As I sip my morning coffee, my phone buzzes with an email notification. I immediately know who sent the email without even looking at my phone. How? Do I have some super power? Despite what I used to let my children believe when I knew they were hiding something…no, I don’t. It’s because this particular company emails me at the same time every weekday! Why would a company do this? Because their communication plan says so!
So, what exactly is in a communication plan, and why do you need one? It is a way to organize and streamline your communication. Without having a plan, you cannot maximize your marketing budget and effectively reach your intended audience in a way that drives results. It also helps your entire team participate in the plan to ensure seamless project management.
So, here’s how to build an effective communication plan to get those intended results:
Set Goals
The beginning of every plan should include your communication goals. Without knowing where you want to end up, how you can effectively convey your message? Each goal should be SMART:
- Specific
- Measurable
- Achievable
- Relevant
- Time-Bound
To create strong goals, use active words, such as: increase, drive, build, convert, accelerate, command, and eliminate. Typically aim for three to five action-oriented goals. Try this template when creating your goals:
Our [company name] will convert [number] [benchmark] every [time frame] by [specific date].
Determine Your Communication Channels
Using your knowledge about your target audience’s preferred communication channels is key to actually reaching that audience. Why spend your marketing budget on a channel where it won’t help you achieve these SMART goals? Some of the most common channels to consider are Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn, Pinterest (it’s not just for crafts and recipes anymore), email newsletters, PPC campaigns, print, and in-store signage.
Organize Your Content
In order to create the compelling copywriting that we talked about last week, you must have a plan for all future communication. This part of your plan should include: your tone of voice for each channel, fundamental messages, and SEO keywords. To complement these elements, your plan also needs to include what type of content you are creating, such as blog posts, social media stories or posts, videos, sales flyers, or images.
Create a Publication Schedule
All of the above sets you up for my favorite element of a communication plan—creating a publication schedule!
Why is this my favorite part? For me, the schedule is a visual portrayal of my vision for my company and how I am going to accomplish it. It is goals-in-action!
Your schedule should focus on how often you will be posting, where you will be posting the content, and how often this will occur.
Creating a spreadsheet with this information keeps you on track so that you avoid missing a post or sharing the same material multiple times. For each unique type of content, your spreadsheet should include:
- Topics/titles
- Keywords
- Target audience
- Communication channel
- Specific goals
- Posting schedule
- Links to articles or images
- Person assigned to the task
Don’t forget to include special events on your schedule. Holidays provide a great time to connect with your audience. Here’s a simple example of this type of publication schedule:
Ultimately, having a different message for each audience and using their preferred channel keeps your communication focused on achieving your goals. All of these elements can be tracked in your publication schedule.
Once you’ve developed your communication plan, you are ready to create copy to go along with this schedule. And that’s where The Inspired Copy comes into the picture! I can take your plan and create copy that aligns with it. I can even write SEO blog posts to focus on your keywords. Reach out to me, and let’s get creating!
