Once you have a strong sense of your organization’s purpose and have put it into practice, it’s time to start communicating that purpose to your employees, customers and the wider world. There are many different methods for sharing your purpose. For the best results, employ a variety of tactics to make your message heard.
Convey Your Purpose in Advertising
Effective advertising does more than sell a product or service: it positions your brand in a way that puts your brand values front and center. The approach you employ will shift from campaign to campaign, but the core messaging should remain the same, and your purpose should underlie all you say and do.
Develop a Reputation for Thought Leadership
Does your organization have a smart and well spoken CEO? Take advantage of the many opportunities that exist to have your CEO, or another member of your leadership team, spread the word about your purpose. The key here is to avoid simply creating advertisements by another name. Instead, create content about the issues that matter to your brand and add value to your target’s life. For example, the CEO of a B2B company dedicated to helping small businesses streamline their paperwork might write a regular column with tips that small business owners can use to overcome organization and time management issues and publish it in a business publication like Forbes or your company blog.
Contribute to the Social Conversation
Share your purpose on social media, every day. No, this doesn’t mean reposting your mission statement daily on Twitter. Instead, take your purpose into account as you engage with like-minded individuals and other brands online. Get involved in Twitter chats on topics important to your business and start discussions about your purpose when natural opportunities arise. Plan out your regularly scheduled social posts with your purpose in mind, perhaps dedicating each month to sharing items related to one aspect of that purpose.
Ultimately, every internal and public-facing communication is a chance to convey your organization’s purpose. Stay on message. Distill your purpose into a few key points and strive to make them heard in every media opportunity and public event, as well as through channels like social media and your blog. Communicate your purpose well, and you’ll give your employees, customers and other stakeholders a compelling reason to support your work.
Photo Credit: Sebastiaan ter Burg via Flickr Creative Commons
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