Why you need a communications plan - part one

Want to make sure you're communicating the right message to the right audience in the right way? You probably need a communications plan.

A communications plan is a good opportunity for your team to step back from the daily grind and spend some time contemplating the big picture. If you’re embarking on a new business venture, launching a program or just need to reevaluate, it may be a good time to do a plan. 

A communications plan need not be all that difficult. It doesn't have to be War and Peace. It can be an outline or a series of bullet points. Start with a format that’s easiest for you.

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Purpose of a plan
A plan is good way to organize your thoughts and actions. A plan helps to clarify what it is you want to accomplish (the goal), how you’ll articulate it (the message), whom you want to reach (the audience), how to do it (strategy and tactics), and then how to tell if your plan is working (measurement).

This is just one way to organize a communications plan, but you get the gist. In part one of our three-part blog post on writing a communications plan, we’ll tackle identifying the goals and messages. 

Establishing goals
You’d think this would be easy, and often it is. The goal might be to increase the number of members in your association. Or maybe you want to oppose legislation that would be a burden to your industry. 

But, sometimes identifying goals can be harder to nail down. Maybe you want to raise the profile of your corporation in a certain geographic area, to win more business. Or, maybe you want to generate positive media coverage in the wake of negative press.

The next step is honing a message or messages that support your goals.  

Honing a message
Let’s say the goal is to recruit 100 new members to your professional association. What kind of messages would reinforce this goal? Examples might be:

• The association is a watchdog for the interests of our profession.
  
• Members of the association enjoy benefits that can give them an edge.
• The association provides services and financial support to many in our community who need help.
  
  

Ok, now we've got our goals and the messages we've crafted to help achieve them.  Now, how to get the message out?  That's the focus of part two.