Have you ever been handed an 80-page policy report and asked to get coverage in The Guardian even though you had no input into shaping or writing the content?
Or been told the CEO wants to launch a podcast to reach politicos - or worse - a TikTok account to reach “young people”?
Welcome to the world of tactical communications, where the comms team is seen as a servicing function, there to fulfil colleagues’ requests, rather than a strategic partner in delivering organisational success.
What is the point of strategic communications?
Every organisation has an idea – whether it is written down as a strategy or simply understood – about where to put their efforts in order to:
bring more people closer to the organisation
increase income to sustain its work
create the conditions for the organisation, and its audiences, to thrive
An organisation’s communications strategy sets out where the efforts will be focused, defining which audiences need to be engaged, what they should be asked to do, how and when they will be reached, and how success will be measured over time.
And by placing communications at the top table, an organisation’s strategy can be informed by data gathered from communications activity, including how the external world perceives the organisation and the issues it cares about. Such insight gives a strong steer on where to invest time and resources, as well as an opportunity to course-correct before money is wasted or messaging causes a problem.
Where do you start with strategic communications?
A communications strategy starts with brand, which concisely explains the organisation’s unique position in the world:
a clear vision: what the world looks like if the organisation succeeds
a mission: how the organisation contributes to that change
a narrative: the story that connects vision, reality and action
standard messages: clear, consistent descriptions of the organisation’s work
tone of voice: how the organisation sounds and the language it uses
look and feel: the visual identity
Without a coherent and championed brand, teams develop their own language and positioning, leaving audiences to experience multiple versions of the same organisation and eroding recognition, trust and confidence.
Communications at the top table upholds the brand as a single, coherent narrative across teams and people – from policy and campaigns to membership and fundraising, from elected bodies to reps on the ground.
Who are your audiences?
A communications strategy is anchored in its audiences, who to reach to: offer support or services; get active as a rep, advocate or campaigner; provide income; or improve the world in which you operate.
Often, organisations try to reach everyone – how often have you been told your audience is “the general public” or “politicians”?
Researching which audiences are likely to become members, donors or advocates, or which audiences actually hold power and influence, will help you make strategic decisions about the best places to focus resources and activity.
Once the work is underway, communications bring insight to the top table about how those priority audiences are behaving:
what people are saying they care about
what they think about you and your causes
what messaging and asks they respond to
how and when they're willing to move from low to high engagement
And organisations can take an evidenced view of how to adapt their approaches.
What is strategic messaging?
Strategic communications helps organisations shift from talking about themselves to talking with their audiences.
Understanding what motivates each of your priority audiences helps you speak to their concerns, fears, aspirations and needs – your messaging should:
first acknowledge their issue
then demonstrate your understanding and experience in the matter
before making an ask to get involved or ‘do’ something.
Communications at the top table helps make sure the offer, messaging and asks are consistent across the organisation. This is particularly important when one person might fulfil several roles for you – donor, member, advocate, political stakeholder – and therefore come into contact with several of your teams. They need a seamless experience with you – to feel welcomed, recognised and rewarded for their time and/or money.
How to choose your channel and activities
Your communications strategy is based on where you know your priority ‘new’ audiences go for their information, news and entertainment and where your current audiences prefer to hear from you.
If you want to reach young people, it might be right that you find a suitable TikTok influencer to spread the word; and if you want to reach politicos, it might be right to book your CEO on a podcast – but anchor your reasons in evidence not the ‘next big thing’.
If you’re reaching your current audiences through the channels they’ve signed up to – newsletters, socials, messengers and journals – avoid overload and duplication or you'll face disengagement and unsubscribes.
Communications at the top table means channel choice and coordination receive organisational oversight, so activity is sequenced and aligned to priorities, gaps are filled and no opportunity is missed. Often communications teams hold the content calendar but the whole organisation needs to take responsibility to populate and action it.
How do I know what’s working?
Strategic communications has to be planned and delivered over a period of time otherwise it's one tactic after another with no ability to track what works. Strategic communications is not static, there’s learning and evolution along the way.
A good strategy sets KPIs – the broad descriptions of what successful change looks like – and measures success in a variety of ways over time then adapts plans based on what is working.
Communications insight can both inform the work of the team in terms of messaging, channel and timings, as well as the direction of the wider organisation, by learning what key audiences respond to, and what the wider world thinks of the issues you’re aiming to change.
Why sit communications at the top table?
Communications sits at a unique point in the organisation – understanding leadership ambition but also knowing audience reality.
When communications is brought in too late, organisations risk inconsistency, missed opportunities and activity that lacks focus. And when communications isn’t there to hear the challenges and risk, there’s always the threat of a crisis breaking without adequate mitigation or preparation.
Communications is not a servicing function – it cuts across organisations. When communications is part of decision-making from the start, with its own strategic contribution, communications help organisations align their efforts, use their resources well and build lasting change.
