We invited some of the brightest entrepreneurs, marketers and communication leaders including Kellie Sawkins from Sundays Furniture, Michelle Santos of Colliers Canada, and Elaine Hung of Sotheby’s International Realty Canada to share their visions for communications in 2022. And they did not disappoint.

The lively discussion offered some great insights into what these communication leaders see as the future of communication as we head into 2022. Below are the five key takeaways from the event.

Embrace the Digital Transformation

If the past two years taught us anything, it was that adapting digital channels to accommodate a swift change to a remote world was a necessity. As we look into 2022, strategically embracing this digital transformation will be more important than ever. Elaine Hung of Sotheby’s International Realty Canada shared some great insights into the importance of having a strong marketing technology stack, spanning everything from internal to external communications. Rather than adding new tools to the mix, 2022 will be about optimizing the tech that’s currently in place and ensuring marketing systems are synchronized and speaking to each other.

Relationships, Relationships, Relationships

In the real estate industry, real-life interactions have always been essential in building relationships and adding value to customers. Michelle Santos of Colliers Canada shared how Colliers has pivoted to a content strategy designed to deliver authentic value to audiences in a very human way. Looking into the new year, and beyond, the importance of building authentic relationships with audiences will be crucial for any business. This will look different for every business but can include a mix of owned content within your organization’s own digital channels, contributed content within relevant third party outlets, and paid placements that are created in partnership with top tier media publications.

The Importance of Honest Communication

The challenges all businesses have faced in the past two years mean that no business is a stranger to difficult conversations. One of the key takeaways from our event was the importance of having honest conversations with employees, customers, and all company stakeholders. At a time where shipping delays are affecting all industries, Kellie Sawkins from Sundays shared how their team has focused efforts on providing clear and honest shipping timelines to customers. Engaging customers in open and honest communication increases customer satisfaction and enhances brand loyalty.

Read the Room

When determining your brand’s content strategy, the resounding feedback from our panel was the importance of knowing your audience, or, “reading the room”. Michelle Santos said it best when she said “If it’s not going to be read, did it really happen?”. Using the lens of who is going to consume your content and what action they’re going to take rather than what content the brand wants to communicate is the key to producing engaging content.

In-person Collaboration is Key

We’ve always been big fans of in-person collaboration which is why we were so excited to hear from our panelists that they, too, see the future of collaboration as an in-person experience. It’s no question that the hybrid work model is here to stay, but it was thrilling to hear how each brand has started to integrate in-person brainstorming back into their practices. With the promise of more in-person events on the horizon, we’re excited to see how the return of in-person brainstorms will impact marketing campaigns for brands in all industries.

We’d like to thank our panelists for joining us for our inaugural Talking Shop panel event and sharing what they’re most excited about as they look into the new year. If you’re interested in joining our next PR company event, keep an eye on our social channels for our next Talking Shop panel in the new year!

Want to talk shop with us about the digital landscape in 2022? Drop us a line by visiting our contact page here.