Putting digital strategy where it belongs -- FIRST
Digital transformation has been a push for many companies, from large corporations to small businesses. And the COVID-19 pandemic accelerated many of those plans this year.
Within the Communications team at Lockheed Martin, we asked how digital transformation applies to our work and what strategies should be in place to support this business goal.
Our answer and our priority – a Digital First strategy.
Why Digital First is Critical
Digital First means putting our audience, particularly our customers, first in our communications. It’s reaching our audiences where they are, which is increasingly on mobile devices. It’s reframing our content based on audience profiles and focusing on best practices to make our content more engaging, easier to receive and interact with.
Research tells us:
- More than half of the time spent online is on a mobile device. (BOND Internet Trends)
- 79% of people have their smartphone with them for at least 22 hours a day.(IDC, Always Connected)
- Four out of five people check their phone within 15 minutes of waking up. (IDC, Always Connected)
Digital First in Action
Our team is doing innovative work using a Digital First mindset.
An initiative called Delta V, a term that in science refers to a change in velocity, emerged from the talented visual communications professionals in our Aeronautics business. Aero has abundant and breathtaking imagery and a loyal audience of enthusiasts. But our communications team there recognized that as the audience was shifting to digital mobile platforms, our content had not fully evolved with it. They set out to define what best practices made some digital content outperform others on social media. Their findings led to a shift in our enterprise-wide approach.
Collaborating with other digital professionals around the company, the Aero team created an immersive experience intentionally designed to increase retention of audiences on a small screen, with tactics specific to each platform. We’ve since expanded the approach across the Lockheed Martin brand, and the results are compelling. We’ve seen strong increases in engagement and reach.
Digital First is about putting your customer and the audience first, sharing news and stories in ways that are most meaningful to your key stakeholders.
Another example of our Digital First strategy in action is the @LMNews Twitter channel that we launched earlier this year. Like everyone else, reporters are getting their news and information from their mobile devices, and our digital and media relations teams collaborated to rethink how we’re engaging media and sharing the latest news – beyond the press release. The information we publish on @LMNews, our dedicated media channel, is created fit-for-purpose. As a result, we’re reaching reporters more quickly in a format that is more easily sourced and shared. By segmenting news out from our brand channels, we’re clearly defining and delivering for our different audiences.
Data-Driven Decisions
As we think about our organization and the value it delivers to our business, we recognize how important an effective Digital First strategy is to our brand. When we use data to see what’s working and what’s not, it presents us with a valuable opportunity to tell different stories to different audiences in ways that are most meaningful to them. Our approach is continually evolving and maturing, but it’s clear that a Digital First strategy can help us to bring the Lockheed Martin story to life.
How is your team putting digital first?
Head of Communications for Americas Rolls-Royce Motor Cars
4 年Good points. Good moves. We’ve also seen the need to change how we Have conversations digitally using latest tech. How to avoid that “email conversation,” breaking through tech firewalls to build trust and continue relationships. And most important, communicate clearly, consistently and copiously. Keep up the fight.
Ret. Retired “Future Shock - Shock Absorber,” CSBR “Cosmic Contributor,’ RTNDA Board Member, 2-time Murrow Awards Judge
4 年And remember, regardless of your information pipeline, your message must always pass the “So what?” test.
Brand Strategist & Change Communicator | Food Allergy Mom | HBJ 40 Under 40 | #OpenToWork
4 年This is great - even if some of those research stats are hard to swallow as we continue to hear about tech addiction rates increasing. Now as these changes are rolled out, looping back to ensure they are captured within other company planning and training (like crisis comm) will be an evolutionary process. It is certainly remarkable how social has changed media relations, and the speed at which information is shared.
PR & crisis communications | Digital media expert & pioneer | Social media | Issues management & stakeholder engagement | Former broadcast journalist
4 年Love this post. It reminds me of the first digital strategy we created for Phillips 66 back in 2015. Part of that data-driven strategy included a Twitter handle for media relations and owned media that we had launched a few months early. Glad to see you’re making the same kind of advancement at Lockheed Martin.