When it comes to national awareness days, there’s pretty much one for everything nowadays. While some draw attention to fundraising for charitable causes, others seem slightly less worthy (National Talk Like A Pirate Day, we’re looking at you!).
But there’s a little-known one in November that we are loving here at Sorted Communications.
The day after Thanksgiving has become firmly known as Black Friday, both in America and here on this side of the pond. It’s a day where shops slash their prices and consumers go crazy, fighting to get the best deals on a new TV or pair of trainers.
But for the last few years there’s been a quiet movement taking place across social media, aimed at counteracting the madness.
You’re Welcome Day, which is also marked the day after Thanksgiving, promotes the importance of manners. Its exact origins are unknown but it is believed to have started some time in the early noughties, as a counterpoint to the excess of the day before. A sort of ‘we’ve all had a lovely time saying thanks, now let’s think about expanding this to other forms of politeness’.
When it comes to communications we believe that a little bit of niceness and good manners can go a long way.
Think about your own communications – what percentage of the messages you send are purely instructional? You send out an email or a newsletter asking people to do something or change something, but how often do you send anything purely to say ‘well done’ or ‘thank you’?
A common question we receive from clients is: “How can we make our communications stand out?” And a common complaint we hear from their audiences is: “All the emails are the same. They only ever send them when they want us to do something, or when something’s gone wrong.”
Mixing up your communications with some manners can do wonders for getting your message across; people can easily become numb to messaging if they feel there’s never anything positive in it for them. A little bit more carrot and a little less stick can be the difference between people actually reading what you write or hitting delete before they’ve even got past the email header.
Think about Covid-19 as an example. National and local messaging was consistently peppered with recognition of the sacrifices the public made during the pandemic while also asking us to do more, or keep going.
We know that the demands of business and the need to get urgent messages out will often take precedence over the ‘niceties’. If you’re finding it hard to find time for the ‘nice’ comms, contact us to see how we could help you make the time for these messages.