According to Instagram, 60 million photos are posted via the social network every day. And with social virals like the recent #nomakeupselfie campaign, images alone are becoming a popular way to ‘say’ something.
Although we are firm advocates of the written word, we also know that content needs to be varied and unique to ensure it’s engaging. In fact, research suggests that B2B content marketers use an average of 13 tactics within their content strategy, with infographics enjoying a sharp rise in popularity over the last 12 months. And as the use of imagery for internal communications is becoming increasingly popular, it got us thinking about how the two could work in tandem.
We’ve listed six interesting ways that images and words can work together to strengthen your internal communications.
- Recognising employee achievements
An image related to the achievement is the perfect place to start but what about the story behind it? It needn’t be long and could just capture the key moments, a direct quote from the achiever also makes the story even more real. Don’t forget some words of congrats too.
- Company events
Depending on what the event is, words can be effective in different ways. For example, if you’ve run a conference, talk or roundtable, a post-event report summing up the discussion or findings is vital to cementing your message. Likewise, an awards ceremony deserves some case studies and anecdotes. We imagine the office Christmas party may be the only one where the less said the better!
- Volunteering and CSR
This is where the story really counts – including some direct quotes from those who were helping or who were helped. CSR efforts like voluntary work show the human side of a business so they are worth shouting about, and doing so will undoubtedly encourage more action from staff.
- Welcoming a new team member
While the thought of having their photo shared company-wide may be a newcomer’s worst nightmare, it’s a great way to immediately let the team know who they need to welcome – especially if your company is quite large. But once they’ve identified said newbie, perhaps a few words about that person would help them to strike up conversation more easily.
- Quality management
Images will most certainly stick in people’s minds, but if the issue is a little hard to spot or it’s not clear what should be done with it, a few words of explanation will help avoid any ambiguity.
- Photo stream
No doubt this could incorporate all of the above, and more. It’s a great way of ensuring your organisation is human and open. Just don’t forget, humans talk too…
After any or all of the above, don’t forget to let people know why they might want to share the image or content in question. For more tips, or to share your own contact us at Stratton Craig or send us a tweet.