The strategic communication plan is basically the axis on which everything else in an organization has to revolve . This is the main task of the communication director or, in the case of a small company, the director of a communication consultancy.
It is a document that, with the central idea of communicating the contents of an organization , has to establish a series of elements:
- The prior audit. The first thing we must know is the starting point. We have toanalyze as fully as possible the communication results that are being carried out in the organization we are in. We need to know the target audiences (clients, workers, etc.) and obtain all possible information about them. If this first audit is not done well, the rest of the plan will not be sustained.
- The initial state. We need to know our starting point to know where we want to go. For this, aSWOT analysis must be done, that is, an analysis of the company’s weaknesses, threats, strengths and opportunities. This will be vital in order to set the objectives to be achieved.
- The objectives. An organization has to setits objectives from the economic, social and communication point of view and these have to adjust its available means and the activity of the organization. The objectives must be, as far as possible, quantifiable and measurable, as well as achievable and realistic . They can be as many goals as we can think of, as long as they are adapted to the organization we are in.
- The public. The pre-audit should have told us who our audiences are and where they are. We have to try toknow as much as possible about them , using the tools at our disposal. Some plans decide to create archetypes with specific ages, habits, location, taste, … well, the more detailed the exam can be, the easier it will be to create effective messages for them.
- The messages. You have to decide which messages you want to transfer. They have to bebuilt according to the objectives and the public , as this will help us decide how to carry the messages and which channels and spokespersons are appropriate.
- The channels. We mustadapt the channels to the messages. It is not necessary to always use all channels, you have to choose the most appropriate one depending on the audience you want to reach. It is not the same to turn to Twitter than to a television channel or a press conference.
- The spokesmen. Differentspokespersons can bring different nuances to messages. Depending on the public we want to reach, we can use different spokespersons , who connect with the needs of these audiences.
- The timeline. All the actions that are carried out have to be done with an action schedule. All actions have to be adapted to a specific time,greater or less depending on the ambition of the project. In addition, in the established period you have to take into account the most important thing that happens in your sector, which are the most outstanding milestones.
- Control and monitoring. It is essential tomeasure compliance with the plan , since it is important to know if it is working or if adjustments are required during its execution. There are different indicators that we can use.
- Physical– Check that the marked actions are done.
- Financial– Verify the execution of the budget.
- Impact– Measure the number of people we have reached.
- Result– If the objectives have been met.
