Template
STRATEGIC
COMMUNICATIONS
PLAN
Courtesy of:
ARTMIA Communications, Inc.
artemia.com
ph: 415.351.2227 | e:service@artemia.com
Strategic Communications Plan Template
ELEMENTS OF A
STRATEGIC COMMUNICATIONS PLAN
1 DETERMINE GOAL
2 IDENTIFY AND PROFILE AUDIENCE
3 DEVELOP MESSAGES
4 SELECT COMMUNICATIONS CHANNELS
5 CHOOSE ACTIVITIES AND MATERIALS
6 IMPLEMENT THE PLAN
7 EVALUATE AND MAKE MID-COURSE CORRECTIONS
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Strategic Communications Plan Template
Step one:
DETERMINE GOAL
To initiate a successful and effective communications effort, start with an assessment of your
current goals. Examine what your organization stands forits mission, values and beliefs. Look
closely at who your business serves and what it provides. Use SMART goals (specific, measurable,
attainable, relevant, time-bound).
What is the most important thing you are trying to accomplish? Why are you launching
communications efforts?
Who is most affected by the issue stated above?
Who are the decision makers about the issue?
What is the overall goal you want to achieve? (What change would you be able to observe?
Be specific.)
What tangible outcomes would you like to achieve through a communications effort? How
will you know you are achieving your goals? (Be specific. What would you see, hear, or have
in-hand that would let you know you are making progress toward the goal?)
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Step two:
IDENTIFY AND PROFILE THE
AUDIENCES
Once youve identified your key issues, its time to identify and profile specific audiences to target
with your communications initiative.
Take the time to look closely at your audiences as this background information is essential in
choosing the most effective ways to communicate with them.
AUDIENCE DEFINITION WORKSHEET
Of the audiences listed on the Step 1 worksheet, whose knowledge, attitudes and behavior
must be changed in order to meet your goal? (These groups now become your primary
audiences.)
Who else is affected if you succeed in your goal? (secondary audience)
Are there others who can influence primary and secondary audiences? (tertiary audiences)
(You may wish to design a communication initiative to reach some of these audiences as
well.)
Now you are ready to complete worksheets for each of your audiences identified above.
(see next page)
Now you are ready to complete worksheets for each of your audiences identified
above. (see next page)
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Strategic Communications Plan Template
AUDIENCE SEGMENTATION WORKSHEET
(Note: you will probably need to make multiple copies of this worksheet.)
Audience:
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Step three:
DEVELOP MESSAGES
Your messages are closely tied to your goal and objectives. They deliver important
information about the issue and compel the targeted audience to think, feel or act. They
should:
Show the importance, urgency or magnitude of the issue
Show the relevance of the issue
Be tied to specific audience values, beliefs, or interests of the audience
Reflect an understanding of what would motivate the audience to
think, feel, or act
Be culturally relevant and sensitive
Be memorable
The messages you develop by using the worksheet provided in this section can be used in
many ways. First, they are a set of statements that you and your team agree upon as
conveying the key information for your initiative. They will not include all the detail and
supporting ideas and data that you may use in printed materials or other forms of
communication. The messages you develop in the worksheets can become the underlying
themes for your materials and activities. You may develop slogans based on them. You may
develop sets of talking points that members of your team will use in making presentations.
And they easily become the basis for online, social media, radio, print and television ads,
the genesis for posters, and may suggest topics for fact sheets, drop-in articles, press
releases, and outreach to reporters or other members of the media who can create
additional coverage.
Before turning to the Message Development Worksheet, take a few moments to read
Considerations for Message Construction.
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Considerations for Message Construction
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MESSAGE WORKSHEET
Note: Refer to your completed worksheets for Steps 1 & 2.
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Step four:
SELECT COMMUNICATION
CHANNELS
Communications channels carry the messages to the target audiences. Channels take
many forms and there is a huge list of possibilities. Answering some key questions will
aid you in identifying the most effective channels for reaching your audiences.
Sample Channels
Websites
Social media
Blogs
Newspapers
Magazines
Television
Radio
Transportation (bus wraps, bus shelters, inside trains/depots/stations)
Billboards
Community centers
Street festivals
Malls
Parks
Schools, colleges, vocational and language training centers
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Strategic Communications Plan Template
CHANNEL WORKSHEET
(one worksheet for each audience)
Note: Use the work you did in Step 2 to help you with these worksheets.
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Step five:
CHOOSE ACTIVITIES AND
MATERIALS
What are the activities, events, and/or materialsto be used in your selected channelsthat
will most effectively carry your message to the intended audiences? In choosing these, you
should consider:
Appropriateness to audience, goal and message
Relevance to desired outcomes
Timing
Costs/Resources
Feelings of public toward your company and offerings
Cultural appropriateness (including language)
Environmentgeographic considerations
Sample Activities Materials to Support Activities
Paid advertising Press releases
External website links Blog articles
Social media posts Social media campaigns
Conferences and trade shows Fliers and brochures
One-on-one meetings Guest articles
Speaking engagements Posters
Press conferences Videos
Open houses Website landing pages
Information fair A float in a parade
Sponsorships (benefit races, parades, Promotional items and giveaways
sports teams, non-profits)
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Step six:
IMPLEMENT THE PLAN
There are many tools for organizing yourself around time, dollars, and staff needed to implement
an initiative. One approach is given here as an example. Of course you should feel free to use
your own tried and true management tools.
Use the following steps to determine time, budget and staffing needs:
1 List all activities
2 Under each activity, outline the steps, in order, that will lead to its completion
3 Assign a budget estimate to each step
4 Assign a staffing needs estimate to each step
5 Working backwards from the activity completion point, assign a date
for each step in the activity.
You can plot the dates on a calendar if youd like, or you can organize them in another
timeline.
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Step seven:
EVALUATE AND MAKE MID-COURSE
CORRECTIONS
Specify times to take stock of progress in meeting the goals of your
communications plan.
Determine strengths and weaknesses.
Identify obstacles.
Create and implement new approaches for success.
Consult with communications technical assistance advisors.
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Strategic Communications Plan Template
CAMPAIGN PLANNING WORKSHEET
Consider the following questions when planning a comprehensive communications
campaign:
1 What are your short-term and long-term campaign objectives?
2 What is your timeline for completion of the campaign?
3 Who are your target audiences?
4 What are the key communications messages? (no more than three or four)
5 What are your staff and financial resources?
6 What materials and activities will best disseminate these messages?
7 What media have you targeted?
8 How will you evaluate your campaign?
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