Get ready to 'Amplify' your communications

In October 2022, Microsoft announced they will be launching a new communications application. Later this year Viva Amplify will join the Viva Suite, so here’s some of my first thoughts ahead of the launch…

Working in change management, a large part of my day to day is creating and advising clients on their communication strategies for upcoming changes happening across their organisations. Recently, I was working with a client that had over 30 different communication channels they use to reach their employees. As you can imagine this led to a very comprehensive analysis to find the best channels and techniques to engage their target audiences. And the one thing that was going through my mind this whole time was “Microsoft, hurry up and launch Viva Amplify.”

Now, before we get started, let’s be clear: we’re not talking about the “amplify” button that you used to find on old-school boomboxes. No, no, we’re talking about something much more high-tech, and AI (Artificial Intelligence) driven than that.

So, what is Microsoft Viva Amplify?

Viva Amplify is one of Microsoft’s new Viva applications launching later this year, and it will sit within Microsoft Teams. In a nutshell, it’s a communication app that is designed to boost employee engagement by turning messages into campaigns. Combine AI with your loudest team member, without worrying about any accidental typos or cringe-worthy moments.

You know those times where you need to send an email, but it should also be a post on Viva Engage or your intranet. But then you remember it needs to be in the newsletter…that went out last week… (we’ve all been there).

Well, now you can let Viva Amplify do it for you.

Send your communications across different places, in different ways and at different times. Making it easier for employees to stay informed and connected with what is happening in the organisation, no matter where they are or how they receive news and updates.

In the world of corporate comms, this is a game changer! (Much like Rihanna at the Superbowl).

What can you do in Viva Amplify?

Viva Amplify is not just a communications tool, it’s an instrument to cultivate a collaborative environment between different divisions of your organisation. Between ease of access, flexible content formats, and powerful analytics and reporting tools, it makes it the ideal solution for organisations of all sizes. Finally, fixing the debate of which channel when.

Here are some of my favourite things you can do in Viva Amplify…

• Start by creating a communication piece within the app and leverage Microsoft’s AI technology (AI is all the rave these days) that can provide you with guidance or suggestions on your writing…I probably should have used it here.
• Viva Amplify is very flexible with the type of content it supports, add text, video, images and more to make it easy to create content that will resonate with your audience. This is particularly important if you have a diverse employee base, as it will enable you to communicate in a way that is relevant and meaningful to everyone.
• Use governance features such as approvals to ensure your material is reviewed and approved by your team members before you distribute to your wider audience.
• Use the multi-channel distribution feature to share your communications in a variety of ways. You can even preview what this will look like in the channels you are distributing to. To start, Microsoft have flagged distribution channels will include SharePoint (sites like your Intranet), Viva Engage/Yammer, Outlook, and Windows, with more channels such as Teams to be added further down the line.
• Create a communications campaign within Viva Amplify, here you can add targets and track your reach with insights available.
• Make use of the schedule feature to distribute your material at various times to align with your campaign/communications plan. Scheduling will allow you to blend campaigns, so you can manage different communication series alongside each other.
• Leverage your communication insights to adjust your campaign mid-flight. Whether its understanding which topics are most popular, which employees are most engaged, or which content formats are most effective, Viva Amplify will provide insights you can use to change tactics to drive engagement and reach a greater audience.

Where to from here?

Hopefully I’ve caught you before you’ve finished your 2023 comms strategy, and you can slot a placeholder for Viva Amplify in there. For me personally, I can’t wait to utilise Viva Amplify from a change management perspective. We’ll be able to use Viva Amplify as an enabler to drive change across organisations, making it easier to share information to our affected audiences.

In the meantime, as we eagerly await that launch announcement from Microsoft, start the conversation and have a think about how Viva Amplify could transform your communications landscape.

If you would like some support in reviewing your current landscape and mapping out what the future could look like, our team will be more than happy to help so?get in touch.

About the author

Emily McPherson?is the Practice Lead of the Change & Adoption practice at Engage Squared. Over the 4.5 years Em has been working with us, she has been sharing her passion for helping people and reimaging the way our clients work they work to make their day-to-day easier. When she’s not knee deep at work, she’s got work boots on renovating and busy being a dog-mum to her gorgeous mini retriever Bosley @justbeingbosley.