Does it feel as though the only way to get your message across these days is to grab people’s attention by “hopping on a trend” or producing something fast and flashy? Not so fast.
You need to follow up that attention-grabbing gambit with some substance or you risk viewers simply moving onto the next message that is demanding their attention. To convert interest into partnership you need to work to build trust – and, as in life, solid relationships are what we want in business.
Customer loyalty is the gift that keeps on giving, through repeat business, referrals and enhanced brand reputation and credibility. Building a relationship helps you understand customer needs, which leads to improved products and services, ultimately leading to a stronger competitive advantage.
Authentic and relatable
Business-to-business (B2B) brands’ communication requirements are even more exacting and technology can help you get your message in front of the people you want to reach. But to craft messages that help you build a solid relationship with your chosen audience, you need to ensure your communication is authentic and relatable.
For example, working with Flow Communications, the Oppenheimer Memorial Trust (OMT) more than doubled its LinkedIn following organically in 2025, gaining more than 2 000 new followers. The philanthropic grantmaker has gained high engagement with its posts, many of which are long, with many others reposting them.
Flow’s work with the OMT is based on a careful strategy that pinpointed LinkedIn as the optimal social media platform for the organisation to communicate with its desired audiences.
And that illustrates an important point: when plotting a strategic communications strategy for an entity, the first step is to think carefully about who you want to reach, why reaching them matters and what action you want your audience to take. Pick your platform (not just social media!) according to these three parameters.
Solid, award-winning work
Flow was thrilled when one of its most rewarding pieces of work was recognised with two silver trophies at the WesBank New Generation Awards – one for best online newsletter and the other for best email marketing campaign – for the Good Work Foundation (GWF).
GWF is an education non-profit operating in deep rural Mpumalanga and the Free State and needs several points of connection with its audiences. The campaign elevated GWF’s profile through well-researched articles, thought leadership pieces, media releases, social media posts and website blogs.
The newsletter drew all of these communications elements together in a handy compendium that could be sent to a large global database of opt-in subscribers.
The results were excellent. Between May 2024 and April 2025, the nine newsletters Flow compiled achieved an average open rate of 43%, well above benchmarked industry open rates. In addition, GWF raised funding directly through the monthly newsletter.
And that’s it – communication that delivers real results isn’t a magic trick; it’s an honest conversation.
While technology helps you get your foot in the door, it is the commitment to delivering authentic value and addressing audience pain points that converts clicks into lasting partnerships. In a noisy digital world, we have found that authenticity is the only currency that buys true customer loyalty.
Sue Blaine is a senior writer and editor at Flow Communications (www.flowsa.com), one of South Africa’s leading marketing and communications agencies. Founded in 2005 in a small spare bedroom, Flow now has a permanent team of 60 professional staff, with more than 1000 years of collective experience in communications.
