If you want communication to resonate with employees, your writing and design teams need to be BFFs, working together to create compelling content. Before drafting copy or sketching concepts, take a step back and follow these two steps:
1. Explore the user experience
This is the interaction a user has with a product, service or event. To help envision the desired state, writers and designers should work together to determine:
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Objectives—What do you want to accomplish from the shared message? Are you teaching employees about a new program, do they need to take action, such as attend an upcoming event? |
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Audience—What’s in it for them? Why should employees read this communication? Is the content tailored to their needs? |
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Channel—How is your audience experiencing this information? This answer comes after you nailed down your objective and audience. For example, do you want to make an impact? Consider creating a splashy poster that grabs the eye within seconds. Or are you communicating complex material? Make sure employees can digest it—try breaking down ideas into a chart or infographic. |
2. Collaborate consistently
Now it’s time to work together to create your content. Of course, that can be challenging with most people working remotely. Here’s how to do so in a virtual world:
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Brainstorming sessions—Kickoff your project by inviting your design team and other expertise (depending on the experience you want to accomplish) to a meeting. Diversity of thought is a great way to get creative juices flowing and spark ideas for messaging and design. For example, designers think visually and can help you come up with a theme for your messaging early on, which is a great way to bring your content to life. |
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Informal check-ins—The creative process should be fluid, no need for formal meetings. Call your designer when you have an idea or to pick their brain! It’s as simple as: “I’m stuck on this, what do you think?” or “Can I run this idea by you?” Informal conversations keep the momentum and can help solve each other’s challenges. |
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IM chats—Create an instant messaging chat on your company’s platform (e.g., Zoom, Skype, Slack, etc.) to keep the ideas flowing. Chats allow you to share work you’re inspired by and are a great quick, convenient way to connect. |
You’ll discover that when writers and designers work together from day one, not only will the task at hand be easier to accomplish, your team will deliver compelling content.
