When you’re Behavior Designing a program, make sure you consider (and test) all the available communication channels.
Sometimes a multi-channel plan is most appropriate. Sometimes the best channel is not the one you first thought of.
Communication channels to consider:
- Email: A very popular & powerful choice. But it’s also a heavily loaded channel. Some (younger) demographics don’t use email at all.
- Micro-blogging platforms: Twitter and enterprise equivalents like Yammer, Jive & Chatter. These are not reliable triggers, but they can help build awareness & trigger quick responses (social support for example).
- SMS & mobile messaging: Very effective channels, but very protected. It’s a great privelage to be allowed to communicate with someone this way. Get permission & don’t abuse it.
- Instant Messaging: Google Hangouts, Skype Messenger, Slack etc. Messages can get lost, but these are good channels for quick response triggers.
- Signage: For enterprise, organizations and events, promoting a campaign via signs around the facility can be very effective.
- Verbal Announcements: For enterprise, organizations and events, don’t forget to have prominent people provide motivation & triggers when speaking to an audience (including conference calls & video conferences).
- App Push Notification: If participants have an appropriate app installed, you may be able to push notifications to their phones. This channel is very effective, but spam is not tolerated, so use it wisely.
- Calendar Events: Sending a calendar invite to trigger a task in the future can be very effective within organizations with standardized calendaring. Of course it needs to be something that makes sense as a calender event. And you have to be able to identify a time that is appropriate for all/most people (say triggering a walk at lunchtime). For recurring triggers (say logging hours every day at 5), you can send a recurring calendar invite.
- Intranets: If a corporate intranet is actually used, then a call-to-action (on a page that is actually used) can be help increase adherence if the message actually pops on the page enough.
- Social Network Groups: Facebook Groups, Google Circles etc also have their utility, but they are not reliable triggers. They can only help support another more reliable channel’s messaging.
What am I missing?
Photo credit: Julius Drost on Unsplash