Bowen Craggs’ Corporate Digital Communications Trends for 2023

Whether you're a digital manager or just interested in staying ahead of the curve in the world of corporate digital communication, these are the trends to take into account

The world of corporate digital communications is constantly evolving and adapting to new trends and technologies. This year, companies are taking steps to showcase their content in a more accessible and engaging manner, while also emphasising the importance of ESG initiatives and data transparency. In this article, we will explore some of the key upcoming trends in corporate digital communications and provide insights into how companies are using innovative strategies to improve their digital communication efforts. Whether you're a digital manager or just interested in staying ahead of the curve in the world of corporate digital communication, these are the trends to take into account.

1. This is the year to free the great content trapped in PDF

Annual reports and sustainability reports often take the form of PDF documents, which usually include highly engaging stories, interviews, and case studies. Unfortunately, this lively content does not always make its way onto the corporate site.

Giving the best bits of a report a fresh treatment in HTML is important because it will be appreciated by a wider range of visitor groups, including jobseekers, individual shareholders, and time-pressed analysts or media professionals, who would not otherwise dive into a lengthy PDF report.

So what are the best ways to display PDF content in HTML format, and where on the corporate site should it live?  

Three companies in the Bowen Craggs Index are creatively answering these questions: GSK, bp, and Nestlé.

2. Communicating company messages through staff stories

Last year we saw several companies upping their game by featuring employee stories on their digital estates, a trend that we expect to see spreading this year.

This is driven by changing work patterns after the pandemic, the increasing importance of responsibility messaging, and a tight recruitment market.

Using staff stories solves several communications challenges, including: 

• Giving a human face to a corporate monolith builds trust and connection 
  

• Profiling innovators behind the company’s cutting-edge work engages jobseekers and employees, but also underlines innovation as a unique selling point 
  

• Making employees feel seen and valued is increasingly important in a more dispersed workforce.

Two companies in the Bowen Craggs Index that are doing this well are bp and Aviva.

3. Meaningful measurement  

Corporate digital teams will need to respond to increased internal scrutiny on the channels they manage. Deciding what data to report from the vast amounts available, and setting meaningful KPIs that can be tracked and shared internally, are two of the big challenges – and ones that we will be helping our clients with in the year ahead. (Watch this space!)

The retirement of Google Universal Analytics in July 2023, and its replacement with Google Analytics 4, is another measurement challenge that teams are already grappling with, especially given concerns around GDPR. We are seeing clients move to other analytics services and expect more to follow.

We expect this to lead a larger discussion about how we use analytics and respect privacy, while delivering real benefits for both users and companies; and so much the better!

4. Be ruthless with IA

Previous years have seen big leaps in visual standards or new flashy technologies, but 2022 had something more quietly revolutionary. It was the year that several companies near the top of the Bowen Craggs Index took a hard look at their information architecture (IA) and found power in structure and clarity.

Look at Nestlé and GSK, who both fundamentally restructured entire sections of their global corporate websites, including previously sprawling ’Sustainability’ or ‘Responsibility’ sections — putting visitor needs first and effecting a step-change in how easy it is to explore what the company has to say about key environmental and social topics, and to drill down to a desired level of detail. Young corporate stakeholders in particular increasingly want a digital experience that feels personalised, even when it’s not. And clear, clutter-free IA is vital to that.

Getting the intricacies of IA right also has big implications for things like findability, SEO, digital sustainability and visitor perceptions about how honest or transparent a company is. Like Nestlé and GSK, it is up to you to take up the IA challenge, be ruthless, and improve.

5. Deeper evidence for ESG

If 2021 was dominated by companies unveiling their social and environmental pledges, 2022 saw leading firms use their websites to provide detailed evidence of how they’re putting these promises into practice. 

Audience groups of all kinds will continue to crave deeper ESG data from companies in 2023 – so it’s something we’d urge all digital managers to put on their New Year’s to-do list.

For an example of ‘what good looks like’ in this area, head to the corporate site of US retailer Target. In its recently-reorganized 'Sustainability & ESG' section, Target clearly explains not only its ESG goals – but also the solid foundations it’s laid to reach them. Target’s presentation of 'Diversity, Equity and Inclusion' continues to be exceptional, while crunchy ESG performance data is provided in downloadable Excel as well as PDF format. It’s a best-practice provision.

Corporate digital communication is set to welcome exciting developments in 2023. Whether its employee stories that build trust and connection with stakeholders, or meaningful measurement and clear information architecture, it’s important to keep your digital estate ahead of the pack. Audiences are also demanding deeper evidence of companies' ESG promises, making it a top priority for digital managers. As this space continues to evolve, you can expect the trend towards more human and evidence-based communication to deepen and the corporate website to become an even more important avenue for companies to connect with their stakeholders. 

-- Bowen Craggs Consultants