Basics of Creating Key Messages
It’s not always easy to communicate with a target audience to make sure that the company’s point comes across the right way.
That’s why businesses develop core messages that they hone and reiterate to the target audience so that people remember those ideas. Whenever a company decides to discuss certain issues, these types of messages can create meaning for the audience. They also provide a way for businesses to control their communication efforts and improve their relationship with the target audience, while also being relevant in PR campaigns.
Key messages are an essential tool for businesses and can be used to create a variety of communications materials such as social media posts, talking points for interviews, or for the press. There are several questions that companies should be considering when creating key messages, including whether the message is believable, positive, easy to understand, and purposeful.
The key message should have evidence to support it while the language should be professional and concise and should represent the company positively. Essentially, key messages should demonstrate to the audience what the company does, why it does it, how the business is different from its competitors, and what value it brings to its consumers.
Simplicity
Every business key message should be specific and short. That’s why companies should hone in on the most important elements of the message that they want to portray to their audience. However, they should also be interesting enough to attract that audience in the first place. The language should be easy to understand, use the active voice, and provide the audience with basic information.
Control
Sometimes what a speaker says and what a listener understands can differ. This means influencing what people think is not easy so it’s important to create key messages that put the company in control of all the information while also influencing the target audience effectively.
Reviewing and Updating
Key messages should continue to evolve and companies should review and update their key messages on a regular basis to ensure they stay relevant to core business ideas. Thus, companies should make sure that key messages are consistent with the rest of the company’s messages remaining relevant and positive. This way the target audience will see the company as an expert in the industry.
Audience
Businesses can have more than one target audience. In that case, they should create a number of different key messages and tailor them to each segment of the overall target audience.
Finally, these messages are important because they are used as the foundation of a company’s branding and marketing efforts which is why they should be reiterated in all spoken or written communications from the business.
Ronn Torossian is CEO of 5WPR, a leading PR agency.
