Communications in Virtual

Where's my cat and why do you care?  

Last week, I am guessing you did not notice that I ran a week long quiz here on LinkedIn. The basic idea was that each day I posted a close-up picture of my cat and you had to guess where it was. Then the next day I would add the picture of the cat revealing its actual location. So far, so simple. 

Now as entertaining as this was for me, it was a complete waste of time and let me explain why. 

I started the campaign out of the blue with no advance warning of what was going to happen. I did not explain how to take part, I didn’t even tell you why you should take part! Throughout the week I did not elaborate or reach out to new people to join in. I just kept posting amusing cat photos. 

Why I hear you ask? 

I wanted to prove a point that communications are not just a nice to have when it comes to virtual or any kind of project you want people to participate in, they are essential.  

#Wheresmycat was funny and it could have been engaging and really helped me to build a better following. BUT only if I had created a solid communication strategy to make that happen. I could have used it across different platforms, explained it better, promoted it more widely and given a reason to join, instead of being obtuse and saying things like you will find out why. 

So, the moral to this story is, if you are trying to engage an audience, your communication strategy has to be front and centre. You wouldn’t run a live event without giving people all the essential information, so make sure the same applies in the virtual world. Engaging your audience up front will help you achieve your goals. 

And sometimes, that takes more than a cute photo of your cat.