Language is constantly changing. If not for language evolution, we would not be able to talk about modern and ever-changing concepts, media, and inventions. This constant change, however, affects the ways businesses interact with their audiences.
With constant updates in technology, media, and communication, businesses need to adapt the ways they interact and connect with their audiences. Today’s marketing and advertising tactics often reflect more of a dialogue between businesses and their consumers. In order for a business to properly communicate with their audience, they need to master this alterable dialogue.
The quintessence of a shift in dialogue is the Oxford Dictionary’s 2015 word of the year-an emoji. That year was the first time in history the word of the year was, in fact, not a word at all.
Emoji has now become a major form of communication. A few emoji symbols can substitute thoughts, concepts, or even full sentences. Companies, like Pizza Hut, for example, have taken to this specific shift in dialogue and increased their use of emoji in their marketing conversations with consumers. Scrolling through Pizza Hut’s Twitter page, it is easy to see they’ve adapted (albeit sometimes subtly) to this new form of discourse to interact with their audience.
Emoji isn’t the only new shift in dialogue – but also where you speak to your audience. Businesses need to establish platforms or media that work best for their interactions with consumers. From sending out a 280-character or less tweet on Twitter, posting a Facebook live video, to writing a blog post on their website, the possibilities of communication seem endless.
However, not all media and new dialogue trends are the most effective types of communication for all businesses. It is important for a business to establish and understand their own effective forms of communication. Standing out to an audience is key, but it can be difficult in the new age of information overload.
Now more than ever, consumers are inundated with information, so it is crucial for businesses to find ways to grab the attention of their audiences and get their message across. According to a Pew Research Center survey, 70% of Americans fully agree that the amount of information and news available from a variety of sources is overwhelming.
Making sure a business’ message doesn’t get lost can be difficult. For a business that is trying to reach a young demographic, they may want to expand their dialogue to industry-relevant words that relate to a younger audience and expand that dialogue to social media platforms that statically have younger members. Sprout Social has a breakdown of demographics for social media platforms to understand which social media platforms may be best to use for targeting certain audiences.
Finding the best way to fit into new and changing dialogues can be difficult, but if a business can find a way to adapt their conversation and platforms and balance that with their current marketing efforts, they will stand out to their consumers and reach their target audiences.
