The art of signal theory – methodology, pattern and shape matter far more than the words
It requires more than just monitoring the news and social conversations and producing content. Yes, this is valuable, but once a story hits the news, it’s already history and you’re on to the next! Sending company signals is a constant cycle to build trust by demonstrating industry leadership, growth, and momentum.
It all begins in the planning phase, as this recent Ragan Communications report states, ‘The real opportunity lies in recognizing signals before they become stories.’ This strategy gives PR pros the edge in understanding leading indicators – whether they’re perspectives from legal, government, financial, or company info – each offers a different vantage point on how issues begin, evolve, and finally get noticed by the public, and solved!
Take the long-rumbling closure of the Strait of Hormuz and the global supply chain disruptions it has caused. Industry laggards will talk about the disruptions – but then what’s new? For industry leaders (think your SMEs), who are on the frontline, attending industry events, speaking to customers to learn about their pain points, supply chain disruptions have been top of mind long before the Strait of Hormuz closure!
Here’s where ‘lessons learned’ from your SMEs, rather than running with the pack signals authority and will add value and trust in your brand.
It’s all about B2B PR pros looking around the corner and understanding industry developments that they can use to stamp their authority on the subject, start to own the theme, and establish field leadership. It’s all about sending signals out to their audiences and journalists that their brand is a trusted and authoritative voice in that space!
This strategy is part of the larger signal theory approach, which ensures brand messaging stays consistent on a global scale, and that thought leaders remain industry leaders.
Read on for our top tips on how PR pros can use signal theory methodology to their strategic advantage:
Disclaimer: This blog was originally posted in April 2020, as the impact of the global COVID-19 pandemic was beginning to become apparent. But signal theory is a tried-and-tested method to demonstrate leadership, and especially during testing market climates – so the advice is just as applicable in today’s business environment.
When the going gets tough leaders don’t panic – they signal brand authority
People buy from winners, and what winners don’t do is hit the panic button the moment they are confronted with a problem which is beyond their control. To quote Winston Churchill, “If you’re going through hell, keep going” – and that’s where the majority of us find ourselves now.
We’re a B2B marketing agency. We work globally for all sizes of companies from start-ups to scale-ups to Nasdaq listed companies. We all learn to write at IBA, but we all learn one other key business rule of PR. Methodology, pattern and signals matter – far more than just words. They enable companies no matter their size, to remain strong and to navigate seen and unforeseen challenges.
How clients can convey leadership in testing times
The problem is not every company has a solid methodology or an understanding in place of how to stay relevant and appeal to potential prospects even at the best of times – let alone during testing times. It is those companies with a carefully thought-out, blend and consistent level, of PR and marketing activity who will enhance their reputation, and why those who don’t will find life increasingly tough as customers look for strong partners going forward.
Patterns matter
Business continuity has never been on the lips of so many and at the heart of all contingency plans is flexibility. From a PR and marketing perspective, that may well mean holding fire on that scheduled product launch or partnership agreement or postponing a campaign until even Q4, but it would be foolish to cut off all activity. Why? Because people notice.
Maintaining a pattern of communications activity at a time of great difficulty is a signal that a company is successful, sufficiently capitalized and financially stable. This not only demonstrates a company is committed to provide support to their customers during their time of need, but that they are fit for purpose on a long-term basis as well. This is especially important in a B2B landscape where a buyer’s career depends on making the right decisions.
I’m not just talking about direct communications with your clients and prospects – but with the media. Remember that they are a third-party endorsement that gets you to your prospect marketplace. And at the moment, not only do you need the media – but the media needs you!
It’s not just what you say, it’s the way you say it
It’s the frequency of press communications which help journalists identify and make judgements on companies.
Journalists are experts at spotting patterns. When a company is creating consistent and relevant noise in the media a journalist or editor will take notice. Even if the journalist doesn’t choose to run a piece of content, it’s served to heighten their awareness and understanding of a company which always pay dividends further down the line. At the same time, when the level of press activity of a company suddenly drops, this instantly signals there’s a problem. That the company is unable to cope when the going gets tough.
That’s not to say during a time of crisis a company should produce masses of content, but they should signal enough to demonstrate an appropriate level of business as usual – a volume of activity which aligns with their brand status.
It’s the function of a field leader to educate the marketplace – so show your leadership
We hear a lot of marketing talk about brand leadership, thought leadership, industry leadership. The operative word is ‘leadership’. We are encouraging our clients to look for stories about customers working remotely, delivering for their customers, using technology to enable jobs to be done. Could be a case study, could be a blog but certainly forms an important signal of success and business continuity and would form a key element in a pattern of activity.
Thought leadership – after this the world has changed, or has it?
Some B2B businesses are taking the opportunity to redefine their market – the ‘new’ supply chain, ‘re-defining’ field service. A blog, white paper or thought leadership article provides a powerful signal, a key element of a pattern that signals success and enables these companies to put themselves in front of journalists who will use these striking and thought-provoking pieces to help educate their readers – and of course your potential prospects.
At IBA we ensure our clients are communicating consistent messaging on a global scale – keep a close eye out for future blogs on the importance of signal theory in the coming weeks. While you wait, why not reach out to our team of B2B marketing experts to find out how we can help keep your messaging consistent?
Jamie Kightley is Head of Client Services at IBA International.
