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A communication plan is a strategic blueprint for delivering consistent, coordinated, and
targeted messaging to achieve specified goals.
We all know the importance of effective communication. Developing a communication plan is one way to help ensure your communication efforts are strategic, coordinated, and consistent. A strong communication plan can help you get your message out and achieve your goals.
Follow these seven steps to develop an effective communication plan:
- Specify goals.
- Identify target audiences and objectives.
- Craft key messages.
- Determine communication strategies.
- Develop a dissemination and outreach plan.
- Create a timeline.
- Measure the results.
Specify goals
What do you hope to accomplish through your communication efforts? List the overarching goals for your communication plan. These goals should align with and support your project goals.
Identify target audiences and objectives
Which stakeholder groups—or target audiences —are you trying to engage? For example:
State education agency staff
District and school administrators
Teachers
Counselors
Curriculum coordinators
Professional development providers
Curriculum developers Parents/guardians Legislative staff Media outlets, reporters, bloggers Community members Researchers
To help you identify target audiences, consider these questions:
- Who are the primary audiences and the secondary audiences?
- Who will or should care about or need to know about your message?
- Who is talking about this topic (for example, teachers, parents, media, policymakers)?
- Who has written about this topic (for example, reporters, bloggers, researchers)?
Next, specify your communication objectives for each target audience. For example:
Raise awareness: Build awareness of an issue, benefit, process, product, and so forth.
Change attitudes: Increase understanding and shape opinions and perceptions.
Motivate action: Encourage people to take specific actions.
Craft key messages
What are the essential points—or key messages —you want to share? These key messages should be tailored to specific audiences and use language that is clear and easily understood. The key messages will serve as a reference and can be “repackaged” across communication products.
To develop key messages:
- Summary: Write a one-paragraph summary of the key points you want to make. Often, this language will become the basis for products such as press releases and e-blasts.
- Key messages: Next, distill the essence of the summary into three to five brief statements.
- Develop each key message around a single idea.
- Link each key message to one or more communication goals or audience objectives.
- Focus on what the audience will find most compelling, beneficial, useful, or meaningful.
- Think about ways to reframe each message to make it more relevant and interesting. For example, how might the message be expressed as a headline?
Determine communication strategies
What strategies will you use to share your key messages and achieve your communication objectives for each target audience? Examples include the following:
Social media post E-blast Website promotion Newsletter item Press release Blog post or article Fact sheet/one-pager Policy brief/issue brief Journal article Executive summary
Report Guide or booklet Case study/testimonial Photo essay Flyer/brochure/pamphlet Infographic/poster/data dashboard Video/documentary Presentation/briefing Webinar In-person event or conference
Often, using several strategies in a multifaceted approach is most effective. To help determine which strategies and platforms to use, consider the following:
- Your audiences: Investigate which platforms and products your target audiences use and prefer. For example, some groups may be more active on social media than others.
- Your message: Match the platform to the message. For example, Twitter works well for breaking news and announcements, a press release works well for sharing news with the media, infographics work well for highlighting processes and key findings, and videos work well for storytelling.
Measure the results
What will success look like? What specifically do you want to see happen as a result of your communication efforts? List measurable outcome goals against which to track your progress. Then use tools such as Google Analytics to collect data on your stakeholder reach and engagement.
Consider the following questions:
Effective messaging and audience engagement
- Are we effectively reaching and engaging our target audiences?
- Are our target audiences retaining and repeating our messages?
- Is our messaging producing the desired outcomes?
Strategic messaging and storytelling
- Are we repurposing content effectively for different audiences and channels?
- Is our messaging consistent across communication products and channels?
- Is our messaging appealing to our audiences on an emotional level?
