By Adam Wakefield

When one person addresses another, the tone in which the words are delivered affects how the words are received. When dealing with audiences online, the consideration remains the same.

“Imagine how someone would talk to you: An older person might use more archaic words and less slang, whereas a younger person might use more slang to get their message across,” Lourens explains.

Following that, an older person will likely relate better to someone their own age who uses the same language they do, with the same applying to younger people.

Lourens says, in essence, tone in the online space is getting the right message to the right person so that they can relate to it on a personal level. 

“In the end, it’s being able to speak, as a brand, to your reader or customer in a way that makes them feel part of your ‘family’,” he says.

One delivery mechanism that has been used by Netwerk24, part of the Media24 group, is what Lourens calls a “WhatsApp newsletter”. The question that got the outlet to use the app for that purpose was: “How do we reach people instantly if we have the need to do it?”

“E-mail is dependent on someone actually opening it. Facebook’s algorithm is just a pain in the neck and even if I decide to spend money on boosting Facebook posts, nothing gives you the immediacy and intimacy of a broadcast message sent to WhatsApp,” Lourens says.

“I say intimacy because the person has opted in for this service and let’s be honest, if you get a WhatsApp, you read it.”

At present, the newsletter gives an overview of important news, temperatures, exchange rates, the oil price and a quote of the day. It is also a space which Netwerk24 can adapt moving forward if deemed necessary, such as for delivering breaking news if deemed appropriate. 

What counts as appropriate? It goes back to Netwerk24’s understanding of who their audience is and what affects them. They use their judgement on what classifies as breaking news, with Lourens referring to the scenario as “code red”. 

A question that forms part of this scenario is whether the breaking news in question affects the necessary threshold of their audience. Lourens also notes that WhatsApp is not yet open to third party developers, which makes maintenance of the service “quite intensive”.

When it comes to audience feedback and how that effects what they do, Lourens feels the most valuable feedback comes from what is gained over a long period of time through a variety of mediums.

“Getting feedback on Facebook, picking up on sentiment on Twitter, replies on e-mail newsletters and Whatsapp messages. It’s good to get a mix, because qualitative assessment will say one thing, but when you look at analytics it might be a completely different story,” Lourens explains, with the bigger picture being painted by a mix of sources “absolutely crucial”.

The biggest issue facing the likes of Lourens at the moment, and which underpins what they do, is getting the content to the right audience at the right time. A broad term Lourens uses to describe this issue is “distribution network”.

“Where do you find them [the audience]? That is what I’m referring to when I speak of distribution network. There’s social media, but that’s just one aspect of this network. Then you would bring in messaging apps: Whatsapp and WeChat,” Lourens says.

“You can then throw in more traditional marketing into the mix, being e-mail. This can be further expanded to syndication partners if a business allows for it, relationships with influencers in the market, and partnering with curators.” 

Ultimately, according to Lourens, when it comes to making maximum impact on an audience, “the secret” remains being at the right place at the right time.

For more information, you can connect with Lourens on Twitter.