Myth 1: Corporate communication is only for large corporations or for-profit organizations.

Reality: Organizations of any size or type can benefit from corporate communication efforts.

I blame this one on the term itself. To individuals outside of the communication industry, “corporate communication” conjures up images of massive, faceless corporate behemoths. But the reality is that every type and size of organization can use corporate communication. At its heart, corporate communication is centered on consistently sharing positive stories about your organization to targeted audiences. I have worked with organizations ranging in size from a handful to thousands of employees to help improve their communication strategy, messaging, and content.

Myth 2: Corporate communication and marketing are the same.

Reality: Corporate communication and marketing efforts should be collaborative, but they are not duplicative.

The distinction between communication and marketing efforts can be hard to make because they so often occur collaboratively. And in smaller organizations, the roles may also be filled by the same individuals. Think of corporate communication as a soft sell. You regularly share information about your organization to raise awareness and brand recognition, share important information, and create a positive vibe. When done well, this should lead to increased purchases, donations, participants, volunteers, or however else you are measuring interest in and approval rates of your organization. But it isn’t intended to have an instantaneous impact on those measures. Corporate communication is playing the long game, and it encompasses a much wider range of messages than marketing efforts typically do.

Myth 3: My organization does such great work. It should speak for itself. We don’t need a corporate communication strategy.

Reality: Corporate communication strategies ensure your messaging is consistent, and keep you top of mind with your targeted audiences.

Your organization can’t be successful if no one knows about it. Let me repeat that – your organization can’t be successful if no one knows about it. If you build it, they will come only worked in Field of Dreams (for those of you in a different generation than me, Field of Dreams was a popular Kevin Costner film from the late 1980s; Google it and you’ll get the reference). In the real world, you must communicate to a variety of audiences multiple times and in multiple ways for your messaging to have a chance to stick.

As awesome as it may be, your work does not speak for itself. You need to share the stories behind it – what you are doing, who you are helping, and why this is important. We’re bombarded by information every day, and to make sure your organization stays top of mind, you need a strategy to share those stories regularly, while using consistent messaging and language.

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