10 Steps to Create An Effective Communication Strategy
Learn the essentials of a communication strategy that works
We live in times of overcommunication. The noise is thick and constant. Unwanted information is popping up from everywhere. Every notification wants a piece of you. The attention span is a matter of seconds.
Good luck getting your message across. Your audience is exposed to an excessive amount of distraction. The competition is loud and ever more inventive. You either level up your communication game or you never get noticed.
Don’t shout underwater. Emerge to the surface and learn how to navigate the waters of effective communication like a skilful captain. Let’s sail together into the open seas and never shipwreck again into the icebergs of today’s polluted information environment.
“Communication works for those who work at it.” John Powell
Here are 10 simple steps to create a communication strategy fit for our times that can get your message to the other side.
1. Your goal is your North.
There cannot be a communication strategy unless the communication is intentional and the intention is clear. Polish your goal. Your goal is your North. Wherever you float around during the process, you can always check your compass and readjust your sails. Spend here as much time as you need until you formulate a crystal clear goal.
Think about: Why do you communicate? What is your desired outcome? What do you want to change through your communication?
2. Get to know your audience.
Identify the receiver of your message as precisely as possible. Depending on your goal, you might have a primary, secondary and tertiary audience. Try to get to know your audience well. Research who they are, what they like, where they live, which apps they use, what newspapers they read, where they shop, for whom they vote, how they spend their free time… anything you can learn about them.
Remember: it’s all about your audience. Your entire communication should be customised to reach them and for that — you need to know them.
Think about: With whom do you need to communicate to achieve the goal? Who needs to hear your message? On whom do you depend for your success?
3. Set the right tone of voice.
There are many ways to reach out. You can send a dry email. You can show up at somebody’s house with flowers. You can send a witty postcard. You can write a poem. You can be soft and gentle or assertive and authoritarian. You can be reliable and solid or fresh and cool. You can be whoever you want, but remember again: it’s not about you.
Your audience is at the centre. Therefore, you should adapt your tone of voice to your audience. Your communication style should resonate with them.
Think about: How do you need to communicate? What is your way of reaching out? How do you want your audience to perceive you?
4. Craft strong messages.
This is the essence of your communication — the most important bit of information that your audience needs to hear, understand, and take away. The diamond in the middle of the frozen lake. You need all your creativity and focus to choose the right pieces of information and weave them into strong key messages — short, clear, catchy, and tailored to your audience.
There are different techniques to develop your messages. You should choose the right one for your situation and team. But take your time until you cut every unnecessary detail out of your message.
“I’m sorry I wrote you such a long letter. I didn’t have time to write you a short one.” Blaise Pascal
Think about: What do you want to communicate? What is the message that you want to send to your receiver? What do you want your audience to hear from you?
5. Choose your channels.
“The medium is the message” is a phrase coined by the Canadian communication theorist Marshall McLuhan, which could be found in any modern textbook on communication theory. Choosing the right channels of communication is key. And again — this is directly linked to your audience and knowing them well. There is plenty of options to choose from, but you need to pick the channels where your audience could be found.
Stay focused and do not overstretch your presence on platforms that you cannot maintain. The main principle of minimalism is valid here too: (not always, but often) less is more.
Think about: Where do you communicate? What is the most efficient way of reaching your audience? Which are the most suitable places to position yourself?
6. Shape your story.
Storytelling is a powerful tool. Perhaps the most powerful tool to connect with your audience on a human level.
Now that your key messages are clear and the channels of communication are chosen, you need to select the best formats to deliver your message to your audience. You need to put the pieces together and align them into a compelling story.
Think about: What is the form in which you communicate? What story conveys your message? How do you shape your content?
7. Count your resources.
You cannot cook a great meal without good ingredients. If all you have in your kitchen are eggs and butter, you cannot go for a sophisticated five-course dinner. But you can make a delicious omelette.
Before operationalising your strategy, you should be aware of your resources, context, limits, and strong points. It is rare to have all the necessary means lined up in front of you, so you might need to be creative once again on how to achieve the maximum outcome with what you have.
Think about: What resources do you need and what resources do you have? How can you fill the gap? What is your budget? What is the capacity of your team? Do you have partners?
8. Stick to a timeline.
Translating your strategic document into an executive plan is the bridge between your vision and the actions to make it happen. Realistic planning is key. You need to break down the big strategic points into small actionable steps with deadlines and responsible team members assigned. Once you bound your strategy to a timeline, it will be easier to track your progress, revise the results, and adjust accordingly.
Think about: What needs to be done to achieve the goal? What are the steps? Who will do what? When? How do we track our progress?
9. Measure the right indicators.
KPIs (key performance indicators), OKRs (objectives and key results), MBO (management by objectives)… There are many models to measure success. Regardless of which one you choose, you need to select the right indicators according to your goal. A mixture of quantitative and qualitative measures would give you a more realistic picture.
The more honest you are in your evaluation, the better equipped you would be to fine-tune the strategy and improve your results.
Think about: How would you know that the communication was effective? What data do you need to measure your success? How often do you need to assess and adjust?
10. Data does the magic.
Use data over assumptions at any step of your strategy development. When you research your audience, formulate the messages, pick the channels, set the tone of voice, and select the measurement model, you need the right data and you need to know how to use it. This is the single differentiation between maybe getting lucky by shooting in the dark and largely increasing your chances for success by precisely aiming at a defined target with the right tools. Get the data and use it. This is the magic trick.
Think about: What data do you need? How can you get it? How do you interpret it correctly?
“Excellent communication doesn’t just happen naturally. It is a product of process, skill, climate, relationship and hard work.” Pat McMillan
These are 10 basic steps to design a communication strategy that I identified as universally applicable in my experience. Once the structure is there, it is easier to expand with specifics according to the task.
Thank you for reading up until here!
Your feedback and opinions on how to approach a communication strategy are welcome in the comments section below.
