Some of us work better in the abstract, and some of us work better laying out the details. A good communication strategy should include both. It should have lofty goals that tie into the organization’s overall mission and vision, define the communication problems and solutions that it will address, build the framework for developing key messages that resonate and will attract target audiences, AND it should include the nitty gritty recommendations for how to get there.
If, however, you are a person who thrives ‘in the weeds,’ then you may feel more comfortable starting out by creating an actionable communication workplan for a specific need.
Oh no, Sarah, a communication workplan sounds like too much work. I just do what needs to be done and get the information out there where it needs to be.
I feel you. As a get-it-done type myself, I’ve been known to skip the writing down the plan part because it’s all in my head anyway, right? However, the act of creating the workplan is, in itself, getting you closer to being able to create your organization’s overall communication strategy. Writing things down can give you clarity. It can help you see where there are areas of overlap, duplicative effort, or missing pieces. And it provides a record that you can go back and measure success against.
Let’s use promoting an upcoming annual conference as an example. Your organization, Nonprofit XYZ, is soliciting abstracts and speakers for its annual conference. Now, don’t get distracted here by the fact that ideally you would have been planning the communication efforts around this since last year, pulling success stories from the past event and brainstorming new ideas while they are still fresh in everyone’s minds.
You’re here, let’s say three months out from when speakers need to be selected, and you need to reach your organization’s targeted audiences and convince them that they should apply as speakers, so that in turn, you will have interesting and varied content that will draw in a large audience and your conference will be of value to attendees.
What could a communication plan look like in this scenario? Note that this is a skeleton example; you would fill this out more completely and in a way that corresponds with your actual goals and needs.
Goal: Get at least XX individuals or organizations to submit abstracts to be potential speakers at our upcoming annual conference
Key Messages: What we are looking for in speakers/topics; why it would be of value to individuals/organizations to speak at our conference; who the audience of the conference is; instructions for how to apply
Current Communication Efforts/Channels: We’re currently communicating with our audiences via our email list, newsletter, website, and social media accounts.
Competitor Analysis: We looked at three to five similar organizations to ours and pulled information that was easily available about how they promoted their own conference abstract submission process. We would like to try some of the tactics used by Competitors 1 and 3, specifically A and B.
Target Audience: We are ideally hoping to reach C (our specific, defined audience), a subset within our larger audience base. They are most easily reached by using Channels D, E, and F.
Recommendations: In order to reach C, we plan to use the following channels and timeline. To develop this timeline, we worked backward from the deadline and created a communication cadence for this campaign that will inform, engage, and encourage our targeted audience to submit abstracts for our upcoming conference.
Channels
Timeline
Sample Key Messages: We’ve developed the following sample messages that can be used on the channels we determined would be most effective in reaching our targeted audience. These messages are designed to convey our main points and align with our mission and vision. Additional messages with similar language and themes will also be developed. They include:
Sample Message 1
Sample Message 2
Sample Message 3
Evaluation: We will track the effectiveness of messages/channels during this three-month period, adjusting our tactics, language, and visuals as we receive feedback and data.
Ok, I’ve got my communication plan for recruiting conference speakers. I’m going to implement it. But this is very specific. How does this help me with creating an overall communication strategy for my organization?
Guess what – you just created a small-scale version of it and tested it. Now you have a template that you can use. Your detail-loving heart can rest easy, knowing that your final communication strategy is going to be actionable, realistic, and effective. And that should help you push through the bigger picture items that might feel a little more esoteric or fluffy.
Does it include everything you’re going to need for a broader, more over-arching communication strategy? No, but using the communication plan you already created, you can break the strategy down into smaller sections that feel less overwhelming. You can use the messaging and distribution strategies you created for this specific scenario and evaluate whether they match up with what the overall communication expectations for the organization are, and whether they should be expanded on, altered, or dropped.
And, a little not-so-secret secret, no strategy is set in stone. A communication strategy should be a living document. If you get something wrong….if you find out that elements of your strategy aren’t having the impact you anticipated….if your organization clarifies its mission, and that mission no longer fits with the strategy you’ve developed….update it. Make a new one. Communication is ever-changing. I don’t recommend updating your communication strategy daily, weekly, or even monthly; we do need to give things some time to take root to determine if they are creating an impact. But I do recommend checking in on your progress against it on a quarterly basis and revising it at least once a year.
Need help creating a communication strategy or implementing some of your ideas? We’ve got you covered! Check out our blog post on five steps to a communication strategy or contact us. Like what you read? Subscribe to receive our monthly newsletters.