You're navigating conflicting stakeholder expectations on content tone. How do you strike the right balance?

Conduct Interviews: Talk to each stakeholder to understand their specific concerns and objectives. Map Overlaps: Create a visual map to identify overlapping priorities and areas of agreement. Craft a Hybrid Style Guide: Develop a content tone guide that blends key elements from all stakeholders' preferences. Pilot Content: Create sample content and share it with stakeholders for feedback. Iterate Based on Feedback: Use stakeholder input to refine the tone, ensuring it meets the core objectives while addressing individual concerns.

The most significant and perhaps the most basic thing which may skip is assessing the Stakeholder Epectation. Its highly significant to arrange a with the stakeholders to gather detailed insights into their vision, goals, and preferences regarding the content tone. This is highly significant because Different Stakeholder value different content tone. For example: A marketing manager might prioritize a persuasive tone to drive sales, While a brand manager might emphasize maintaining a consistent and professional brand voice. Understanding these nuances helps in crafting a tone that aligns with the overall objectives.

Striking the right balance when navigating conflicting stakeholder expectations on content tone requires a strategic approach. First, clearly define the brand voice, ensuring it aligns with the company’s mission and values. Conduct a stakeholder analysis to understand each party's perspective and prioritize based on business goals and target audience needs. Facilitate open communication to find common ground and compromise where possible. Utilize data and feedback to support decisions, demonstrating how certain tones resonate better with the audience. Regularly review and adjust the content strategy to maintain alignment and address evolving expectations.

It's important to identify the 'hidden' stakeholder/s - many times there's someone key to the project that isn't in the immediate circle of the project. Sometimes the most important voice isn't on the team or even in the organization. Think like a journalist.

Evaluate the existing content to identify areas of alignment and divergence with stakeholders' expectations. This involves a detailed review of the tone, style, and language used across different content pieces. During a past project, I conducted a content audit that revealed discrepancies between the formal tone of our website and the casual tone preferred by our social media audience. This assessment helped in creating a unified tone that catered to both platforms without alienating any stakeholder.

To strike the right tone, really work to focus on the target audience. The more clearly and specifically you can come up with a 'representative audience member' - that's including all demographic info for the audience -- the better you can craft a tone to reach and resonate with them. Be ready with a clear profile to share with stakeholders.

Identify the overlapping areas of agreement among stakeholders to establish a foundation for the content tone. Highlighting these commonalities can help in gaining buy-in from all parties involved. For instance, if all stakeholders agree on the importance of a customer-centric approach, emphasize this shared priority when discussing tone adjustments.

Tracking analytics and other feedback, and being able to present that info to stakeholders without overwhelming them, is so important! Check with stakeholders to determine who needs metrics presented in what way (ie, words and copy; graphics/charts; short video) and share out. Try A/B testing for tone and content!