Getting your message out has changed a lot in the last few years. Print is prehistoric. Websites are a given; now we are using podcasts, Facebook, LinkedIn, MySpace, Twitter and on it goes. The din of social networking has become so confusing, people are stressing about what they think they need to know.

There are so many options that few companies can keep up. How hard should they try?

Trends fly fast and furious. The transition from vinyl records, to 8-track to cassettes to CDs morphed into downloads to MP3 players and options continue to multiply daily.

Perspective can be wanting when a marketer is trying to keep up with the best avenues to get their messages out. But that doesn’t mean that it isn’t necessary and worth slowing down to figure out best options.

Credibility doesn’t come on the most new-fangled platform. Those may supplement a message that is delivered by more traditional methods, but shouldn’t be your primary or sole tool.

Want to reach your audience effectively? Get to know how they get their information. What are they comfortable using? What do they reach for when they are operating instinctively? You don’t want distractions when you are getting your point across. You want total, rapt attention.

Even at a time when delivery systems seem to preempt the substance of the message, viewers don’t remember a medium, they remember what they felt when they got the message. If they are trying to sort out a tweet from a blog, they may be missing what you have to say.

Who would have thought text messaging could be as effective as its use in fund raising for the Haitian earthquake catastrophe. The Red Cross alone reported receiving about US$20 million in donations in the first days after the disaster.

More than ever, it’s time to get clear about what you want to achieve and consider repurposing your messages in as many ways as necessary to make sure they can hear you over the din.

Lynn H. Roberts

Multicultural Mosaic