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Developing a strategic communications plan (2/4)
by
dreid
—
last modified
2006-10-29 10:21
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Here are the following three sections that you should include in your strategic communications plan:
• Strategic Business Objectives
As a reminder that communications are tied to business goals, be sure to list your most important organizational objectives and/or milestones in the communications plan.
Keeping these front and center will allow you to map them side by side and focus your communications activities towards meeting those goals. Your business/organizational goals may be things such as expanding into new regions, launching your website, building capacity, increasing participation in your programs, raising a specific amount of money, hiring new and accomplished staff, developing new partnerships, increasing sales of your product or service, attracting new clients or customers, or whatever else meets the specific needs of your organization.
Some of these will remain relatively constant over the years, while some will be finite, time-sensitive initiatives.
• Communications Objectives
This is the heart of your communications plan. Here you really want to hone in on how you’ll use communications to help you achieve your strategic business goals.
These may include things such as reaching out to a new target audience or market segment, driving attendance for a specific event or participation in a fundraising campaign, promoting a new partnership or program, increasing awareness of your organization (or a specific issue) amongst your stakeholders, influencing policy maker opinion on an important issue, generating buzz about a new product or service, and so on.
The words you’ll use to describe your communications objectives should be direct and action-oriented; Inform, Educate, Drive, Build Awareness, Respond, Promote, Launch, Engage, Outreach, Demonstrate, Reinforce…
Your objectives must be clear, succinct and measurable. And you should include some sort of timelines for when you will both initiate and achieve them.
• Key Messages
Incorporate your key messages into your communications plan, so you are focused and consistent in what you communicate to others, regardless of the channel of communication or activity. (Again, you’ve already done the homework, so this should be easy!)
###
Diana L. Reid, Conscious Communications.
• Strategic Business Objectives
As a reminder that communications are tied to business goals, be sure to list your most important organizational objectives and/or milestones in the communications plan.
Keeping these front and center will allow you to map them side by side and focus your communications activities towards meeting those goals. Your business/organizational goals may be things such as expanding into new regions, launching your website, building capacity, increasing participation in your programs, raising a specific amount of money, hiring new and accomplished staff, developing new partnerships, increasing sales of your product or service, attracting new clients or customers, or whatever else meets the specific needs of your organization.
Some of these will remain relatively constant over the years, while some will be finite, time-sensitive initiatives.
• Communications Objectives
This is the heart of your communications plan. Here you really want to hone in on how you’ll use communications to help you achieve your strategic business goals.
These may include things such as reaching out to a new target audience or market segment, driving attendance for a specific event or participation in a fundraising campaign, promoting a new partnership or program, increasing awareness of your organization (or a specific issue) amongst your stakeholders, influencing policy maker opinion on an important issue, generating buzz about a new product or service, and so on.
The words you’ll use to describe your communications objectives should be direct and action-oriented; Inform, Educate, Drive, Build Awareness, Respond, Promote, Launch, Engage, Outreach, Demonstrate, Reinforce…
Your objectives must be clear, succinct and measurable. And you should include some sort of timelines for when you will both initiate and achieve them.
• Key Messages
Incorporate your key messages into your communications plan, so you are focused and consistent in what you communicate to others, regardless of the channel of communication or activity. (Again, you’ve already done the homework, so this should be easy!)
###
Diana L. Reid, Conscious Communications.
