Today England announced the birth of a royal baby, the son of The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge. The royal family chose to follow tradition and announced the new arrival by posting the birth proclamation on an easel in front of Buckingham Palace. The news was also announced by a town crier, Tony Appleton, outside St Mary’s Hospital, where the baby was born.
When announcing a new arrival to your business, should you be like the royal family and stick with a traditional strategy or adopt a more modern approach to the announcement?
Before making an announcement it’s important to first consider and plan your communication strategy. This will involve thinking about the audience you want to receive the message, who you want to reach with the announcement and the best channel and time for them to receive the news. For example, if you want to inform your employees about the new appointment of a senior manager you could send an email or arrange a team meeting.
Here are some tips to help businesses decide the best way to announce a new arrival.
Media release
You can send a media release about the new arrival to relevant media. This is a great way to gain exposure in a number of publications at the same time. By gaining lots of media coverage you can reach a wider audience with your announcement.
Firstly make a list of relevant publications and journalists who would be interested in your announcement, such as publications in your industry. It’s important to send the media release to the selected journalists at the same time to make sure they have an equal chance of covering the story. If you send out the media release in stages the announcement will no longer be current.
Social media
The Security and Exchange Commission announced this year that publically listed companies can use social media to announce company information as long as they inform investors first. Using social media to announce your new arrival is a great way to communicate to your customers and clients. Social media allows information to be dispersed quickly and directly to your followers, which means it’s one of the fastest ways to communicate a message to a large audience. Social media may then be an effective channel if you need to inform your audience of a new arrival quickly.
Your customers and clients also have the opportunity to provide their feedback about the new arrival on your social media channels. This is a great way to encourage your audience to become more engaged with the announcement and the business.
YouTube video
You can create a YouTube video to announce the new arrival to your company. The new member of your company can appear on the video and discuss what they will be contributing to the business. This can help your audience to get to know the new member of the team. You can then post the video on your YouTube channel, website and social media sites or pitch it to relevant online publications.
Direct channels
Depending on your target audience, you may want to announce the new arrival in a more direct and personal manner. This may involve sending out a direct email alert to your customers, clients and stakeholders. You may also consider calling your customers, clients or stakeholders to announce the news and to ensure they received the message. This will give your audience the opportunity to provide their feedback or concerns and allow you to address them quickly.
Planning your announcement is important to make sure your audience has the best chance of seeing it. You may choose to use a combination of communication channels to reach a wider audience in a variety of ways. Timing of the announcement is then especially important to ensure all channels receive the news at the same time.
Sydney Public Relations Agency, CP Communications provides specialist media, traditional and online PR strategies that get amazing results. Contact us today. For more great tips visit our website www.cpcommunications.com.au.
