Are internal comms on a slippery slope of informality?

Should internal communicators be concerned that “to whom it may concern” may be going the way of the dinosaur?

In a blog post last month on PR Breakfast Club, writer Matt Krautstrunk says deciding on how formal or conversational to be in corporate communications is a tightrope many are trying to navigate.

“I wouldn’t stretch as far to say we will begin seeing LOLs and FMLs in press releases, but we may see more companies including the human element in other areas of their business,” he wrote.

Krautstrunk cited the findings of a University of Missouri study that say a personal voice leads to better relationships with customers on social media sites.

So where should communicators draw the line? Should memos and internal emails fill up with Facebook-style talk or should they retain some formal elements? There’s got to be a happy medium, says Robert Holland of Holland Communications.

“It’s difficult for some of us traditionalist communicators to let go and allow less formal prose into our work, but we should—to a point,” Holland says.

Changing philosophy