Forget about the Tools: What’s Your Reason to be There?

We have a lot of initial conversations with client prospects that get hung up on tools. We don’t need to talk about Facebook or LinkedIn or Twitter — the specific tools aren’t any more critical to name in developing communication strategy than defining that we might use phones, or, say, a laptop.

The problem with talking about specific tools is that each person has their individual experience with that specific tool, and it may not be in a business context at all. There are still many business people who hear the word “blog” and think of ranting online diaries in which people air their dirty laundry. OF COURSE that’s not what we’re talking about, but certain words (Facebook, blog, Twitter, e-mail marketing, YouTube) really set people off on a tangent.

We like to derail that conversation by focusing on what message the client is trying to deliver. We talk more about providing content in places where intended audiences ALREADY ARE and will find what the client wants them to find. We try to steer clear of specific tool-driven strategy (tools change; the content and the reasons to use them do not).

What’s useful is defining the best possible outcomes of communicating about your business. Keep focused on that; don’t get distracted by the platforms.