New and emerging technologies are constantly re-shaping the methods and manner of global communication; redefining the rules of engagement for organisations and business leaders.
Multi-million dollar printing presses and TV networks are being bypassed by the ‘metamedium’ of everyday smartphones. The intermediary is no longer necessary.
As The Shift Research Whitepaper outlines, the rapidly evolving digital landscape presents immense opportunities for those seeking global reach and influence. But the fast evolving digital arena is also unpredictable, volatile and polarising, creating collateral damage of the candid and maladroit caught in the crossfires.
Despite the volatile and rapidly shifting evolution of digital discourse, organisations and aspiring thought leaders can not afford to opt out.
Instead, communication strategies must evolve to successfully compete within the confrontational and inconstant arena of global digital discourse.
Organisations and aspiring thought leaders are advised to evolve to become ‘digitally orientated’ media and research outlets.
External affairs departments can redirect resources, to produce tangible value with evidence based research that offers constructive insights and solutions relating to issues impacting their industry and the broader community.
As The Shift Whitepaper details, digitally orientated, self contained, authoritative research can be likened to an armoured vessel transporting an organisation’s expertise and values through treacherous digital terrain – maintaining true north, while protecting against competing and misleading narratives.
Organisations and aspiring thought leaders must pivot away from prescriptive ‘storytelling,’ often stretched across reverse engineered brand ‘narratives’, with thinly veiled self promotional agendas – which are by their subjective nature highly vulnerable to misrepresentation, misinterpretation and competing narratives.
New dynamic digitally integrated research strategies can sit between the ‘detached scholasticism’ of academia and the salesmanship and superficiality of ‘high-brow management consultancy.’
Organisations and aspiring thought leaders must embrace new and dynamic digitally integrated, research and editorial methods to explore and solve pertinent issues relating to their industry. Symbiotic digital distribution strategies can then be deployed to deliver value laden, targeted content to tipping point audiences, who in return, yield cut through, impact, analytic insight and long term influence for organisations.
Key organisational audiences
- Public & Community
- Service users/Customers
- Stakeholders/Investors
- Internal staff/Members
Organisations can be upfront with their commercial standpoint, whilst contributing tangible social value, by exploring and potentially solving pertinent and impactful issues relating to their business and industry.
Organisations that fail to adapt to the fast changing nature of digital discourse risk being left on the sidelines as important agendas impacting their industry play out by those with a stronger digital presence. Those that take a proactive approach now will build agency, and secure compounding capital within the digital sphere into the future.
To find out more read The Shift Research Whitepaper.