall communication strategy.

Podcasting Podcasting is the process of recording audio or video files and distributing them online via subscriptions, in the same way that blog posts are automatically fed to subscribers.

Podcasting combines the media richness of voice or visual communication with the convenience of portability.

As you organize the content for a podcast, pay close attention to previews, transitions, and reviews. These steering devices are especially vital in audio recordings because audio lacks the “street signs” (such as headings) that audiences rely on in print media.

One of the attractions of podcasting is the conversational, person-to-person feel of the recordings, so unless you need to capture exact wording, speaking from an outline and notes rather than a prepared script is often the best choice.