Working for organizations of different sizes, I’m always thinking about the priorities that each should have when reaching out to their audiences. Of course, this is highly dependent on niche, growth goals (does a small organization want to become big) and audience type. But I think there are different approaches depending on size. Here are a few of them:
Smaller team has to do less with more (but can be more nimble)
Smaller organizations are always trying to make the most of limited resources. Often staff have a lot on their plate, and need to prioritize how to accomplish the most they can. Smart smalls look to larger organizations and borrow the best of what they’re doing. They focus on doing a couple of things well rather than being on every platform like bigs. Bonus: often their approvals process is also smaller, so they can pivot more easily or try new things.
Larger teams can experiment (but sometimes don’t)
I’m always surprised when I see a larger comms department act more conservatively when it comes to their content. With more resources, they could be more experimental with new platforms or content mixes. Perhaps they get slowed down in the approvals process or have more to lose reputationally, but I love it when I see a larger org taking a risk on something that might not work since they are the ones small look to when they do.
With big investment comes big reward
Regardless of size, I think both organizations can make a big investment of time. For smalls, it makes sense to do that on fewer platforms, and for bigs, I think you can try a bigger investment to see what does work. If they have more to lose there is also more to gain in the potential to become a communications leader in their industry.
