Internal communications is not the place to write

With more journalists seeking fewer commissions, switching to internal communications (IC) is tempting. A word of caution: you could be disappointed leaping into the corporate world if you want to continue writing for most of your day.

Web 2.0 is changing everything in corporate communications, from marketing to employee publications.

Internal communication faces social media threat

Big corporations have got social media savvy. Correspondingly, the internal communications magazines that journalists traditionally moved into face hard times. The situation is the same whether you enter IC through an agency or directly in a company,

The likes of IBM connect with businesses through blogs and websites and allow their employees to talk among themselves. One of the likely micro-blogs is Yammer. As a result, the top-down communication provided by in-house teams is dying on its feet. Let’s face it, it should (it rarely worked).

Some internal communication departments have kept print publications. Chiefly those whose mobile workers have no access to a PC at work. However, mobile technology such as smartphones and iPads is making these extinct. Why? They make it easy to read internal news at any time.

Online news could also die out because 140-character one-liners such as Tweets are easier to digest.

Corporate culture shock for journos

Going into internal communications can be a culture shock for journalists in other ways, too. First, you must you get used to the copy approvals process. Second, there’s the increase in admin. Meetings and company politics will consume your time. So, your manager will likely outsource any writing to free you to address them.

Most of all, you should start thinking strategically. How will you engage employees or align the parent company’s communications with national ones? Which agency do you think is best for search engine optimisation?

It’s not just the corporations themselves that are changing, but internal communication agencies – another home for journalists. They’re moving closer to clients with a more strategic offering.

This is all exciting but precarious for internal communicators already in the field. For writers, content is your future – an area where adequate training and a talent to write can make all the difference.