Well-designed communication materials are the key to a successful communications strategy. But, due to lack of time or resources, many VSEs and SMEs produce these supports internally. You still need to know good practices.
You have surely already created, yourself or your team, communication tools for your company, without being able to call on professionals... Most of the time the result is a feeling of dissatisfaction linked to documents that are too generic, sometimes very busy and unattractive. By respecting a few basic rules and adapting them to paper or online media, you are sure to improve the impact of your communication tools. Véronique Périer, expert communication trainer, develops what you need to know for successful communication media.
What are the objectives to achieve?
The first step, before even starting to write a text, is to determine the main objective(s):
- consolidate the company's image;
- prospect new customers;
- build customer loyalty;
- highlight product and/or service promotions;
- launch a new offer…
If your objectives are too numerous, you can first prioritize them, or even choose to design several supports if necessary.
Which support for which target?
The second step is to choose the media type. To do this, determine the main target and choose a suitable medium. For paper formats, choose inexpensive standards like A3, A4 or A5. Of course, the weight of the paper will influence perception: choose 90 g for an ephemeral document and 120 g to 200 g for a brochure.
| Target | Type of tool | Support Examples |
|---|---|---|
| Professionals and partners | Institutional tools | Presentation brochures, institutional brochures, web pages presenting the company and the teams… |
| Customers and prospects | Commercial supports | Sales support materials (product sheets, catalogs, etc.) and customer support such as flyers, leaflets, invitation cards, e-mailings, newsletters, etc. |
| Events | Occasional tools | Leaflets, invitations, posters, press releases… |
How to graphically design your media?
Graphic design, like writing, calls on the one hand to good practices established based on user behavior, and on the other hand to rules of aesthetics and graphic composition. It would therefore be counterproductive not to take it into account or even, in the name of creativity, to do the opposite.
The essential rules
- Respect the basic elements of your graphic charter: logo, colors, typography. You can use an additional color when it comes to promotions or events, without overloading the document with color.
- Highlight an offer or key figures, thanks to colored plates and boxes
- Favor calls-to-action using buttons such as “Learn more”, “Discover” in your emails and online newsletters
- Choose “positive” contrasts (light backgrounds/dark characters) for visual comfort
- Do not exceed 5 to 8 lines for each paragraph
The specificities of online media
What is specific about mobile web communication is its immediacy with more spontaneous access (the telephone is generally within reach, unlike a computer). Online media must therefore meet a requirement for speed underlying the nature of the mobile web.
- Halve the volume of text compared to a paper document
- Design the layout based on the visual path, called Z-reading
- Position the major information in a banner at the top, then short paragraphs, and again a banner at the bottom with practical information…
- Consider creating bulleted lists and favor photos with captions
- Use, wherever possible, multimedia elements (animation, video, sound) for greater impact
The choice of visuals and typography
It is more professional to insert photos into a business document rather than illustrations, especially those taken from image banks. However, if you choose drawings, do not mix them in the same document with photos.
To highlight key words or figures, bold characters are the most used. Italics are used to give another intensity (captions, client verbatim, etc.). Underlining should rather be avoided as it is unaesthetic. Finally, do not use more than two fonts in the same document.
What editorial rules to ensure you are read?
Before writing, answer the following questions:
Qyes or Qwhat? Quh? Owhere? QWhen? Chow? Chow much? Pwhy?
Writing for paper media: concisely place the answer to these questions in the heading, below the teaser, then develop each question in the sub-headings with a specific paragraph. Use a box for a question you want to highlight.
Writing for online media: position the answers to these questions in the title and first paragraph of your article or email. In fact, 80% of Internet users read the first paragraph and only 32% go as far as the fourth!
Three reading levels and concise writing: Use headings, sub-headings and words in bold to create three levels of reading to encourage rapid reading. Write short sentences of no more than 15 to 20 words. Develop only one idea per sentence, and use the present and past tenses mainly to help the reader see what's going on.
The importance of hooks: by favoring the exclamatory and interrogative form, you call out: “Stop waste! » “Service 7 days a week! » or even “Why choose our new service? ".
Finally, by integrating figures into your hooks, you make you want to know more: “3 reasons to choose…”, “The 2 innovations of the year”…
How to energize your messages?
Adopt a direct tone that appeals
Use an imperative or interrogative mode as often as possible to involve the reader. Likewise, by engaging directly with “you”, you make your offers more concrete. The “we” will be reserved for institutional media that generally present the company.
Bring factual and human elements
Give impact thanks to key figures, satisfaction rate, savings calculation, performance increase... You will convince more with a diagram than with technical data on your products. Finally, by using customer references or testimonials, you increase the effectiveness of your arguments. Likewise, to promote your services, consider presenting all or part of a team.
The art of communicating meets standards based on the study of behavior. It is therefore less a question of “fiber” than of good practices. However, based on the study of behavior, these good practices are bound to evolve. Tools, habits, interests evolve and communication with them, which is why mastery of digital, written or print communication tools is essential for an effective and lasting strategy.
