As storytellers, those of us in the communication industry are tasked with stripping the wheat from the chaff in order to produce content which is relevant, engaging and newsworthy.
But what industry novices don’t realise is that no company is able to provide every last detail of a launch, a campaign or a crisis. There are some things that quite simply cannot be shared with the public. This can be a natural and authentic simplification of communications, but it can also hinder the cause for honest communications.
There are several ‘communication blockers’. One of which is the regulation of communications and data usage. Specifically, the Protection of Personal Information Act (often called the POPI Act or POPIA) and the General Data Protection Regulation (EU GDPR). POPIA and GDPR restrict the sharing of critical business and personal information for data protection and privacy reasons.
From a company standpoint, it is not possible to share certain information for legal purposes, due to intellectual property concerns and for supplier and partner privacy. Similarly, companies also cannot share the personal information of workers, customers, product users or clients.
With these basic limitations, one can see how communication faces blockages. In some cases, we cannot share information, even when it helps our own business case. There have been instances where it would be far easier to share full details of a complaint or dispute for example, and allow consumers to see a full story, but we are limited due to privacy laws. These things don’t always work in the communicator’s favour.
However, there is a far simpler reason that communicators seemingly withhold information- because there is often a major lack of understanding when it comes to the reader or consumer.
Imagine brands launching their new products to the basic camera consumer market with infinite detail, explaining every failed camera lens that came before the final new offering. Talking everything from the basics of convex lenses and inverted images to delving into white balance intricacy and optical vs mechanical vs chemical elements. Customers wouldn’t care; consumers do not want to know every detail, they want to know why it’s better in an understandable, jargon-free way.
There will certainly be a space for those who want to know the finer details, but it is our responsibility to pull out the interesting content from the redundant information and supply it to the right audience.
So what can we do? Firstly, adapt communications per audience – not everyone needs the jargon and the detail. When it comes to products and brand stories, ensure your content speaks to the reader.
In times of crisis, what you can say may be limited, this is why building a strong brand reputation is critical. Position your brand. Define your brand. And allow this work to speak for itself. The kind of communications you put out will develop and strengthen the brand persona over time, it will generate brand trust, communicate your brand’s values and entrench these aspects in the minds of consumers.
When the time comes for public evaluation, when you cannot share full details due to a variety of communication blockers, reputation serves as a backdrop of history, point of reference, and a starting point of evaluation and brand rebuild.
Samantha Fuller is head of communications at Yoco.
