Selling the benefits of a digital annual report to teams and stakeholders

As digital technologies become increasingly sophisticated, companies are looking for new and innovative ways to reach their audiences and communicate their message effectively. One approach involves moving away from traditional paper-based annual reports and embracing the benefits of a digital annual report, as outlined in our comprehensive guide on unlocking the potential of annual reports, outlined in our comprehensive guide on unlocking the potential of annual reports.

Selling this concept to your team and stakeholders could be challenging, particularly if they are resistant to change or unfamiliar with the advantages of digital reports. This guide provides tips and insights on how to effectively highlight the advantages of a digital annual report for your company.

The Benefits of a Digital Annual Report

There are many benefits to moving from a conventional paper-based annual report to a digital one. Some of the key advantages include:

Increased engagement

Digital annual reports, beyond the PDF, are interactive, allowing stakeholders to engage with the content in a way that a paper report simply can't. This means your audience can gain a deeper understanding of the company's performance and goals. In turn, companies can track the interaction of stakeholders with particular features and pages.

Learn more about the benefits of increased engagement in our Annual Report Design Packages.

Improved accessibility

A digital annual report is accessible from anywhere, at any time, either via the web or in a downloaded version. This makes it easier for your audience to access the information they need, without having to search through stacks of paper.

Enhanced analytics

Digital annual reports have the capability to incorporate advanced analytics and data visualisation tools, which simplify complex data such as budgets or forward projections. This can significantly enhance your audience's comprehension of the company's performance. Furthermore, digital annual reports also allow you to track performance metrics and gather valuable data about your readers, which is a powerful advantage as discussed in our piece on Creating a Digital Experience with Annual Reports. Additionally, it's possible to accurately measure the success and return on investment (ROI) of your digital annual report initiatives.

For more on this, refer to our in-depth article on How Do Companies Measure the Success and ROI of Their Digital Annual Report Efforts?

Cost savings

Digital annual reports can save companies money in terms of printing and distribution costs, as well as being more environmentally friendly.

How to Sell the Benefits of a Digital Annual Report to your Team and Stakeholders

Promoting the concept of a digital annual report to your team and stakeholders can take time. Here are some tips to help you effectively communicate the benefits and convince others to adopt a digital approach:

Build understanding of digital annual reports

If you're passionate about the benefits of a digital annual report, help others understand what they involve. Demonstrate how a digital report can use video, interactive infographics and data visualisation tools to better communicate, and how it can be tailored to the needs of different audiences.

Highlight the key benefits

Build understanding of the potential impacts of a digital annual report, such as increased engagement by stakeholders, improved accessibility, enhanced analytics, and cost savings.

Use data

Use evidence to show the positive impact that digital annual reports can have. For example, you could illustrate savings from moving from a paper-based report to a digital one, or the potential impact in terms of understanding how your audience interacts with your report and message.

Provide demonstrations

Offer demonstrations and tutorials on how to use a digital annual report and enjoy its features. This can help to allay any fears that stakeholders may have about the technology.

Here are some clients we’ve helped to go digital for their Annual Reports. Take a look around:

• Carers ACT digital annual report
  
• WWF - Innovate to Regenerate digital report
• healthAbility digital annual report
• IPC Health digital annual report
  
• FVREE digital annual report
• Gippsland Lakes Complete Health digital annual report

Or take a look at our Digital Annual Report microsite we built to show off some of the interesting and fun things you can achieve.

Address concerns

If colleagues have concerns about the adoption of a digital annual report, tackle these head-on. For example, if they're worried about the security of the data, make sure you have a robust security plan in place. We host and build our digital reports on Webflow, who have you covered for any security concerns.

Reaping the benefits for your company

A digital annual report is an innovative and effective way for companies to communicate their message and reach their audience. The benefits of a digital report include increased engagement, improved accessibility, enhanced analytics, and cost savings. These make digital reports a compelling choice for companies looking to improve their annual reporting process. By promoting these benefits to your team and stakeholders, you can help your company to take up this innovative approach.