Small Business Tips
The success of your business relies on the strength of its external stakeholder relationships. In turn, that will depend on how well you communicate with your various audiences. To smooth the process of developing crucial public-facing communications content, we offer practical advice, time-tested processes, and real-world examples.
Time to make a plan
Your smart communications strategy is all about describing what you want to achieve with the information you make public. You’ll want to set out your objectives, the tools you need to use and with whom you’re communicating.
The plan will also talk about what information you’ll share and how you’ll distribute it. Finally, you’ll need to identify who’s responsible for managing the message and set out timescales.
Content
What types of content do organisations produce? As well as the usual printed material, there’s conference and PR materials, surveys and reports. Your marketing literature includes newsletters, case studies, presentations and promotional material. Digitally speaking, you have your website, blogs, emails and your social media presence.
Develop a calendar to show when your communication materials will be available and define a way of assessing the effectiveness of your strategies.
Why?
Developing a smart communications plan is a positive step aimed at giving everyone the information they need in good time. The plan sets out who creates each type of communication and how often. It’s key to identify how much time you need to spend on each task in your overall organisational planning.
Who?
Specify in your plan not only the type of messages you’re sending out but also who the audience is. Identify who you’re talking to clearly and put yourself in their shoes.
Talk to them as if speaking to one person; use ‘you’ and ‘your’. Show that you understand their problems and can provide answers.
