Clear communications strategy
Julius Honnor: @juliushonnor Laura Robertson: @laurazoee Contentious: @contentiousltd contentious.ltd
“There is surely nothing quite so useless as doing with great efficiency what should not be done at all.” Peter Drucker
1. Small charities, big opportunities 2. Strategy process, strategy document 3. Clear strategy, effective comms
Share your experience of strategic communication. sli.do #M786
1 Small charities, big opportunities
1. Agility 2. Specialism 3. Pitfall avoidance 4. Outward viewpoint 5. Authenticity 6. Being boutique
2 Strategy process, strategy document
Communications = all the messages and all the content.
Strategy = a master plan for how to get from where you are now to where you want to be.
Communications strategy = working out how comms can help you achieve your aims and then creating, delivering and managing them in an effective and sustainable way.
Just a document.
3 Clear strategy, effective communications
1. Map your landscape 2. Figure out your aims 3. Identify your audiences 4. Work out what people need and want 5. Plan your delivery 6. Measure your success
1. Map your landscape What’s the state of: ○ your world? ○ your organisation? ○ your communications?
2. Figure out your aims What’s your mission? What’s your organisational strategy? How can communications help? What are your objectives?
An example cascade Mission statement says Communications SMART objective says strategy says Spreading ideas. Curate the best ideas and Create 5 videos by 2019 amplify the voices of a that are shared by 200 diverse range of people. people. Celebrating animals, confronting cruelty. To connect people through lending to alleviate poverty.
3. Identify audiences Who do you want to talk to? Doers, amplifiers, influencers.
4. Work out what they want and need ...which may not be hearing about your organisation. Avoid marketingthink. Listen; look; test; iterate.
As a < type of user >, I want < some goal > so that < some reason >.
5. Plan delivery What needs to happen? Who do you need? What channels?
6. Measure success Indicators of success. Beyond vanity metrics. Qualitative as well as quantitative.
Stick it all together! Think about your audience for the strategy. Cater to them. Make it readable and visual and short.
Context Aims Objectives Audiences User needs Messages Content Channels Tactics Indicators Tools
Checklist ○ Does it reference the organisational strategy? ○ Does it tell a compelling story? ○ Does it include user voices? ○ Is it jargon-free? ○ Is it visual? ○ Is it trend-setting not fashion-following?
Some small gifts to take away
Content tips contentious.ltd/subscribe
These slides contentious.ltd/slides/clear-comms-strategy.pdf
Digital Charities digitalcharities.org
Further reading (and watching) What is strategy (and why should you care)? Kristina Halvorson: tinyurl.com/strategy-care Creating a content strategy at a non-profit, Josh Tong: tinyurl.com/josh-tong-cs Activists not parrots, Julius Honnor and Laura Robertson: contentious.ltd/activists-not-parrots Content in the zombie apocalypse, Karen McGrane: tinyurl.com/karen-zombie Good strategy, bad strategy, Richard Rumelt: tinyurl.com/good-bad-strategy Let’s talk about strategy, Sophie Dennis: tinyurl.com/lets-talk-strategy
Thank you. And good luck! Julius Honnor: @juliushonnor Laura Robertson: @laurazoee Contentious: @contentiousltd contentious.ltd
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