Last year I was walking my dog and listening to Ezra Klein’s podcast. Chris Hayes was on and the conversation was all about the attention economy. I stopped walking and started frantically typing notes into my phone. That conversation helped shape how I think about attention and eventually inspired the name Attention Comms. So Hayes’ return to the podcast last week certainly got my, well, attention.
One thing that struck me this time around is how often we talk about attention as though it’s the goal. But it isn’t. Attention is an asset. What matters is what you do with it.
Over the years, we’ve all seen organizations generate enormous amounts of attention and end up with weaker reputations, less trust, and relationships that are actually more fragile than before. We’ve also seen organizations steadily earn attention over time and use it to build credibility, deepen stakeholder relationships, recruit better talent, influence public conversations, and create real-world impact.
Which makes me think that comms people sometimes ask the wrong question.
Instead of asking “How do we get more attention?” maybe we should start with “What are we trying to accomplish?” Are we trying to build trust? Change behavior? Strengthen a reputation? Raise awareness? Drive action?
Those goals require different kinds of attention. And they require different communications strategies.
Attention matters. Obviously, I believe that pretty strongly. But attention by itself isn’t success, It’s simply the beginning. What matters is what you do with it.
Which, I suppose, is why the name still feels right to me.
(And yes, I highly recommend the episode.)