In October, the Aubia Communications Blog will focus on Strategic Communications Planning. I’ll break down the process by taking an extensive look at each of the four components: Research, Planning, Implementation and Evaluation.
When I was pursuing my Accreditation in Public Relations in 2011, I watched a presentation during the Universal Accreditation Board APR Online Study Course about how Strategic Communications Planning was like a roadmap for a 
big trip. Without your roadmap, you don’t know how to get to your destination. Without a Strategic Communications Plan, you don’t know how to reach your goal.
Alice: Would you tell me, please, which way I ought to go from here?
Cheshire Cat: That depends a good deal on where you want to get to.
Alice: I don’t much care where.
Cheshire Cat: Then it doesn’t much matter which way you go.
A Strategic Communications Plan is just as important to an organization as a business plan is to a new company. Without these plans, you’re just throwing stuff (usually in the form of money) at the wall and hoping something sticks. With Strategic Communications Plans, an organization can target particular messages to specific audiences through deliberate channels for maximum impact.
How do you develop a Strategic Communications Plan?
I use a 10-step RPIE (Research, Planning, Implementation, Evaluation) process when I’m developing a Strategic Communications Plan.
1) Problem Statement
Identify your particular situation. Do you need to raise awareness about your brand? Do you want to develop more business leads?
Example: ABC Company is a new travel agency in the tourism industry. ABC needs to establish itself as a legitimate and credible travel agency among industry colleagues and customers.
2) Goal
Like any plan, you need to set a goal and aim for it. This is the overarching culmination of all your hard work. Keep in mind there is a difference between goals that you find in operation plans and in Strategic Communications Plans; a communications goal will always be to place the brand in the best possible light.
Example: For ABC Company to be recognized as a leader in the tourism industry.
3) Audiences/Publics
Identifying, reaching and building relationships with publics are the bread and butter of Public Relations. Here, you need to identify who needs to know about your brand, who can benefit from your products, who is affected by your organization and its action, and who can help spread the word. Really look deep here and segment the “general public” into those subgroups that you need to target.
Example: ABC Company needs to reach tourism industry professional associations conference planners.
4) Objectives
To reach your overall goal, you need to break it down into specific milestones. There are four components to an excellence objective: 1) Action 2) Audience/Public 3) Measurability 4) Date.
Example: To increase awareness of ABC Company among industry professional associations conference planners by 25 percent by June 30, 2013.
5) Strategies
Taken from a military concept, strategies are how you will work toward obtaining your objective.
Example: Educate industry professional associations conference planners about ABC Company’s presentations and workshops in the latest resort booking software.
6) Key Messages
Important to any conversation, from media interviews to client pitches, key messages are what you want your public/audience to remember about you, what they need to take away from the conversation. Key messages reinforce the brand image you’re after.
Example: ABC Company is an industry leader in the latest tourism trends and software, offering clients a hassle-free booking experience.
7) Tactics
Down to the nitty-gritty, tactics are the specific tools you will use to carry out your strategy in reaching your objective. Many times people lose sight of the strategy because of the shininess of a cool new tactic. Be sure to use your tactics in line with your strategy.
Example: Free basic webinars hosted by ABC Company about the latest tourism industry trends with an offer of 10 percent off the fee for an advanced conference presentation on the latest resort booking software for webinar participants.
8) Timeline
Every plan needs to have a schedule to follow. You will need to outline when you will deploy tactics, when you expect to meet milestones, when payments are due, when venues or speakers need to be booked, when your evaluation period will start and end, and all other activities in the plan. Timelines help you and your team stay on track or make adjustments where and when needed.
Example: Email distribution list for free webinar promotion to be drafted by Dec. 1, 2012.
9) Budget
It seems there is never enough money when it comes to Public Relations’ budgets. A certain amount of money is set aside for each Strategic Communications Plan, and you need to stay within that constraint. Budgets are also very useful when it comes time to allocate yearly funds to each function; you can justify your requests by drawing on past budgets and results.
Example: Webinar hosting fee – $700 for one-hour session.
10) Evaluation
Plans often fall short when it comes to determining their true impact. Without showing what the Strategic Communications Plan achieved, all your other hard work is for naught. Build in evaluation measures that give tangible evidence to what went well, what and to what extent objectives were achieved, and what can be improved for the future.
Example: Increased signups for advanced conference presentations by 15 percent over the course of the plan, assisting with achieving the objective of raising awareness of ABC Company among professional associations conference planners.
Strategic Communications Plans are ever-evolving and not meant to sit on a shelf collecting dust after the campaign is over. Be sure to use them often and follow up on them to see how your work is progressing and what efforts need updating. For an example of a full Strategic Communications Plan, check out my Services page.
