Mass Company Communications
In the modern world of business, one thing that all businesses need in order to be successful is communication. Whether the communication is being done between the employees, the customers, or even stockholders, it is something that must be done efficiently and accurately in order to maintain success. There are many different ways to communicate with the members of the business, some of the “outdated” ways are by newspaper and mail, while other companies are using new ways to communicate such as text messages, emails, social media, and even digital billboards. While communication doesn’t seem like an easy thing to mess up, it does happen, and it can cause challenges for a business.
THE POSITIVES
When a company communicates properly, it can increase the number of employees, customers, and stockholders tremendously. A company is able to post something on social media such as X, Instagram, Facebook, etc. with the click of a few buttons and the message could reach millions of people. This helps spread the word that the company is trying to send whether that’s something small like a new building opening up, or something large like a brand-new product, proper mass communication will allow the company to reach these people, and it will affect the company positively.
Also, through proper mass communication, companies and businesses are able to gain new interest from people that didn’t know about the company. One way of communication that businesses love to use is through constant emails and advertisements (Olkkonen, R., Tikkanen, H., & Alajoutsijärvi, K). Emails are something that many people check daily, and it allows the company to gain the attention of these people. Also, just about every streaming service, social media, and mobile phone games have some sort of advertisement in it. These are ways that a company is able to grow.
THE NEGATIVES
As previously mentioned, mass communications from a company can reach millions of people. If a company states their view on a controversial matter publicly such as animal testing, they are at a major risk of losing employees, customers, and stockholders. This is something that has happened before. The popular fast-food chain Chick-Fil-A CEO Dan Cathy publicly addressed same-sex marriage, and he did everything in his power to show that he was opposed to the idea. During this time, there were Chick-Fil-A boycotts and protests, but the company continued to grow after that hiccup (Prouty, K., Spencer, D., & O’Rourke, J. S).
Secondly a company has to watch what they say to the employees working for them. If a boss sends out a message to the employees that seems insensitive or very direct, the company is at risk of losing employees, which also means that the company is losing business
(Byron, K). Also, if an employee quits due to harsh policies, business miscommunication, or other reasons, that employee will share their story which will cause other people not to work for the company in question. Therefore, it is extremely important for a mass communicator within a business to carefully reread a message before they send it, or else it can cause chaos.
CONCLUDING THOUGHTS
In conclusion, it is clear that mass communication for companies and businesses is a tough road to navigate sometimes. Companies have the power to spread mass communication which can lead to very positive outcomes such as increased employees, customers, and stockholders, but they can also ruin it all with sending one miscommunication. Mass communication is able to make or break a business and it is important that all mass communicators within a business carefully monitor the message they are trying to send before making it public. The key to successful mass communication with no problems is making sure that all employees, customers, and stakeholders have their voices heard, and the company takes the best course of action to keep them content.
(Byron, K. (2008). Carrying too heavy a load? The communication and miscommunication of emotion by email. Academy of Management Review, 33(2), 309-327.
Olkkonen, R., Tikkanen, H., & Alajoutsijärvi, K. (2000). The role of communication in business relationships and networks. Management Decision, 38(6), 403-409.
Prouty, K., Spencer, D., & O’Rourke, J. S. (2012). Chick-fil-A: A Corporate Position on Same-Sex Marriage. The Eugene D. Fanning Center for Business Communication, Mendoza College of Business, University of Notre Dame.
Hi Sadie,
I liked your post because you did say some truth, in today’s world communication is very important, especially in a big corporation, many companies have people working for them who fill the characteristics they want and people who believe in the company’s goals, I think that as you said proper mass communication can boost company’s growth.
Social media changed a lot the way companies reach their audiences which is pretty cool but scary because your hard work sometimes will be determined by wether you become viral or not and that is pretty scary!
Also, I agree on the negative side of it as well, miscommunication within a company can lead to employee dissatisfaction, high turnover rates, and even damage to the company’s reputation, to give you an example I work for Lowe’s and since we have a CEO change on 2020 (I believe) the company have had a giant turn to the positive side, we got many technology items, self-checkout, apple and google play, but at the same time the CEO started cutting many employee-oriented activities, he started sending mass emails talking about how happy and proud he was of every employee but at the same time he removed a reward system that used to give the employees a mini award for every milestone like turning 1,5,10 years in the company to birthdays and anniversaries, he also removed scholarships for students who worked at Lowe’s for a long time, creating a lot of disbelief because the emails were saying something but the actions were different!
I think that strategy on companies is necessary as having more empathy for the people who either work for it or alongside the company, as you explained balancing messages and most likely being firm with the company’s beliefs when sending a mass email is extremely important!
Great post 🙂
References:
Kruger, J., Epley, N., Parker, J., & Ng, Z. (2005). Egocentrism over e-mail: Can we communicate as well as we think? Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 89(6), 925–936. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.89.6.925
This post brings up some solid examples of both the positives and negatives of mass communication. It is true, the ability to quickly reach millions of people through emails, social media, and digital ads is a major advantage, allowing companies to grow their customer base and build brand awareness. When done correctly, these strategies can help businesses gain new customers, retain existing ones, and possibly even attract investors. The emphasis on using multiple platforms to communicate effectively is especially relevant in today’s ever-growing digital, social media age.
On the negative side, I completely agree that poor communication can damage a company’s reputation, whether it is through insensitive internal messages or controversial public statements. One important addition to this that deserves our attention is the impact of political endorsements. We see such things often. If a company takes a firm stance on a divisive issue such as an election, it risks alienating part of its customer base. We have seen companies face boycotts and financial consequences after making political statements; Tesla comes to mind. While some businesses choose to lean into their values, others struggle with the backlash, losing both customers and investors in the process. Interestingly, a recent Ipsos survey (2025) of more than 1,000 adults found that the majority of people want businesses to keep out of social and political issues. With that noted, the public seem to have made its preference clear. How businesses act in the coming months will be telling.
Overall, this post does a nice job of highlighting how mass communication is a powerful tool that can either help a business thrive or cause significant, harmful setbacks. Companies must carefully consider how their messages—both internal and external—are likely to be received. Miscommunication or controversial statements can have long-lasting effects, and in today’s fast-moving digital landscape, even a single mistake can spread quickly be quite costly, in both the social and financial realms. Ensuring that messaging is clear, carefully considered and constructed, seem to be the key to successful mass communication.
Source
Carmichael, M. (2025, January 18). More people want brands to stay out of political and social issues | Ipsos. Ipsos News & Events: News. https://www.ipsos.com/en-us/more-people-want-brands-stay-out-political-and-social-issues