For your communications strategy to be a success, you need to connect outcomes with actions, assign individual responsibility and link everything to your overall goals
Your communications strategy is the blueprint for the exchange of information with your target audience or market. It identifies the essential elements of your communications campaign and explains how the communications activity will support you to reach your goals. To achieve the outcomes set out within your strategy, you need to develop it into an actionable plan detailing how, when and by whom the activities will be delivered.
Establish a timeline
Sketch out a timeline of short, medium and long-term actions and identify the resources that will be required at each stage. Think about the internal departments and teams that will be involved, any outsourcing that needs to be done, the type of supporting materials you’ll need and any regulations that you need to adhere to.
Assign responsibility
Identify the person responsible for each area of the action plan and collaborate with them from the outset. Explain what their role is in the overall objective and ask for their feedback in how it can be achieved. Discuss deadlines and resources, sketch out the actions that need to be completed to meet the objectives of that department or team and budget for extra costs. Depending on the size of your operation, that person may then need to repeat this task with their own team.
Break down tasks
Within this framework, break each objective down into a series of tasks with individual responsibility. Establish how the success of each task will be measured: launching a website by the agreed deadline for example, or the number of people who sign up to receive a newsletter, or maybe ensuring a print brochure is distributed at an important industry event. When a task has a clear purpose, it’s more likely to be carried out with enthusiasm and result in a positive outcome.
Collaborate and communicate
Collaborate with key players at every level; within the communications team and among stakeholders. Communicate with every individual included in the delivery of the strategy and ensure feedback is given and received on an ongoing basis to identify potential issues and discuss solutions.
Measure, monitor and adjust
Your strategy is an overview of how your communications activity supports the goals of your organisation. The actions that are carried out to achieve those goals should be monitored and measured for their effectiveness and adjusted where necessary. There are multiple factors that can impact the success or otherwise of your communications activities, and flexibility is essential.
Your action plan and deliverables will vary depending on the size and scope of your organisation or project and the outcomes you want to achieve. How you choose to record progress, share feedback and measure success is down to your personal preference. What’s important is that everyone involved knows what’s expected of them and how they contribute to the bigger picture.
