Five Problems with ICT4D Communications
Did you know that you have more than one target group of people you are targeting in your ICT4D communications? Most NGOs understand that they need to talk to their donors. We usually see the onslaught of success stories and professional photos of indigenous people using a smartphone. But we often assume that our users care about the same thing as the donors, which just isn’t true.
As I work closely with NGOs building technology and trying to engage not only their donors, but users, I’ve seen a few problems that I would like to share. If you have a question or have any other ideas, please let me know in the comments.
Problem 1: Communications is a department
A good communication strategy starts with everyone on your project. Your team needs to be empowered to communicate their view of the project to their peers, to their network. Organizations that force constraints around who can say what will be limited in their reach. If every message that goes out has to be approved by a communications team, then your reach will only be as impactful as the ability of the communications team.
Problem 2: No value in what you say
There is too much noise in the world. We are being slammed with marketing and messaging all day. As users we’ve grown to ignore things that look and feel like marketing. The fix to this problem is to focus your communication on providing value to your users. I try to share interesting technology ideas, solutions, and design thinking tips to my lists. The goal is to provide value without expecting anything in return. I don’t link to my stuff very often, just advise. These things are simple ways to build value for your user. The goal is to help spark a conversation.
Problem 3: You’re lecturing, not talking
Too often when I talk with consultants, their view on communication is focused on success stories and newsletters. Which usually appeals to the donors of your project, but the people who you are trying to help don’t care about success stories and newsletters. It’s a one-way piece of content that allows no room for engagement. View the content you create as the fuel to start a conversation with your audience.
Problem 4: You’re not authentic
Normal people, usually the users of the things we create don’t care about the latest buzzword. They don’t know what an M&E team does, nor do they care that you have indicators to report on. When we write in this way, we alienate the users we want to help. The users we create for want to feel authenticity. They want to know there are humans on the other side of the screen. That involved admitting when you’ve made a mistake, or that a process isn’t working.
Problem 5: Promoting your own solution, not the best solution
We fail all the time when creating solutions for people. Our ideas don’t always work, the solutions end up being different than we thought. And that’s ok. Most of us are working towards the same outcomes. The problem comes when we keep pushing or promoting our failing projects because there was a lot of money invested, or a large donor was involved. It’s ok to admit defeat and move on. If another group is doing better work in your space, promote them, encourage their work and help connect your community to them.
So what do you think? Does your organization or project struggle with any of these?