Authored by: Stephné du Toit, Content Manager, at At That Point

I am a person that thrives on planning. It gives me certainty and structure, and most importantly, it keeps my crazy, creative, busy mind in order. Needless to say, it hits hard when you suddenly have to adjust all your plans, both in your work-life, as well as on a personal level.

Undoubtedly, the past few weeks have brought on a tornado of adjustments, not only for our company and clients, but for most of the world!

This has resulted in the challenge of figuring out how to manage adjusting plans with regards to communicating with clients, as well as clients’ communication with their customers in this current overly noisy environment.
Here are a few pointers:

Social
According to online marketplace IZEA’s latest study, 66% of social media users believe their social media usage habits will increase significantly while confined to their homes. More people are getting accustomed to getting their information online, from news to “how to’s”, as well as catching up with friends and family. Take a moment to note the progression of online engagement trends like these and consider how they can be used to tailor your offerings according to your clients’ requirements. 

Your main focus should not be to profit from the COVID-19 crisis, but rather how you can add value in terms of the services you offer to your clients. Post older free resources from your website, ask them business related questions or do a poll to gather information for your company’s research projects.

Webinars
Should all your training and communication lock down? Absolutely not! This is the best time to pause and investigate the best ways to still meet “face-to-face” with customers. Zoom meetings are currently our go-to. Not only do we attend trainings online, we also have daily meetings with clients and our own team. Here are ten tips on how to use the Zoom app better to work, learn and communicate with others virtually https://zapier.com/blog/zoom-tips/

Email
Chances are that most of your customers are currently being swamped by crisis emails. As we all respond differently to a crisis, it is extremely important to take note of the following:

• Should you comment on the crisis and will this affect how your customers make use of your services?
• What tone do you use in communication with customers? Do you take the “tone deaf” approach, are you jumping on the bandwagon, or are you striking a balance between the two?
• Is the message and information just repetition of all the other messages going around on the Internet, or does it truly give value to your customers?
• We all have various priorities in a time of crisis. So although you must continue communicating with your customers, keep in mind that some of your messages might not fall within their “crisis-priority” mindset.

Website
Make buttons and quick links to communication visible on the front page, to allow for easy access for clients. Also update your FAQ section regularly with questions customers might have regarding your services or products.  Add value, by giving customers something back. Provide them with something to read or learn and refer to older free publications, papers and training material. Keep them updated, informed and busy for time being.

Thought leadership
You might be a company that does not have something profound to communicate during this current news cycle, but this is nothing to worry about. Use this time to meet with your communication team to anticipate and plan for the post-crisis news cycle. Identify where you can showcase your organisation’s thought leadership.
 
Form a “think tank”, get creative and brainstorm the potential long-term impact that this crisis might have on how your business is going to evolve, how corporate culture will evolve and how future business will be conducted.
Lastly, as we all are facing new frontiers with a myriad of uncertainties, let’s stay opportunistic and see this as a time to start thinking outside the “business as usual” box that we are so accustomed to.

Authored by; Rosa-Mari Le Roux, Content Manager at At that Point
 
They say, “If it wasn’t for the last minute, nothing would get done.” However, with an effective communication and marketing strategy in place, nothing would be left until the last minute.

Your strategy should serve as a road map for your business to effectively communicate a tailored message via the right channels to reach your desired audience.

My article will feature important elements to keep in mind when creating a marketing and communication strategy for your business.

Bull’s eye
What is the point of doing business if you don’t have a clear idea of who your customers are and what they want?
Consumer insights are crucial for creating a targeted message and this valuable information can be gathered through surveys, questionnaires or interviews.   

Get to know your audience’s characteristics and familiarise yourself with what they read, listen to and watch. This will help you formulate your communication plan and customise your products so that it caters specifically to their desires, which should lead to better sales and happy customers.

Don’t beat around the bush
It is crucial to define your message, ensure that it is clear, consistent and recognisable. Keep these key points in mind when formulating your message:

- Brand Identity: Your customers should be familiar with your brand identity, which must be noticeable in all marketing material and platforms. Your reader should always know it is your message.
- Consistency is key: All communication and messaging should be consistent. Your company message should be communicated throughout every department within the business.
- King of creativity: Be creative and unique with your ideas and messages. This will set you apart from the rest.

Choose the right channels
The easiest way to reach your existing audience, is to use channels where your consumers are already active, such as social media.

The message that you intend to communicate should be the driving force to determine which channels you use. For instance, using video content on social media platforms rather than emails. 

Fortunately, there are many platforms that you can use to get in contact with your potential customer. If you know your audience, as suggested earlier, you will have a better idea on which channels you will have the most success in reaching customers.

Importantly, whatever marketing channel you choose should have the same brand perception as yours. Remember “consistency is key”

Keep your enemies close
Lastly, know who your competitors are and what they are up to. They are probably keeping an eye on you too. The harder it is for other to duplicate what sets you apart, the better. Keep your competitors in mind when creating your strategy. This will always keep you one step ahead.

To communicate without a strategy, is like walking in total darkness. You never know what might be lurking around the corner. Your strategy is your road map, your source of light, if you will.

Authored by: Idéle Prinsloo, Agency Lead, At That Point

Determining your business’ marketing and communications objectives for 2020 is central to any success you might achieve, however you run an extremely high risk of failing if your execution plan does not make provision for the important consumer and marketing trends predicted for the year ahead.

Rather than taking a “head-in-the-sand” approach, use these trends as your starting point to plan your products, services, campaigns etc. This enables you to devise an effective approach that actually “speaks to the people”. According to Trend Watching there are five main consumer trends that companies need to pay serious attention to in 2020, to ensure their relevance in an increasingly competitive environment.

Instead of feeling threatened, these should be regarded as promising business opportunities.

• Sustainable consumption: In the coming year, it is predicted that consumers will seek to alleviate their rising eco-shame by opting for products, services and experiences that will enable them to do so.
• Human brands: Brands that employ virtual characters and avatars will capture the attention of consumers. Reason being that this will enable a more human way of immersing yourself into digital channels. One such example is Chinese state news agency, Xinhau’s virtual news anchors. 
• Relevant service: Consumers will want services and experiences that constantly adapts according their ever-changing needs.
• Beating burnout: Continuous professional and personal pressures are leading to consumers seeking out the brands that can help them battle burnout, this lay bare an enormous opportunity for innovation.
• Non-toxic social media: Trend Watching states that “the benefits of social are being overwhelmed by bad actors and toxicity.” They anticipate this to result in consumers turning to smaller digital spaces that allow for meaningful connections.

With the above in mind, set up your next internal brainstorming meeting and discuss how you can get onto the proverbial “wagon” to reap the benefits of being in sync with your customers.

Marketing Trends in 2020
To give your company a further advantage, supplement your customer trend-focussed communication and marketing approach by ensuring you consider the below marketing trends that Forbes has identified for 2020:

• Conversational marketing: This refers to engaging with customers in real time, as opposed to them having to wait for a response. Historically this was executed telephonically or live chat support. However, the experts foresee artificial intelligence taking a more prominent seat in conversational marketing in 2020. 
• Voice search optimisation: Consumers are increasingly using voice search assistants like Google Assistant, Siri, Alexa and Bixby to answer their questions. Therefore, it will be critical to optimise your website for voice search in the year ahead.
• More Facebook ads: Those in the know say that considering Facebook’s maturing status as an advertising platform, they foresee the trend of budgets shifting from existing digital campaigns to Facebook continuing.
• Technical fluency: The importance of technical fluency will grow, and digital marketers will have to arm themselves with knowledge on things like search engine results pages, natural language processing, neural networks and machine learning. The important takeaway here is to make sure your content is optimised to answer searchers' most important questions.
• Data-driven storytelling: Using big data to help understand trends and hot topics to create engaging content, will accelerate going forward.

No more head in the sand, get in the know and ensure that all your communication and marketing objectives are realised in 2020.

By Idele Prinsloo, Agency Lead, At That Point

The hard work you put into your marketing and communication efforts runs a high risk of going to waste if you do not measure the effectiveness thereof continuously and thoroughly.
 
By keeping a close eye on how these efforts are performing in terms of reception, reaction and engagement, you can detect any mistakes or inefficiencies early and correct them promptly to ensure you reach the goals you set out to.
 
The black sheep
When it comes to the content strategy of marketing and communication projects, planning, creation, promotion and analytics/measurement are the four main pillars. Each of these are critical to a successful strategy.
 
Whatever the reason, experience has taught us that analytics/measurement is the black sheep that gets neglected most often. Should the reason be fear of the results and the lack of knowing what to do next. Please be rest assured, you do not need a qualification to pull it off.
 
To determine the effectiveness of your content marketing efforts you can measure website traffic on a regular basis using Google Analytics, monitor the growth of your email subscriber list, subscribe to tools like Moz and SEMRush to continually monitor your search rankings, as well as gather feedback via social media updates and shares, direct messages, blog comments, emails, reviews and phone calls, just to name a few.
 
Keep up or miss out
It is however important to conduct regular marketing and communications measurement audits to make sure you are not only measuring but that you are using the right measuring tools that reveal the correct insights.
 
When doing such audits, it is helpful to stay informed on the latest communication measurement trends. Earlier this year, at the Summit on the Future of Communications Measurement, experts agreed that a more holistic view of the value of communications is a trend that is currently becoming gradually clear.
 
It has become about more than just measuring the accumulation of sales leads. C-suite executives are becoming increasingly interested in measuring the environmental and human impact of their businesses. Communications will be at the centre of building or rebuilding trust, which has become a scares commodity.
 
To state it bluntly, the business world’s priorities, focus areas and way of operating is changing and measurement must keep up.
 
According to business2community.com walls between PR, social media marketing, advertising and digital marketing are crumbling as communications professionals recognise the benefits of integrating PR and marketing functions.
 
Companies have come to learn that integrated communications, results in a consistent message and voice across all channels of communication, which leads to more efficient allocation of resources and more agile organisations that are capable of quicker reactions.
 
Industry experts therefore anticipate that all marketing and PR measurement of earned, owned, paid and social media will, over the next four years, be integrated into a single online dashboard that can be tweaked according to different department needs.
 
The bottom line is; to continuously evolve and update your marketing and communication measurement tools and approaches to avoid getting left behind and missing out on great success.

Authored by: Stephné du Toit, Content Manager, At That Point

Do your marketing meetings usually include a discussion around how you should be doing more video on your social media platforms? Then a month goes by and you still haven’t managed to get a single video done? Like they say, procrastination is the thief of all things.

This is usually because the process of making a video seems like a daunting task to the average person. However, it does not have to be a difficult or expensive exercise, you can therefor stop hesitating and get started.  The easiest way to do this is to start at the beginning and methodically work your way through the production process.

Here are some simple steps to get you going, and before you know it, it will become second nature.

Planning
Get your team around the table, and if you do not have a team, get some of your creative employees to form part of your brainstorming session.

Ask yourselves, what do we want to achieve? What are the actions we want to stem from this video? Who do we want to reach with our message? Here you must set a definitive aim, if you shoot too broadly, you are going to miss your target.

Now you can start writing, plan your setting and create a storyboard to plot the scenes or message points of you video.

Type of video
Depending on your message, you have to decide if you will be using an articulate person to convey the message, or if you would just like to use text to elevate your main points of your message. Either way, there are a lot of free stock image and video sites on the internet where you can source great visuals to support your message

Also make sure your speaker is prepped, relaxed and as natural as possible. Remember, the whole video does not have to be done in one shot. Keep your segments short, this will make it easy to cut and edit.

​1…2…3 Action!
Plan your video set well in advance. Make sure to focus on the small things – those that can make or break your video, such as:

• Background: Be cautious of a busy background, as this will easily take the focus away from your message.
• Lighting: Avoid those double chins and dark-circled eyes by testing various spots to film your subject.
• Audio: Try to get a quiet room to film, if an airplane or car passes rather stop and re-do the scene.
• Composition: Position your camera so that you follow the rule of thirds by leaving some “breathing” space around your subject’s body.

Round off with some editing
No, you do not have to be a professional to edit your video. There are a lot of free and easy movie editing software online. Make sure to cut the unwanted content, use transitions to switch between scenes and add a bit of background music to create your desired mood.

Do not forget to add your company logo and have a call to action at the end, even if you are just inviting your audience to visit your website for more information.

Go live!
The most important thing to remember when you create and post social media video, is to keep it sweet and short. Your aim is not to make a blockbuster movie, but rather to give a targeted message to a specific audience regarding your services, product or business. You therefor best keep to a one- to two-minute video, at the most.

Then upload your video to your website or YouTube channel that you created for your business. From there, you can link back to your video by posting a short description and link onto your various social media platforms.

​Remember practice makes perfect! If you just start and keep going you will soon wonder how you ever communicated to your audience without video.

By Rosa-Mari Le Roux, Content Manager, www.atthatpoint.co.za

I have come to realise that the success of your content lies in the targeted distribution thereof. The first step of your content creation process should be to determine how and where to publish your content, a sound distribution plan is therefore equally as important as the content that you create.

​Here are five tips to follow when planning the distribution of your content.

Research before you release
Content distribution is all about reaching the right audience.

Research your target audience before building your distribution strategy. Start by collecting data from your website and social media followers. Their age, gender, location and other related categories should be available on google analytics or on your social media platform analytic tools. 

You can further collect feedback directly from your existing customers and followers. By asking them about their preferences for receiving communication, you will get a better idea of which platform and format to use in future.

​This information will form the golden thread of your content creation and distribution plan.

The important R’s
Once the content has been created you can reuse and repurpose it on various platforms.

Let’s say you released a blog post on “Graphic Design 101”; this content might also work for a webinar or even a short YouTube video that your audience can watch if they don’t want to read an article on the topic.

Other platforms that your content can be repurposed on include podcasts, videos and social media posts that will reach and grow new audiences for your business.

You have already done the work, now use it to its full potential.

The art of sharing
There is no use in creating content that no one wants to share. Make sure that your content is interesting, easy to read and understandable.

Don’t try to sound like an intellectual mastermind, rather package your knowledge in a way that others can relate to. You will do no one any favour by making someone feel inferior when reading your work.

Making content sharable also means to make it accessible on all platforms such as Facebook, Instagram & LinkedIn, to name just a few. By allowing your audience to share your content on multiple platforms, you are reaching readers that you may never have found otherwise.

Social media is a wonderful tool if you know how to use it to your advantage. By understanding the art of making your content shareable, means less work and more marketing for you.

Rome wasn't built in a day
Test all distribution channels on a continuous basis. Your content might not reach the desired audience on the first try, but people and their interests evolve.

Constant attempts to find additional channels may help grow your audience faster and more effectively. Each content type has their own audience, by using different platforms you will certainly reach a wider audience than usual.

After distributing your content on numerous platforms, collect the results and measure it against your audience engagement and feedback. This will give you further insight into what your audience likes to read, listen or watch.

Barking up the wrong tree
Now that you have researched your audience, decided on distribution platforms and created shareable content, you must make sure that you are not barking up the wrong tree.

After distributing your content, analyse and measure your results. Choose a routine time (weekly) to monitor your website visits and your social media following, also follow comments and number of shares on your content. This will help you to set a goal for the following distribution cycle.

Finally, trust in your audience. If you are as connected to your audience as you should be, they will guide you in the right direction to create the perfect content for them.

If you start your distribution process with these five tips, you should end up with the perfect recipe for delivering your content to the desired audience.

By Juanita Vorster, Founder & Strategist, www.atthatpoint.co.za

The benefits of creating content that engages audiences are well known. While there are many tools - some even completely free - available to enable easy content creation, no one has created a foolproof solution for the key ingredient to successful content creation: consistency.

Here are a few tips to help you conquer the challenge.

Don't skimp on planning
Having to decide on a topic every time you have to write, record or design something wastes an incredible amount of time and creative energy. Rather invest a few hours once-off on planning the topics and type of content you can realistically create on a monthly, weekly and daily basis.

Content planning will help you to allocate content creation tasks and deadline. It will also help you to decide whether to either explore one topic in depth across a few content pieces, or to neatly alternate between related themes.

Don't confuse information for influence
One of the biggest mistakes in content creation is thinking that an abundance of information leads to greater influence while the flipside is often true.

It's easy to include everything you know about a topic; it's much harder to decide which bits to leave out. This is often because we are used to consuming content - articles, stories, videos - from start to finish. When we however try to write this way we often become stuck in the details.

The process that always works for me (irrespective of the type of content I need to create) is to create an outline of my thoughts first:

• Decide what the closing statement should be.
• Decide on a maximum of five points that should be explained briefly.
• Do some research on the mindset of potential readers/viewers and tie the introduction to this mindset.

Once I have this outline all that is left to do is to fill out the bits in between. I wrote this article in exactly the same way!

Let the power of accountability work its magic
The motivation of having a new plan and simple structure to base your content creation efforts on might be enough to kickstart the process, but consistency remains the biggest challenge.

Motivation comes and goes, so discipline is what you have to focus on developing. I've found that having a measure of accountability is what keeps me to plan. Assign a service provider or colleague to remind you of deadlines, or make a time-based promise to subscribers in the case of a newsletter or video channel.

If accountability isn't enough, use your favourite form of instant gratification as a reward. Something as simple as checking off an item on the to-do list, receiving a like on a social media post or a notification that your content has been published in the news could turn the content creation chore into a very rewarding habit.

In the end though, it all still comes down to consistency driven by discipline.

By Idéle Prinsloo, Agency Lead at At That Point

Audiences are becoming ever more suspicious of any communication that come their way. This can be attributed to several factors including; fake news, corruption, hidden motives or a general overdose of information.

When doing communication planning, it is therefore cardinal to gain and keep the trust of your audience, whether they be your colleagues, clients or those who influence your industry. In this day and age, the best route to take is the one of complete authenticity.

The first step is to undertake a communication audit to determine where your business currently stands in terms of its communication. What were the messages? How were they delivered? And what were the responses? Once you have a clear picture with regards to your current standing, you can move on to create your new improved communication plan.

Listen First
Following your communication audit, the next step is to listen to your audience, as this will allow you to truly gain their trust and respect. Make sure you know their true opinion about everything that is relevant to your business. When you communicate from an informed and involved point of view, you are authentic and much more likely to catch the attention of your audience.

You can achieve this by tapping into your audience’s dialogues on social media, staying abreast of news and trends, as well as actually talking with colleagues, clients and influencers during lunches, meetings or discussion forums.

Be Real
The importance of real and honest communication cannot be overstated, especially when taking into account the daily information overload we are exposed to, much of which is fake, inaccurate or based on hidden agendas.

The idea here is not to lay bare all the mistakes you have ever made or all the challenges you have encountered, but to be honest about the ones that are relevant to the message that you are trying to convey. Position your company as being approachable, while also being respectable.

Taking responsibility for your mistakes and being open about your challenges will go a long way in positioning you as authentic and instilling trust in your brand, as your audience will be able to associate with you more.

​A further step could be taken by opening the floor for a discussion on these mistakes or challenges to hear your audience’s take on how to avoid similar situations in future. This makes them feel valued and involves them in the improvement of the business as a whole.

Speak Your Truth
It is a fine balancing act between being truthful and being so blunt that you offend others. The winning approach here is to speak ‘your’ truth when communicating with your audience. However, do not force your truth upon others, make it clear that although this is your conviction, you do not expect them to believe the same.

Rather invite them to have a discussion with you where they can share their views, during which you attentively take in and consider what they are saying. This can be achieved through physical or online forums, as well as social media platforms.

As author Mike Robbins rightly states, “Truth is not about being right, it's about expressing what we think and feel in an authentic, vulnerable, and transparent way.”

Own Your Message
Whatever your message is, make sure that you have done your homework, in order to back it up if you receive negative feedback. Own your message, take responsibility for it by making sure you communicate it clearly so that your audience fully understands it.

Another way of owning your message is by literally making it your own by including your personal experiences that are relevant. For example, if your message is about employee remuneration solutions, talk about your company’s internal remuneration struggles and eventual resolution thereof.

​If you have checked all the facts and carried over the message properly, you will be able to defend it should criticism arise.

The bottom line therefor is, be authentic and real, it really is the only way to build a solid, sustainable and long-term line of communication with all audiences.

Administrators on social media accounts often change due to employees moving on, changes in outsourced service providers, or the appointment of a dedicated inhouse resource.

Sometimes the handover of the social media account administration rights is a smooth process with lots of help, but other times it is surrounded by hostility for a variety of reasons. Whatever the circumstances of the administrator change, it's always a good idea to check a few settings before getting started with posting content and community engagement.

If I missed anything, please let me know in the comments section!

Most people avoid speaking in public like the plague. Sharing your story on a stage however remains one of the best ways to influence stakeholders and build reputation.

To add another dimension to your public relations efforts, keep the following in mind when you are approached - or actively searching for - a speaking opportunity:

RELEVANCE
Is the occasion relevant to what you or your organisation want to achieve? Speaking engagements take up a significant amount of time, and this time is best invested if it is related to achieving strategic objectives.

You can test the relevancy of a speaking engament based on:
- the audience that will be attending,
- the overall theme of the event,
- the speaker guidelines that might allow or restrict certain types of presentations, and
- how confident you are with the topic you need to address (irrespective of your comfort with public speaking).

VALUE
The value of a speaking engagement doesn't necessarily lie in the fee that might accompany it, but how you can maximise the activity around it. If the organisers are promoting the event and/or speakers via social media, make sure that you share their content with your own network. Famous by association is still very much a "thing", and your connection to an event of the right calibre and type might be of great reputational value to you.

If you develop custom content (presentation, whitepaper, article) for the speaking engagement, make sure that you share the content on various other relevant platforms after the event. Linkedin allows for sharing content in numerous formats, and is also the best place to share business related content.

EXPERIENCE
Executives are often invited as keynote speakers or programme directors, but they might not necessarily be the best person for the job. If you are approached for a session that you feel is about your current level of speech delivery expertise, rather request whether a different type of session is available. As your speaking expertise improves, you'll be able to accept a wider variety of engagements.

PREPARATION
Always consider the amount of preparation necessary for each speaking engagement. It is always a good idea to customise your content somewhat according to the event and audience, but accepting speaking engagements are much easier if you can rely on content that you are very confident with, and have existing presentation material ready for.
Never fall into the trap of having someone else prepare your speech or presentation material on your behalf right before a speaking engagement. A nervous presenter is forgiven much more often than a poorly prepared one.