Are we communicating differently?

I was on the phone today with a reporter, she was following up on a request to interview one of our clients.  We’ve become friendly over the past few months of working together so as happens quite often, our conversation veered into a few other topics.

We got to talking about how differently we are communicating with our stakeholders (employees, clients, community members) in the face of COVID-19.  That our typical ways of getting messages out may not be working or applicable at this time.

Here are a few examples:

• What if your primary target audience is seniors who may not regularly check the internet or social media to get information? Will there be a return to printed and mailed newsletters?
• If we’re not driving to and from work listening to the radio, are news reports during morning and afternoon drive where you want to be or are daytime hours more appropriate now.
• I, for one, am using the phone more often – as in making more phone calls. Sure, I still send the occasional text message, but since I can’t walk down the hall and chat with a colleague, using the phone has become my go-to way of communicating with the HMA team.
• And speaking of go-to, we are all using video chat platforms like Zoom and GoToMeeting. Will these replace in-person meetings when the stay-at-home orders are lifted?
• Entrepreneurs, teachers, artists, musicians, actors, doctors, nurses, clergy, chefs, heck, probably every profession, have taken to using Facebook Live, YouTube, IGTV and the like to provide content – from information to entertainment and comfort to cooking, you can find something online that meets your needs.

Who knows what the new normal will be like once COVID-19 is behind us.  But one thing is for sure, the need to communicate will still be there, we’ll just have some new ways to consider.