I recently participated in a Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) panel discussion about the importance of a strategic communications plan. We posed the question – is the strategic communications plan dead?
And, if even the perception of its demise was out there, what does that mean in the face of clients and bosses who are more concerned with tactics like press releases and social media posts?
The conversation itself was great, and I’m happy to report that the strategic communications plan is most certainly NOT deceased.
But, leading up to that discussion, it got me thinking, what’s the big deal about a strategic communications plan?
As a strategic communicator, I practice what I preach. I can take you through the specific elements of a strategic communications plan and tell you how all of the elements fit together. I can map out a strategy and come up with tactics that will push it all forward.
But it still begs the question – WHY is it important? And we’ve not done a good job at providing a short, simple answer.
Strategic vs. Integrated
Let’s start by defining the term “strategy” which is “a plan of action designed to achieve a major or overall aim.”
So, a strategic communications plan is your plan to achieve your communications goals, which should be tied to the company’s business objectives.
But, a strategy can be created for any specific communications activity.
If you’re using the Spin Sucks PESO model as your foundation, this could be using any of the four major areas – Paid, Earned, Shared or Owned Media.
In theory, a strategic plan would be integrated, but unfortunately, that’s not always the case.
What we mean by an integrated plan is the process of how we leverage each of those four PESO areas (Paid, Earned, Shared and Owned) to maximize our efforts and the results.
Take for instance a piece of earned media – so we get a story on the national news…what then?
A lot of communicators stop there and celebrate the success. But, in an integrated plan…
- We could take that piece of content and repurpose it for our owned channels like our website, and connect it with other content that reinforces our brand story.
- Then we can take the content, post it across our social and shared channels to increase awareness and drive our audiences to our websites where that content, and additional content lives.
- And if we have the budget, we can even boost that content across social channels, or even through search, to reach more people.
So, off of one piece of owned content, we’ve now integrated all four areas of Paid, Earned, Shared and Owned.
What’s In A Strategic Plan?
Simply put, a strategic communications plan helps answer the questions:
- Who should we communicate with,
- When should we communicate with them,
- Where should we communicate with them, and
- What should be communicated.
There are several specific elements of the plan (target audiences, specific strategies, channel delivery, tactics and others), but a couple of the vital elements I want to call out include:
1. Must include measurable objectives, so you know if your programs/tactics were a success.
“Measurable” is the key word here. You need to be able to quantify the impact of your communications efforts.
It’s no longer enough to say we got great feedback, or the reception of our message seems like it’s going well. We need hard numbers, period.
Communications pros often skip this step because it can be difficult to quantify your efforts. But, it IS possible, and it’s something all communicators need to incorporate in to their plans.
Find ways to identify hard metrics that complement the softer vanity metrics. Check out this previous post on measuring your strategic communications campaigns:
7 Tips to Measure Your
Strategic Communications Campaigns
2. A Strategic Communications plan must tie directly to the company goals.
It’s great if you achieve the measurable objectives you’ve set for your communications campaign, but what’s it doing for the company?
How are you driving the bottom line, or pushing the company forward to success?
Your communications goals MUST align with your company goals if we want to show the value of our efforts.
There are a ton of Strategic Communications plan templates out there, so pick one that works for you.
There’s a really cheap option through Spin Sucks (yes, I’m an advocate for them) that includes templates and materials on how to develop your plan. (http://spinsucks.com/30-day-communications-challenge-ebook)
Tactics Produce Results
So what if I don’t have a strategy and want to focus on tactics? I know that a press release is part of the strategy, so let’s just get it done, right? I know I need to be on social media, so let’s just hop on and figure it out.
Some action is better than no action, so let me build the plane while I’m flying it.
This is where you say, “what’s the worst that could happen?”
And this is where I say, “famous last words.”
The strategic plan not only helps you get to better results, it actually helps you define results. Understanding how you define success is part of the strategic plan.
Most importantly, a strategic plan helps you stay on target. We’ve all been tossed the new shiny object that we’re not sure what to do with, and a strategic plan helps you determine whether or not the “next big thing” is worth implementing.
If someone has an idea for a new tactic or campaign, it helps if you can go back to your communication goals, and ultimately your business goals to determine whether or not that idea fits.
Simply put, doing communications the wrong way is MUCH worse than not communicating at all. Putting the wrong message out the wrong way destroys brands, alienates audiences, and damages reputations beyond repair.
Our Responsibility
Every communicator or public relations pro has a responsibility to lift up the industry.
We need to fight for our seat at the proverbial table, and we do that by being strategic and showing value.
We owe this to our industry, and to our clients and companies we represent.
So if your boss or client doesn’t approve creating a strategic communications plan, take the time to create one anyway.
You’ll need it to show the value of what you’re doing.
Getting RADD
I’ve also been discussing how you can find success following the Coronavirus crisis through the RADD approach, which is Recognize, Adapt, Develop, and Deploy. Check out our previous posts to see how you can succeed with the RADD process:
– Get RADD And Plan For Success Following Coronavirus Crisis
– Prepare for Success and Get RADD, Part 1: Recognize
– Finding Success By Getting RADD, Part 2: Adapt
– Get RADD, Part 3: Develop Plans For Success
– Deploying Your RADD Communications Plan
Here are some additional resources for your crisis planning efforts as you adapt to your new worlds:
– There’s Still Time To Communicate During the Coronavirus Crisis
– Isolation Is Actually Connecting Us In Meaningful Ways
– Is Pitching Media A Good Idea During COVID-19?
– Internal Communications During A Crisis
– A Meaningful Message, Or Pandering Without Purpose
And here are some additional blogs to help with your strategic communications planning:
– Pitching Media Like The Pros
– 7 Tips for Successful Media Interviews
– Don’t Let Perfect Be The Enemy Of Effective
– Wake Up. Kick Ass. Repeat.
– How to Create Content That Engages Audiences and Builds Brand Trust Quickly
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