Lynne Arrowsmith, managing director at Goldbug, explores how emotion-driven content boosts engagement and advocacy.

As internal comms practitioners we’re consumed by employee engagement. And rightly so. With companies looking for the highest levels of brand advocacy from their employees, our approach to engagement has never mattered more. There are many factors that will drive employee connections but understanding how to land internal messaging with true emotional impact is something we should be obsessing about in our internal comms strategy.

And the channels and content styles we use to do that play a defining role. Scrolling, swiping, watching, listening – whatever platform you’re drinking from on a daily basis, content consumption is how we move through our days. So why would this be any different at work? One of the easiest wins to make in your internal comms mix is to apply the tools used on social and digital media in your internal content production. Long gone are the days of only relying on super polished, down the lens, boardroom-led corporate films. UGC, realness and employee influencers are leading the charge on making messaging pop on the inside.

Your approach to content can transform how messaging lands and it starts with something we don’t talk enough about at work. The feelings. The people we meet, the connections we make, the skills we learn… they’re all about the feels. So how much of this do we consider in our content strategy when aiming for world class engagement? 

Because making great content is about more than just telling people what’s going on.

It’s a universal IC truth that we’re always people talking to people, so getting the balance right between emotional and rational content is an important element for advocacy. But no matter what we’re talking about internally, it’s going to have a feeling attached to it. Do we talk enough about how content can create an emotional connection at work or are the feels sorely underestimated when compared to the often easier to measure rational metrics? 

Great content can educate us. It’s a brilliant insight to take into your IC strategy. How can we get our audience to feel curious? Would this help us think differently about challenges we’re trying to solve? Would a shift in our comms thinking from ‘tell me something’, to ‘teach me something’ have a big impact in how our audience feels?

Great content can enlighten us, opening our eyes and challenging long-held beliefs. So, think about detractors in your audience - that marginal group often viewed as ‘impossible to engage’. A new content direction or style can be a brilliant circuit breaker when you’re trying to help an audience move their thinking.

Great content can show empathy. If you want your audience to care, show them you do. In business language soaked in old tropes like ‘paradigm shifts’, or ‘breaking down silos’, we must be able to display more understanding, care and humanity, for people to connect with content that creates an emotional reaction. 

And never forget that great content can also entertain. That doesn’t always mean ‘funny’. Using humour can certainly make content memorable but doesn’t always create lasting engagement. But making content that’s short, snappy and sharable can work wonders. For some audiences, one simple meme can have more impact than a full tilt long read.

So, how emotional is your content? Building a strategy that can educate, enlighten, empathise and entertain is a great place to start when you want to deepen engagement with your internal comms. If you’re already doing one or more of these things, you’re winning.