Is it just us, or does it seem like everyone could use a bit more joy and fun in their lives right about now?
Your corporate communications efforts — media interviews, community engagement, investor relations, paid ads or social media campaigns, employee town hall meetings, executive speeches, internal and external newsletters, and so much more — tell your organization’s story, elevate its brand and protect its reputation.
Of course, sometimes it’s not appropriate to the occasion, the mood or the audience to inject a little fun into those communications. Shareholders generally want a cut-and-dried discussion of quarterly results, particularly if they’re not great. Likewise, if the organization experiences a negative incident that it needs to communicate about, that’s no time to try to lighten the mood and kick up the creativity. Common sense, respect for the seriousness of a situation and the ability to read the room should always underpin every communication.
But sometimes, a sense of fun is just what the doctor ordered to take your communications to the next level and build better engagement. Here are some suggestions to inject a little joy into your corporate communications:
Think visually
Great visuals don’t just elevate the aesthetics of messaging; they grab the audience’s attention. Adding photos and videos is a great way to amp up everything from social posts to eBlasts to intranet communications and beyond. Here are a few other visuals to consider for telling your story and organizing data:
- Memes and GIFs
- Infographics
- Illustrations
- Cartoons, caricatures or animations
- Maps and grids
- Storymaps
- Charts and graphs (bar charts, pie charts, heatmaps, histograms and so many more)
- Timelines
- Interesting typography
- Top 10 lists
- Do’s and Don’ts lists
Step up your game
Bringing a bit of gamesmanship and interactivity to your communications has been shown to help increase engagement, increase interaction and enhance learning. Whether it’s adding leaderboards to a customer giveaway campaign or creating a March Madness showdown, with prizes, to boost participation in an employee training module, appealing to our competitive drive can make your efforts memorable and fun. A few other gamification ideas to consider:
- Quizzes
- Sweepstakes
- Photo contests
- “Guess the …” (history fact about the company, next product color that will debut, etc.)
- Scavenger hunts (digital or physical) or quests
- Avatar/character customization
- Badges and levels
Think outside the box
There’s seemingly no end to the ways to entertain your clients, stakeholders and employees and create an experience they’ll remember. How about periodically hiring an acoustic musician to welcome people to your store? Or adding a show-and-tell component to your quarterly all-staff meetings? Here are a few other fun options to consider:
- Custom coffee sleeves for the beverages at your next event
- Moments of recognition at internal meetings
- Trending songs and sound effects
- Event countdowns leading up to a product debut or corporate announcement
- Customer/employee/partner spotlights
- Ask Me Anything sessions
- Silly or interesting polls
- Podcasts
- Food fun (cookies that look like your new logo, themed food baskets for special clients or occasions)
- Special guests who excite the audience (for promotions, events, even big meetings)
Bottom line: Make it memorable
Not every occasion, announcement or communication is a great fit for injecting some fun and joy. But for those that are, visuals, games and entertainment can help you grab your audience’s attention and create experiences that stick with them.
