External communication helps improve customer relationships.
External communication is the process that an organization carries out to provide information to other entities and people who are not part of it . The concept covers all the communication processes that the company or institution establishes with the outside world.
It should be noted that communication is understood as the sending and/or receiving of signals between a transmitter and a receiver that use a common code. The external , meanwhile, is manifested on the outside or is realized there, as opposed to the internal.
Main characteristics of external communication
External communication is what a company expresses to the outside world . It involves the communication actions directed towards clients or users, suppliers and the community in general. On the other hand, the messages that circulate within the corporation (from managers to employees, between workers, etc.) are part of internal communication .
It should be noted that external communication is closely linked to public relations . All tasks aimed at enhancing the corporate image or promoting products and services, whether through advertising or marketing , fall within these concepts.
Experts say that external communication must meet certain criteria to be successful. It is essential that it generates uniform messages , with a style, tone and language that must be in tune and maintained over time to reinforce identity.
The speech must also be clear . The information provided must be understood and assimilated by your target audience.
External communication, on the other hand, must be developed through multiple channels . Nowadays, people generally do not go looking for information, but rather expect to receive it on the devices and platforms they use on a daily basis.
In this sense, those in charge of a firm's external communication must manage the adaptation of messages to multiple media and formats. For this and other reasons, it is essential to have a communication plan that establishes strategies.
Social media can be functional for an entity's external communication.
Media and social networks
For a long time, large-scale external communication was almost exclusively associated with mass media such as television , radio and print media . Information was sent from the company and the media were responsible for disseminating it.
Today, the reality is different. A press release or a press release can be disseminated in the company's own spaces, such as its website and its social media profiles ( Facebook , Instagram , Twitter , TikTok and LinkedIn , among others).
The Internet even offers the possibility of having other communication resources of its own, such as a YouTube channel, a podcast or a newsletter, increasing the possibilities. Digital media, in general, require less investment than the printing of catalogues or brochures, to mention some of the most common corporate publications until a few years ago.
The relationship between companies and journalism carried out through traditional media, however, remains important. To have a greater impact on public opinion and work on brand positioning, the communication strategy can include press conferences or corporate events that are announced on TV, for example. Managers, in turn, can give radio interviews to announce launches and disseminate corporate news.
Managing a company's reputation requires appropriate external communication measures.
External communication strategies
External communication strategies must establish the objectives to be achieved. In this way, the steps to follow in an action plan can be established.
The communication plan must consider audience segmentation so that the corporate message reaches the desired sector. Sometimes, it may be preferable to run a television advertising campaign, while in other contexts it may be advisable to hire influencers and aim for virality on the Web. The choice of communication channel, therefore, is an important aspect of the strategy.
Once the message and channel have been defined, and after the communication itself, it is necessary to develop an audience measurement . At this point, the scope of what was communicated is known and it can be determined whether the intended goal was achieved.
Common mistakes
Based on the guidelines mentioned above, it is possible to recognize common mistakes that companies make in their public relations actions and in their management of external communication.
When a communications team fails to maintain a consistent line in its messages, it is failing. Contradictions are not well received by the public, which damages the corporate image .
Failing to choose the right channel is another common mistake. Twitter 's tone is not the same as Instagram 's; a video that works on TikTok may fail on YouTube ; a press release suitable for a newspaper may be incomplete or imprecise in a specialist magazine. Along the same lines, trying to reach many social sectors through a single medium or channel is a bad practice, since a message broadcast on a morning AM radio show may not reach those who usually get their information from Facebook Stories .