1024 Communications Dept_Layout 1 10 / 8 / 24 9 : 14 AM Page 1 His No . 1 piece of advice for companies C O M M U N I C A T I O N S looking to communicate effectively in today’s landscape is to “ walk the walk . ” In other words , don’t just recite certain platitudes , but actually back them up by conducting business in an ethical manner . “ Your mission statement , your vision , Sending the your values — they need to be articulated and they need to be embodied in everything you do , ” he says . “ Your mission statement needs to be something more than what Right Message you hang on the wall . Companies like Ben & Jerry’s or Patagonia or Apple have stellar Technology has provided us with more ways to connect than reputations because they really do live up everbefore , but it takes detailed strategies for companies to to the standards that they set and articu - late . ” communicateeffectively both internally and externally . Communication , whether external or in - [ by Matt Cosentino ] ternal , has become a difficult task for com - panies of all sizes despite the fact that they a longtime communications professional with experience have more avenues than ever to connect in everything from branding , marketing and media relations with employees , partners , customers or po - to teaching at Rowan University , Rick Alcantara has always tential clients . Stephanie K . Reed , the pres - placed a great deal of importance on authenticity . The field As ident of the New Jersey chapter of the has changed drastically throughout his varied career , he explains , from the Public Relations Society of America ( PRSA ) , days of pasting up a newsletter to using social media and now artificial warns that it’s important to be mindful of a intelligence to deliver a professional message , but the one constant is the number of factors , including the intended need to be sincere , no matter which tool or platform is being used . audience . “ [ Technology is ] really having an impact on public relations , marketing and “ If we’re not strategic about how we advertising , ” he says . “ People are going to be able to do some of this stuff use these different pathways , it can create themselves , but I still think they need somebody who’s a professional information overload and inconsistent mes - communicator to do some of the work for them . Just because you can type saging , and for both the senders and re - some words into ChatGPT , it doesn’t make you a writer and it doesn’t make ceivers of communication , that can lead to you a marketer . There are some great tools there , but use them with caution if fatigue , ” she says . “ Particularly for people you’re not in communications . If you’re not authentic , people are going to see on the receiving end , it can make it tough right through it and they’re going to take their business someplace else . ” to differentiate what’s meaningful . On one Alcantara , a Washington Township resident , is the president of the hand we have email , text messages , instant Philadelphia chapter of the International Association of Business Communicators messaging , social media , video — those are ( IABC ) . The nonprofit organization provides professional development oppor - all quick and convenient ways to connect , tunities such as conferences , seminars , classes and more to those in corporate , but nothing can replace face - to - face con - internal , crisis and marketing communications . nections . They require more coordination , but they’re really impactful in terms of build - ing relationships , because it’s in those spaces that nuances like tone , body language and verbal cues give you a complete layer of depth to what’s being expressed and un - derstood . ” Similar to the IABC , the PRSA provides professional development and networking opportunities for its members and allows for best practices to be shared . Reed , who previously worked in a communications leadership role at Rutgers and currently runs her own consulting firm , believes there are myriad benefits to becoming involved , including learning ways to improve the chain of communication internally for com - panies , particularly across various depart - ments and multiple generations of employ - ees . “ In today’s workforce , we have an un - precedented span of people from six gen - erations , ” she says . “ We can use that as an opportunity to capitalize on the situation 14 | SOUTH JERSEY BIZ | VOLUME 14 ISSUE 10 | SouthJerseyBiz.net