STRATEGIC COMMUNICATIONS - Dave Fleet

STRATEGIC

COMMUNICATIONS PLANNING

Your comprehensive guide to effective strategic corporate communications planning An eBook by Dave Fleet ()

Contents

Overview ..................................................................................................................................4 The Content of a Communications Plan ..................................................................................5 Context .....................................................................................................................................7

Set The Scene ......................................................................................................................... 7 Prepare Yourself ...................................................................................................................... 7 Environmental Scan .................................................................................................................8 Frame Your Analysis.................................................................................................................8 Stakeholder Analysis ...............................................................................................................9 Getting started......................................................................................................................... 9 Questions To Ask ..................................................................................................................... 9 Objectives ............................................................................................................................. 12 What Are You Trying To Do?................................................................................................... 12 Defining Your Objectives......................................................................................................... 12 Business Objectives Don't Equal Communications Objectives ..................................................... 13 Use Your Analysis................................................................................................................... 13 What's The Lasting Impression? .............................................................................................. 13 Strategy................................................................................................................................. 14 What Your Strategy Should Include ......................................................................................... 14 Considerations ....................................................................................................................... 14 Audiences .............................................................................................................................. 16 Think Back ............................................................................................................................ 16 Be Thorough.......................................................................................................................... 16 Be Precise ............................................................................................................................. 17 Think Ahead .......................................................................................................................... 17 Announcement ...................................................................................................................... 18 Summarize ............................................................................................................................ 18 Keep It Simple ....................................................................................................................... 18 Make The Links...................................................................................................................... 18 Be Honest ............................................................................................................................. 19 Messages............................................................................................................................... 20 What You're Doing And Why ................................................................................................... 20 What Will Change .................................................................................................................. 21 Consider Your Objectives ........................................................................................................ 21 Include All Of Your Audiences ................................................................................................. 21 Tactics ................................................................................................................................... 22 Staged .................................................................................................................................. 22 Strategic ............................................................................................................................... 22 Comprehensive ...................................................................................................................... 22 Tactical Options ..................................................................................................................... 23 Issues .................................................................................................................................... 24 Identifying Issues .................................................................................................................. 24 Mitigating The Issues ............................................................................................................. 25 Budget ................................................................................................................................... 26 Lots To Consider .................................................................................................................... 26 Err On The Side Of Detail ....................................................................................................... 27 Evaluation ............................................................................................................................. 28

Strategic Communications Planning

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Your Goal .............................................................................................................................. 28 Staged Measurement.............................................................................................................. 28 Potential Metrics .................................................................................................................... 29 Template ............................................................................................................................... 31 Conclusion ............................................................................................................................. 32 About The Author.................................................................................................................. 33 Credits ................................................................................................................................... 33 Contributions ......................................................................................................................... 33 Images ................................................................................................................................. 33 Copyright Notice ................................................................................................................... 34

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OVERVIEW

OVERVIEW

Is there such a thing as an ideal communications plan template? What would it look like?

I've spent most of the last 10 years surrounded by communications and marketing plans.

I studied them at university, proposing reasoned solutions (at least in my mind) to other peoples' problems.

I worked briefly in marketing and communications in the private sector in the UK, before moving to Canada.

Once in Canada I joined the public service and initially spent a lot of time reading other peoples' assessments and edits on communications plans and learning from them what worked, what didn't work, where people repeatedly left gaps and what made a good plan.

Eventually I found myself in a position where I had the opportunity to provide input on communications plans myself. I even helped to develop training on communications planning. I then decided to move down from the macro level to the assembly line, writing plans and executing them myself.

I`ve now moved to the agency side, approaching the process from a different angle again.

This variety of positions has given me an interesting perspective on communications plans and what they should look like.

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