The hardest part about developing a communications strategy is getting started. One tool that I use to move past this is the seven question communications strategy brainstorm.
This little people-centric brainstorming exercise can take as little as 20 minutes to complete.
Once you are done, you will have a better understanding of what makes your target audience tick and of what the future could look like. You will have everything you need to build a effective communications strategy.
Step One – Set the Mood and Plan to Plan
Here is how to set the right conditions to make the most of this brainstorming session.
- Determine who needs to be involved and find a half-hour that works for everyone.
- Book a boardroom or find a quiet corner* with limited potential for distraction and invite members of your team, including a link to this blog post.
- Grab a timer, pens and paper, and prepare to answer the questions below quickly and honestly.
*Note that brainstorming is best done in person.
Step Two – Answer the Questions
Set a timer for 20-60 minutes and answer each question truthfully and honestly.
- What do you want to do and why?
Some examples of how clients have answered this in the past include:
- I want to raise capital to develop something great.
- I want to promote my services in a particular industry to expand my customer base.
- I need to implement new corporate-wide security protocols and want to make sure employees understand what they are amd why its important to follow them.
- Who needs to know about this?
Make a list of all the people or groups of people that you think should know about what it is that you are doing.
Include both your supporters and resistors as well as influencers. Some examples include employees, clients, investors, clients, media, elected representatives, donors, competitors…
- Why should these people care?
Go down the list you compiled in question 2 and answer why you think each target group should care about what you are doing.
How will it impact them? How will it fix their problem?
- What do you need or want them to do after they read, hear, or see your message?
Some common calls to action include book an appointment, apply, register, invest, an appointment, donate, download a resource, purchase an item…
- What channels do you have at your disposal to communicate with these people?
How do you maintain a relationship with these people? Do they follow you on Instagram or Twitter? Do you have a public or employee website?
Again, go down the list and answer for each target audience group.
- What constraints do you face?
Be as thorough as possible with this. What are your timelines? Are there holidays coming? Do you need to build a bigger following? Are you lacking skills or resources on your team?
- What are some opportunities and strengths that you could build on?
Others ways to ask this question could be:
- Are there potential partners that you can reach out to?
- Is there an event coming up that you can leverage?
- What recent successes could you build on? What do you do very well?
Step Three – Plan your next step to building your communications strategy
This little brainstorm was just the first step in getting your strategy development neurons going.
Here is what you can do next:
- Plan to meet again to set your SMART communications objectives.
- Schedule a full day moderated planning session.
- Hire an independent strategic communications consultant to walk you the communications planning process.
RKESTRA would love to help.