It is becoming more and more common these days to hear that work itself is not enough when a business, company or person wants to stand out from other competitors. The social and political world is constantly changing like a potter’s wheel. Every year there is something new that affects our lives and shapes our daily routine. Sometimes, the innovations themselves aren’t that altering, but maybe our ideas, prejudices, and perceptions about them make them seem so. Sometimes our day can get messed up because we don’t have any MBs left to surf on the Internet, or because an Instagram photo didn’t receive as many likes as we’d wished. Such issues didn’t exist 20 years ago. Perceptions about those innovations are just so powerful and impactful.

The question that lies here is how those ideas, perceptions, and prejudices themselves are affected.

The short answer is through communication. The long answer takes a little more time and effort, making our lives a bit more difficult. Obviously, we have to elaborate since this is about communication in the first place.

Every company and business out there projects itself and its products as offering something valuable to a target group. The same applies to all social and political innovations that are brought to us through the use of technology and social media. And that makes sense. Could you imagine yourself without a smartphone or your social media accounts? We’re all convinced about the importance of such things through the work, effort and most importantly the communication methods of some businesses. That’s what Instagram, Facebook, YouTube and the Internet in general is, businesses that promote and communicate their products and services.

A great example of how communication affects the success of a company is Nike. You obviously have heard of Nike before. What you probably don’t know is that Nike wasn’t that successful until their first “Just Do It” commercial in 1988 when they started advertising their products differently. Till then it was all about the quality characteristics and specs of their shoes and other sports products, and it didn’t work to the desired point. So, the major shift was about what the brand could offer in a psychological, internal or even mental way to the potential consumers. Nike encouraged common people to achieve goals through their physical activity and made them believe they’re more special or more hard-working when they wore those shoes and sports clothes. They connected moral values with sports products. If you look at their video commercials today, you’ll notice that they have nothing or, at least, very little to do with quality characteristics.

We can give a bunch of other examples of how a brand’s communication can be impactful, but for the sake of being brief, we just gave the most convincing.

In order to become successful and surpass other competitors, a company needs to address the communication issue in every aspect. That means convince why a product is important in the first place and why their own version of the product is more complete or more superior to another brand’s. At the same time, there is the so called big picture and the detailed oriented approach. There is the brand building aspect that focuses on the public image of a company, shaping the overall perception around it, and of course, there is the everyday attention to all consumers in every possible medium or physical place in every possible aspect.

Mentioning every possible medium, let’s elaborate a little bit on that.

Today’s media consist of many different forms and their applications take place in many different locations and platforms. Brands engage with people through above-the-line and below-the-line media. In the last decade there is obviously this huge emergence of well-known channels like Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, Twitter, Google, as well as corporate websites and blogs which are part of social or digital media too. TV and radio are also there, but their impact on younger generations is fading compared to social media. Other impactful ways which are becoming more and more popular lately are event marketing and contest and sweepstake marketing, and they are useful for making people recurring consumers as well.

Now, to go a little bit deeper, let’s look at what a company should focus on when communicating.

There are many different types of companies, businesses, and brands out there. Each one is specifically focused on a certain sector or area of interest. There are industries like clothing brands, technology companies, food chains and many, many others. At the same time, consumers gain benefits from all those services and products. If we look at ourselves, we can divide those benefits based on our own psychological and functional needs. We look for different things when we contact an insurance company and when we buy a laptop. This doesn’t mean that all companies must decide on which of the two types of benefits they should focus at. Some products and services may cover both types of benefits, and if one truly wants to make a business stand out, completely ruling out one of the two shouldn’t happen. Even if your business is about something really functional and unexposed to the outside world, you will gain something from creating some emotional reaction from people or collaborative companies.

One of the most effective ways to communicate today and project your company as one that achieves both of those types is through content marketing. Through content marketing it is easier to let people see why your company stands out. The reason is because you can talk about your products and services indirectly, you don’t have to push them; you can pull people towards them.

Pulling instead of pushing makes sense, right? You wouldn’t like getting bothered by someone about something you don’t care, but you could get more interested in it, if it was connected to something that drew your attention. This is something really important to keep in mind, isn’t?

You need to look at every aspect and consider every possible medium when you communicate your work. You must convince people you are the most reliable source in offering something appealing and worthy of attention and money. “Buying” people is becoming less and less impactful; earning them is what’s doing the real work.

For more information on other communication aspects of today’s business and other proper public relations methods, feel free to communicate with OneTeam; you’ll come to the right place.