Make the Connection
Whether internal or external communications, you aren't preaching to a captive audience. Try to put their needs above your own.
Touch their heart
Visualize The Perspectives
I explored a technique to build a time machine-like interactive slider to compare glaciers and their losses of ice mass from past to present, pixel by pixel. I also worked tirelessly to empower the viewer to visualize the scale of changes.
Capture The Unexpected
From Meryl Streep prostrating against Yo-Yo Ma to a nobody African-American dancer jooking across classical music, this cultural tour packed unexpected moments that delivered desirable heart-melting diplomacy magic. They touched Chinese officials and populace alike.
Relive the moments
Telly Award Silver Winner 2024.
Inform.
Inspire.
Empower.
Telly Award Silver Winner 2024.
Inform.
Inspire.
Empower.
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Who is your targeted audience? Do you have a particular demographic in mind? Your colleagues? Industry influencers? Policy makers? Executives? The general public?
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What does your audience want or need to know? What stories will resonate with them? What would give them pause and think, act, or better yet, share? Did you do focus groups to understand your audience, or surveys? If not, at least brainstorm what will interest them vs what you want to say.
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Timing and platforms are also key. Try to understand when and where your audience consume their content. You don't want to mistime your distribution, or push something out at the worst time for your audience. Learn from mistakes (I learned to avoid annual enrollment or holiday seasons when it comes to series or multi-part communications.) Also strategize about your platform(s): Newsroom or owned sites, intranet, email, newsletter, digital signage, social media (paid and/or owned), livestream, town halls, And focus on your priorities.
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Analyze and learn. Nothing is more fascinating and rewarding than getting your hands on performance data and understanding what works or what doesn't. If a series is too long and stretches for too long a period of time, shorten it. If the pictures are not appealing or too grainy, try to find better images or visuals with your colleagues, stakeholders or external sources. Also try something new. (An interactive image slider I created was the main reason how it got photo editors at The New York Times hooked.)
The Big Bang
My pre-smart phone highlight with a criminal amount of luck. The Crescent Lake in Dunhuang, China
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Feel free to explore and connect. Hope to be creating content and inspiring audiences together.