1. Corporate content will become more interactive (and viewed as an investment)

No one wants to spend ages deciphering what a company is trying to say – and corporate comms is notorious for lengthy, jargon-filled content. Interactive content can help because it forces better design and helps us use fewer words. What’s more, when you match content with a creative digital experience, you’re able to grip the attention of your reader – and hold it.

Content will need to be viewed as an investment. Rather than a one-way lobby or ‘advertisement’, content needs to takes the reader on a well-mapped journey that can be analysed and measured. It may be time for your corporate comms team to engage a little more boldly with your web team in the name of creating engaging interactive content.

2. The shift towards owning your digital journey is now a business imperative

With the global drive towards digital transformation, entire industries have now adopted a digital-first approach to growth. Many are realising that even if their customers aren’t all buying online yet, it doesn’t mean their operations should be stuck in the 20th century. It’s time to take hold of your digital journey, or it will control you. This attitude affects everything – from the platforms on which you engage with stakeholders, right the way through to ensuring that new technologies such as AI are improving communities and building stronger societies, as this study by MIT Sloan points out.

3. Web 3.0 is at the door – will you come out and play?

The next iteration of the internet, known as Web 3, is on its way. This new webvolution will be powered by decentralised technologies (such as blockchain) and ultra-interactive immersive digital platforms such as the metaverse – and it promises to bring with it, a whole host of new opportunities and challenges for businesses and individuals. Here’s a great outline from Researcher Eric Sheridan from Goldman Sachs. But for a quick recap, here’s the cheat sheet:

Web 1 – This was the ‘Read’ generation of online communications. We were really only able to read website information but it required some expertise to build a website or create content.

Web 2 – This was when we started to write/create our own (user-generated) content and social media really took off. We’re currently in this cycle.

Web 3 – With the plethora of available platforms and tools, we’ll soon be entering a murky world where privacy, ownership and monetisation of our own content will make ‘owning’ your online presence imperative. This speaks to the decentralised model which makes ownership of content, as well as digital assets and intellectual property, much more secure and a lot easier to manage.

4. The rise of responsible content

Our brutal global awakening to the realities of climate change is likely to lead to a corresponding increase in the demand for responsible content, the sort that provides solutions and cools temperaments.

What this also means for corporates, is that audiences are now more likely to support businesses that align with their own values and are fighting for a specific cause – beyond profits. It’s becoming increasingly important for companies to consider their messaging and, with this, the social impact they have when producing content.

Meanwhile, Elon Musk’s acquisition of Twitter has shown us that no social media platform is beyond being destabilised in an instant, and that an all-powerful voice of reason simply does not exist. Everything is being rebuilt and reshaped in real time, so it’s important to stay alert at all times.

Conclusion

While there’s lots of work to do to get corporate communications up to speed with the way the world is communicating, digital solutions can help ensure that we do not alienate, that we are responsible and inclusive in our communications and that we’re putting out content that is useful to our audiences. We look forward to exploring these opportunities alongside our clients in 2023.

Sources:

https://mitsloan.mit.edu/ideas-made-to-matter/new-report-documents-business-benefits-responsible-ai
https://www.goldmansachs.com/insights/podcasts/episodes/01-11-2022-eric-sheridan.html

For more information about Aprio Digital’s service offering, contact our team at Aprio Digital on digital@aprio.co.za