As we move forward in the digital age new questions arise for us to solve. For starters how do we create and manage a digital workforce?

1. Creating
&
Managing
a Digital WorkforceMarc Johnson
Director, digital strategy

2. Understanding the expectations
that come with a new reality

3. Digital ubiquity
has made your
job and your
colleagues’ jobs
much harder
External
Stakeholders
expect speed and
high touch
from brands

4. Internal
Stakeholders
expect accuracy
and safe speech
from brands
This creates
tension in the
workforce
HOW DO WE MANAGE THIS?

5. What resources do we have at our disposal?
Communications Teams
(Corporate & Brand)
Senior Management
Spokespeople
Agency Relationships EMPLOYEES

6. With all these tools, why is
communications in a digital
world so difficult?
When a communications strategy does
not originate in-house, authenticity,
accuracy and responsibility are
extremely hard to manage

7. Building strong
digital communications
teams
THINGS TO CONSIDER
when building an internal
digital communications team

8. Identify the skills that drive digital strategy
1

9. Don’t be fooled.
Communications
trumps technology
• DON’T LOOK FOR PEOPLE WHO LEAD WITH EXPERIENCE IN THE TECHNOLOGY
• DON’T AUTOMATICALLY THINK THAT YOUNGER EMPLOYEES AND CANDIDATES ARE AUTOMATICALLY
PRE-QUALIFIED TO DRIVE YOUR DIGITAL STRATEGY AND EXECUTION
• DO LOOK FOR PEOPLE WHO UNDERSTAND STAKEHOLDER NUANCES
• DO COVET GREAT WRITERS AND STORYTELLERS
• DO INVEST IN PEOPLE WHO CAN TELL STORIES IN CREATIVE FORMATS (DESIGN AND VIDEO)

10. Other
soft skills
to look for
• PEOPLE WHO ARE INSTINCTUAL
• PEOPLE WHO AREN’T MOTIVATED BY FEAR
• PEOPLE WHO “OWN” AND SELF-START
• PEOPLE WHO ARE METRIC FOCUSED

11. Harnessing the skills
of a new
digital communication team
• THE HARDEST THING YOU WILL HAVE TO DO IS TRUST THIS GROUP WITH YOUR BRAND
• THEY MUST HAVE THE AUTHORITY TO MAKE DECISIONS ABOUT BRAND VOICE AND MESSAGING AT A
MOMENT'S NOTICE
• YOU WILL NEED A STRONG LEADER TO GAIN THE CONFIDENCE OF SENIOR MANAGEMENT

12. RecruitinG
a leader
who exudes trust
• THE LEADER MUST BE ABLE TO INTEGRATE DIGITAL INTO THE OVERALL STAKEHOLDER COMMUNICATIONS
STRATEGY
• THE LEADER MUST BE PRESENTED AS A PEER OF SENIOR MANAGERS
• THE LEADER MUST BE A GREAT INTERNAL COMMUNICATOR
• THE LEADER MUST BE ABLE TO MEASURE THE EFFECTIVENESS OF DIGITAL COMMUNICATIONS OUTPUT

13. Building a newsroom in your organization
2

14. Why A NEWSROOM?
NEWSROOMS MATCH THE CADENCE OF MESSAGING NEEDED TO DRIVE BRAND REPUTATION IN A
DIGITAL WORLD
People Reached
PeopleReached MEDIA HITS, TRADITIONAL ADVERTISING, MAJOR ANNOUNCEMENTS
DAILY CADENCE OF DIGITAL MESSAGES UNDERSCORING
AND EXTENDING NEWS AND ADVERTISING EVENTS

15. Cadence is king
• YOU NEED A LOT OF CONTENT TO MATCH THE CONVERSATION SPEED OF THE WEB.
• EVERY 5-10 MINUTES THE NEWS CYCLE TURNS. BE PREPARED!
• DON’T START FROM SCRATCH. DIGITIZE YOUR INSTITUTIONAL KNOWLEDGE.
• INTEGRATE KEY EMPLOYEES AS CENTERS OF THOUGHT LEADERSHIP AND DIGITAL SPOKESPEOPLE

16. MASTERING
FORMATS
ROLE: EDITOR
MATCH THOUGHT LEADERSHIP WITHIN
ORGANIZATION WITH OPPORTUNITIES TO
PUBLISH ON OWNED AND EARNED
CHANNELS
ROLE: COMMUNITY MANAGER
USE EXTERNAL DIGITAL CHANNELS AND
PROFILES TO CONNECT THE NEWS STORIES
TO ACTIVE STAKEHOLDER COMMUNITIES
ONLINE
ROLE: VIDEOGRAPHER
CREATE VISUAL ASSETS THAT BRING
EMOTION AND DEPTH TO BRAND
NARRATIVES
ROLE: DESIGNER
SIMPLIFY DATA THAT SUPPORTS THE BRAND
NARRATIVE AND PRESENT IT IN CREATIVE,
DYNAMIC WAYS
LONG
FORM
WRITTEN
SHORT
FORM
WRITTEN
VIDEO
DATA
VISUALIZATION

17. Mastering
Channels
FIRST PERSON
BRAND VOICE
SECONDARY BRAND
ENGAGEMENT
AND SUPPORT
PRIMARY
BRAND ENGAGEMENT

18. Using digital analytics to shape
communications strategy
3

19. The role of analytics
in digital communications
• IT IS IMPORTANT THAT YOU USE ANALYTICS AND METRICS TO KEEP TRACK OF WHERE CONVERSATIONS
REGARDING YOUR BUSINESS ARE HEADED.
• WITH MILLIONS OF ACTIVE VOICES CHURNING 24/7, HOW DO YOU ANTICIPATE THE NEEDS OF YOUR
DIGITAL STAKEHOLDERS?

20. Analytics as
Business Intelligence
UNDERSTANDING HOW
BUSINESS INTERSECTS WITH
COMMUNICATIONS WILL
BRING SENIOR BUSINESS
MANAGERS INTO THE FOLD.
TOP CLUSTERS
CSR AWARDS AND LISTS13%
SOCIAL IMPACT FEATURES13%
ACCESS TO MEDICINE9.6%
SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT GOALS7.9%
CSR AWARDS IN THE MIDDLE EAST6.1%
PNEUMO VACCINE ACCESS5.4%
ACCESS TO THERAPEUTIC SOLUTIONS3.4%
GLOBAL DRUG DELIVERY (ACCESS)6%
GAPS IN CARE IN DEVELOPING
COUNTRIES
12%
VACCINE PARTNERSHIP WITH
GATES FOUNDATION
4.8%
PFIZER AND GSK ARE HEADLINERS
IN PNEUMO VACCINE ACCESS
NOVARTIS DOMINATES THE ACCESS
TO MEDICINES COVERAGE
GSK OCCUPIES “THE BRIDGE”
THAT LINKS ACCESS TO MEDICINE
COVERAGE TO SOCIAL IMPACT
J&J, SANOFI, PFIZER, & GSK THAT
LINKS ACCESS TO MEDICINE COVERAGE
TO SOCIAL IMPACT

21. Analytics driving
audience strategy
UNDERSTANDING THE
AUDIENCES WHO ARE
CURRENTLY ENGAGING WILL
GIVE YOU MORE PRECISE
DIAGNOSES OF PROBLEMS.
84.10% TWEETING USERS
15.90% LURKERS

22. Metrics for
communications optimization
MONITORING ONGOING CONVERSATIONS,
MENTIONS OF YOU BRAND, AND HOW YOU ARE
PENETRATING CONVERSATIONS OF INTEREST
WILL HELP YOU ANTICIPATE FUTURE
COMMUNICATIONS NEEDS.

23. Finding
the right analyst
• YOUR ANALYST SHOULD BE A
STORYTELLER
• YOUR ANALYST SHOULD USE DATA TO
CREATE CONTEXT
• YOUR ANALYST SHOULD NOT BE WED TO
TOOLS OVER DATA
• YOUR ANALYST SHOULD BE ABLE TO
PRODUCE REPORTS FOR INTERNAL AND
EXTERNAL CLIENTS

24. Building better relationships with
stakeholders active in social
4

25. Finding active
digital stakeholders
• ANALYSTS SHOULD MONITOR INFLUENCERS RELATED TO YOUR CORE BUSINESS AND ADJACENT ISSUES
• ANALYSTS SHOULD MONITOR HOW YOUR COMPETITORS ENGAGE WITH INFLUENCERS
• FIND CENTERS OF EXCELLENCE (CONFERENCES, INDUSTRY EVENTS, ETC.)

26. • BE A CONVENER - BRING INFLUENCERS TOGETHER FOR A CAUSE,
ISSUE, OR INDUSTRY EVENT GREATER THAN YOURSELF
• ACCESS IS KEY - INFLUENCERS WANT ACCESS TO YOUR DECISION
MAKERS - THEY WANT TO UNDERSTAND THEM MORE
• ALIGN YOURSELF WITH INFLUENCERS AT MAJOR INDUSTRY EVENTS AS
MUCH AS YOU CAN
Brand
as convener

27. Communications Team
in a Digital Workforce
DIGITAL
COMMUNICATIONS
LEADER
VIDEOGRAPHER DESIGNER ANALYST
COMMUNITY
MANAGER
EDITOR

28. SUMMARY
• DIGITAL HAS CHANGED THE PACE AND CADENCE OF
COMMUNICATIONS
• THERE IS A SPECIFIC SKILL SET WE SHOULD PURSUE
WHEN BUILDING DIGITAL COMMUNICATIONS TEAMS
• IN A DIGITAL WORLD, YOUR COMMUNICATIONS TEAM
SHOULD FUNCTION LIKE A NEWSROOM
• ANALYTICS CONNECT ALL PARTS OF THE BUSINESS TO
COMMUNICATIONS - FIND A GREAT ANALYST

29. QUESTIONS?