Content is regarded as the undisputed King in the digital ecosystem, yet
the well-worn dictum rings hollow in corporate communications. For
instance, with content being expressive, there are scenarios to which
thoughtful organisations respond by not putting out any content. And at the
end of the day, that calculated silence over an issue critical to their brand
survival saves the day!
This indicates that there is a smart that trumps content as per
communications – this phenomenon is called strategy. Reputation can be
built without content, but it will be dead on arrival without a strategy. The
corporate communications manager who is not keen on content can make
company staff brand advocates or ambassadors, yielding impressive
outcomes. This is because the teams have been made to understand not just
what they’re doing, but why. Leadership strategy has been translated into
stories, metaphors, and messages that align everyone’s mental models.
Strategic Communication
Strategy is so germane to communications that there is a genre called
strategic communication. This is the planned and intentional use of
communication to achieve specific objectives for an organisation or
individual. It involves aligning all communication actions with the entity’s
identity, values, and objectives, both internally and externally. It is an
ongoing process that aims to optimize the impact of communication to
achieve desired purposes.
Strategic communication does the following:
❖ Defines accurate and measurable objectives aligned with the
organisation’s vision and mission.
❖ Analyses to understand the internal and external environment,
stakeholders, and industry trends.
❖ Selects the most effective communication channels to reach the target
audience.
❖ Ensures consistency in messaging through clear, relevant messages
tailored to the target audience.
❖ Tracks results, measure the impact of communication, and adjust the
strategy based on the results.
Strategy the Sovereign; Content the Gold State Coach
Given that content embody and reflect its strategy, the latter is the king
while the former serves as his ceremonial carriage. Content can’t rule in
corporate communications because what is posted isn’t as important as
what people believe. This belief – which is instigated by strategy – is
significant because it is how organisations wield influence.
It takes strategy for content to clearly and consistently align with
organisational goals and map audience journeys. The Gold State Coach
could have been any other carriage but for the fact that the British monarch
rides in it. Ditto for content that can only be celebrated as on-brand, ontime, on-tone, and on-culture due to the strategy put into it. With content
as the voice, strategy is the force that prevents this voice from being a noise,
harnessing it to consistently reflect an organisation’s journey, mission and
values while resonating with its audience.
In corporate communications, strategy is the very definition and at the
intersection of messaging, branding, and executive profiling cum thought
leadership. The playbook aligns all communication actions with the entity’s
identity, values, and objectives, both internally and externally.
For business transformation sake, companies can’t be optimising for
content when what they need is counsel. With machine learning
increasingly churning out AI slop nowadays, humanity must generate
meaning in communications, which is what strategy guarantees.
Strategy doesn’t have to eat content for breakfast
While not at the pinnacle of the perking order in corporate comms, content
still occupy a pride of place given their visibility as press releases, decks,
blogs, social media reels, shorts, proof points, internal newsletters and
community updates. Corporate communications integrates these fragments
into a consistent identity, ensuring that every tweet, report, or speech
sounds like part of one voice.
Communications hits the bull’s eye when the narrative arc coherently
connects relevant touchpoints such that donors are assured of sustainable
impact, field staffers see their work matters, partners spot where to
collaborate, and beneficiaries hear dignity restored. This is apparently
beyond the ken of content. It is a strategy that has the wherewithal to make
multiple audiences see themselves in one core narrative. Be that as it may,
content still do a yeoman’s job in corporate communications by mirroring
real life so that audiences can see themselves in the messaging.
People remember stories, not bullet points or data. The compelling
and authentic narrative that content convey has the utility of capturing
attention, evoking emotion, humanising your organization, and ensuring
that your voice isn’t lost in the noise.
A synergy between strategy and content is therefore required for relatable
posts centering human realities, creatively adapted to each platform and
expressed in clear language, not corporate speak. As strategy sets the
direction and storytelling (content) delivers the impact, momentum cum
movement get activated and accelerated.
Uneasy lies the head that wears the Crown
The very essence of corporate communications depicts how integral
strategy is to it. Of course, it takes strategy to drive business outcomes
by influencing perception and shaping narratives. You’ve also got to be
strategic to align messaging with organisational goals, anticipate potential
crises, and evaluate the impact of your communications. It is through
strategy that you can find unique ways to connect your organisation with
diverse audiences, translate complex information into meaningful
conversations, and make your company memorable.
Strategy shoulders this heavy weight of communications responsibilities in
the following ways:
❖ It defines the overarching goals, aims and objectives that all
communications efforts are meant to achieve, ensuring that the bigpicture, helicopter view is captured.
❖ It determines the outcomes the entire team is working toward, the
audiences that matter most, the messaging that supports those aims,
and the techniques we’ll use to measure effectiveness.
❖ It creates alignment and clarity on what success actually looks like at
the senior leadership level.
❖ It ensures that content is grounded in how influence forms: how
culture moves, meaning spreads, identity is signaled, and demand
takes shape inside communities before brands even enter the
conversation.
❖ It helps people make sense of what the organisation does, why it
matters, and how it connects to their world. It is the bridge between
doing and being known.
Conclusion
With corporate communications covering how organisations are positioned
and regarded over time – across consumers, partners, policymakers, and
internal teams, it takes strategy – which encompasses creativity, structure,
and system design – to build and align these layers.
The organisation that is strategic about communications is the one that will
be able to shape perception, earn credibility, build authority, wield
influence, protect reputation, and sustain long-term organisational value.
Content remains critical to the foregoing and should be harnessed even
though corporate communications isn’t its kingdom!
The crux of the matter is that before crafting or developing any content, be
sure to have a brainstorming session with eggheads. That way, the majesty
of strategy will make the final output magical.
Ugochukwu, a Branding Strategist and Media Trainer, welcomes
feedback via nmiringwu@gmail.com