What is a Communications Plan?
A communications plan outlines the strategies, tactics, and objectives of a company’s communication efforts. It serves as a guide to ensure that the communication efforts of a company are organized, efficient, and effective. A communications plan should include a clear definition of the goals and objectives of the plan, a description of the target audience and stakeholders, and a list of specific tactics that should be implemented to achieve the objectives. It should also include measurements for success and regular reviews of the plan.
What's included in this Communications Plan template?
- 3 focus areas
- 6 objectives
- 6 projects
- 6 KPIs
Each focus area has its own objectives, projects, and KPIs to ensure that the strategy is comprehensive and effective.
Who is the Communications Plan template for?
This communications plan template is designed to help communication and PR teams in various industries create a communications plan that aligns with their company's objectives, enhances their reputation, and communicates effectively with their stakeholders. It is a comprehensive guide that includes questions and prompts to help create a customized plan tailored to each team's unique needs.
1. Define clear examples of your focus areas
Focus areas are the broad topics that your communications plan should cover. Depending on your company's goals and objectives, you may have one or more focus areas. Examples of strategic focus areas that could fall under a Communications Plan could be: Effective Communication, Media Relations, and Relationship Building.
2. Think about the objectives that could fall under that focus area
Objectives are specific goals that you want to achieve under each focus area. For example, under the focus area of media relations, your objectives could include increasing brand visibility and increasing media coverage. These objectives should be clear, measurable, and achievable.
3. Set measurable targets (KPIs) to tackle the objective
KPIs, or key performance indicators, are the metrics that you will use to measure the success of your objectives. Examples of KPIs could be website views, social media followers, or customer satisfaction scores. KPIs should be specific and measurable, and should be set to reflect the success of each objective.
4. Implement related projects to achieve the KPIs
Projects, or actions, are the specific initiatives that need to be completed in order to achieve the KPIs. These tasks should be organized into a timeline and assigned to team members, and should include actions such as writing press releases, developing customer loyalty programs, or creating social media campaigns.
5. Utilize Cascade Strategy Execution Platform to see faster results from your strategy
Cascade Strategy Execution Platform helps teams create, manage and measure their communication plans. Cascade provides easy-to-use templates, flexible task management tools, customizable dashboards and real-time reporting capabilities to help teams stay organized, on track and on budget.