Communications

The best strategies to optimize internal and external communication within an organisation. Internally, we explore topics regarding effective listening, clarity and consistency in communication. Externally, the module covers; branding, marketing and communication across the range of beneficiaries and donors.

Strategic Communication

Before starting this section, gather your team and ask yourself the following questions:

Program implementation often leaves non-profits with not enough time or resources to devote to
their communications. Without strategic communications, they can neither showcase their work,
nor raise awareness about their causes, nor attract potential funders. For this reason, a good
communication strategy is fundamental to today’s NGOs as it allows you to inform your target
audience more smartly and effectively while meeting core organizational objectives.

In this section, you will learn what strategic communication means, what a strategic
communications planning process entails, what their benefits are, and lastly, how to create a
strategic communications plan.

What is strategic communication?

Strategic communication entails the purposeful use of communication to advance the
organization’s mission. It goes beyond specific communication tactics, like organizing events or
sending newsletters. Instead, it focuses on communications holistically, which includes public
relations, management communication, and advertising.

Strategic communication can help organizations achieve specific goals and outcomes and attract
like-minded people and supporters of their cause. Its primary aim is to articulate the process of
reaching the right person with a compelling message at the right moment to support the organization’s goal.

What is a strategic communications planning process?

A strategic communications planning process refers to the process of synchronizing the
communications function and the organization’s mission, vision, and core objectives to achieve
goals.

What are the benefits of strategic communication?


What are the steps to create a strategic communication plan?

Before starting, one should remember that creating your strategic communications plan should not
be tedious and lengthy. On the contrary, treat it as a productive task that will allow you to align your
organizational goals with your communications objectives, better understand your audience, and
find appropriate ways to deliver your messages

  • Perform a situational analysis

Your NGO’s internal and external environment has to be examined to identify its strengths and
weaknesses. The purpose is to ensure that the strategic plan reflects the environment surrounding
the organization; this way, it can address potential challenges and leverage existing advantages. To
assess your organization’s current situation, you could use one of the following tools: PEST analysis,
SWOT analysis, or Stakeholders’ scan.

  • Identify your target audience

At this stage, your NGO needs to know whom does it need to reach, to achieve its goal. The more
specific you are in defining your audience, the more efficiently you will design your strategy. Avoid
generic characterizations like “a large audience, everyone above 30 or the general public” as it will
diminish your message. Choose a specific, definable audience: male teachers above 30 in Tier I cities,
CSR branches funding health programs, public servants belonging to the education Ministry, so on
and so forth.

  • Establish your goals and objectives

Despite being used interchangeably, goals and objectives are not the same. Goals refer to the overall
desired result of an action that will bring about some change. In contrast, objectives are the smaller
achievements of the goal-setting process. Ideally, they should be SMART, which means Specific,
Measurable, Appropriate, Realistic, and Time-bound, and they should always build towards your
mission

To define the goal of your strategic communications plan, ask yourself the following question: Why
are you launching communications efforts in the first place? What, specifically, do you want to
achieve? On the other hand, to develop your objectives, you need to have clarity on whether you
want to raise awareness, modify behaviors, interests, opinions, or call to actions.

The strategic communications plan and the overall organization’s purpose must be aligned. It
means that the organizational vision and mission should be consistent with the communication’s
goal and objectives. Depending on the organization’s size, include the Board of directors and as
many staff as possible during this process.

  • Make your message matter

‘Once you have identified your target audience, break down your objectives into relevant messages
defining what you would like that audience to do. Be as creative as possible since you will need to
hold your audience’s attention for long enough to receive your entire message. Craft your message
by first introducing the problem, then presenting your solution, and finally leaving them with a
concise call to action. Finally, plan the timing and periodicity of your messages in an intelligent and
balanced way; Actively guard against spamming or bombarding them.

  • Communications through multi-distribution channels

Leverage all means of communication, both traditional and social media, but be critical about it. An
excellent strategic communications plan chooses appropriate channels according to their target
audience and tailors their message to fit the tonality of that channel. The use of native analytics on
platforms like Twitter and Facebook or any other social media management tool will allow you to
reach them easily. In other instances, it may be more prudent to write a report, send a newsletter, or
organize an event. The options are endless, use them wisely.

  • Measure your impact

Identify the tools that you will use to assess your communications. Include SMART indicators to
measure your success, in terms of the number of hits your website received, percentage of increase
in funding following a mail-out, number of attendees to an event, Twitter retweets/likes, Facebook
comments/shares, etc. By doing so, the strategy can be reviewed and enhanced as it becomes easier
to determine what is working, what should be improved, and what should be avoided.

What are the roles and responsibilities of the Board of directors and staff members in a
strategic communication process?

Further reading

PR in Practice: Planning and Managing Public Relations Campaigns: A Step-by-step Guide: 1, By
Anne Gregory

Press Releases Are Not a PR Strategy, by Linda B. VandeVrede

Strategic Communications for Non-profit Organizations: seven steps to creating a successful plan,
by Patterson S, and Radtke J

Strategic communications framework by United Nations Economic Commission for Europe










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