(MIS) COMMUNICATION
Have you ever witnessed someone with good intentions miss the mark in executing their idea? Imagine if the message you think your brand is communicating is not the same message your audience is perceiving, and you have no idea. Miscommunication poses a huge threat to any business. So how do we avoid being misunderstood? How do we ensure that our brand’s message is being communicated and received clearly?
The margins for misinterpretation are boundless.
In art school, the critique is an essential component of the creative process — and for good reason. Our peers listen to our ideas, they look at the visual manifestation of these ideas in the art we’ve created, and they challenge us to consider its flaws. In the critique, we are made aware of that which we may have missed. It can be a painful process to endure this criticism, but without considering other people’s interpretations, it’s inevitable that our work will not communicate effectively. And what is art if not a visual form of communication?
But how does this apply to your brand? Well, just think back a few years to Kendall Jenner’s Pepsi commercial. In the heat of a protest, Kendall emerges from the crowd, hands a Pepsi to an armed officer, and suddenly the protesters and police come together, united by their common enjoyment of this beloved beverage. But what was intended to address the political unrest at the time, and associate Pepsi’s brand with peace and awareness, in reality created a huge backlash against the brand. In fact, it had the opposite effect on viewers who were outraged by the idea that the complex political issues at hand could be resolved by a campaign developed by a company’s attempt to make a profit and a celebrity’s tone-deaf attempt to make light of the situation.
When communicating online, we need to create checks within our process. These checks create a step to gather feedback, and consider the audience’s point of view in order to ensure our messaging is clear and concise.
The margins for misinterpretation are boundless. In one critique back in art school, a student made an installation with water and fish inside. The class reacted with disgust, assuming that the work was meant to highlight animal cruelty, when the student’s intention was simply to create a soothing and beautiful artwork. The distance between the student’s message and the message the audience received was unbridgeable. Yet this disconnect was identified in the safe space of the critique, before the piece was shared with the public, and the artist was able to rework the piece accordingly.
So how do we avoid being misinterpreted? Sometimes artists use wall text to guide the viewer in the right direction, because the reality is that communicating exclusively through images is rarely effective. And vice versa, oftentimes we rely on images to bolster the meaning of our textual messages, just think of all the images you see in magazines.
Social media platforms have managed to streamline a formula for communication by pairing images with text. Furthermore, these platforms help us target specific audiences who are interested in the messages we want to share. But there is still room for user error. And we see a lot of user error in the usage of digital communications. This is where the critique comes in. When communicating online, we need to create checks within our process. These checks create a step to gather feedback, and consider the audience’s point of view in order to ensure our messaging is clear and concise. And we need to take advantage of the tools available to reach our target audience.
Social Canvas Communications helps businesses communicate effectively and clearly. Using analytics to track key performance metrics from your website and social media accounts, we are able to compile data showing what works and what doesn’t. Our data-driven solutions minimize your risk of miscommunication, therefore maximizing your chances of success. Want to see if your message is being received as intended? Schedule a content audit now and see where there’s room for improvement.
