Know the 3 challenges to build effective institutional communication

cDoes your company communicate with its different target groups? If you thought, “Of course we have a page on Facebook,” it’s time to rethink your concept institutional communication. In the following we will show you the mistakes that companies make in this area and what challenges there are in establishing an effective dialogue with internal and external target groups.

What is institutional communication

Institutional communication can be practiced by any institution, i.e. by companies, trade unions, associations, governments, NGOs, foundations, personalities etc. It has two types Target group: internalwho, in the case of corporations, are employees, collaborators, shareholders and agents; Y externalcustomers, suppliers and citizens.

Institutional communication is related to the reputation, identity and image an organization; It is also connected to its mission, vision and values. It is often misunderstood to mean corporate communications or business communications,” says Cleusa Maria Andrade Scroferneker, PhD in Communication and Professor at the Pontifical Catholic University of Rio Grande do Sul, in Brasil.

Dialogue with the external and internal public

Professor Scroferneke emphasizes that there is not just an internal or external public, but one severaleach of them with its peculiarities.

“Furthermore, this classification only localizes these audiences in a geographic sense,” he explains. «Thinking and dialogue with these imply having clarity of communication and by the audiences associated with the organization and with whom the organization has an interest to relate,” he adds.

She notes that many companies confuse information with communication. The first means conveying news to the public. The second relates to the relationship with him.

“In order to have an effective dialogue with its stakeholders, the company or organization needs to be clear about what it expects from the communication and develop a culture that allows for the establishment/consolidation of communication policies,” he says. «Today in organizations a information cultureaccentuated by digital social media,” says the professor.

3 challenges of institutional communication

According to Professor Scroferneke, the biggest challenge in effective institutional communication is precisely getting the company to understand that this is one ExchangeDialogue and negotiation between two active parties: business and public.

“Disseminating and informing does not mean communicating. A website, a Facebook page, an internal newsletter, intranet “communiqués” and integration events mean little or nothing if they are not coordinated explicit communication policy and planning the organization,” he says.

Another challenge is finding a communication professional with theoretical and practical knowledge in the dialogue with executives and support their decisions. “Especially when it comes to such valuable issues for the organization as reputation, identity and image, which are considered intangible assets; The professional in this field must have training to think, plan and manage the communication of a company / organization », he emphasizes.

A third challenge for the company is Internalize mission and values which he passes on to his audience and lives in his daily practice. “They have to stop being wall decorations and empty information in company documents,” says the professor. “There is no way to fragment communication. Thinking about institutional communication also means thinking about marketing communication and supporting marketing,” he concludes.