PBL Task 6 : Communication Plan

Problem

 

How to create a good communication 

plan ?

 

1. What is a communication plan ?

"Step by step process to ensure that the intended message is received, understood, and acted upon by the recipient. It involves: determining the objectives, choosing the audience, and selecting appropriate channel(s) to reach them".
http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/communications-planning.html

 To develop a plan for communication, you have to consider some basic questions:

• What’s your purpose ?
• Who’s your audience ?
• What’s your message ?
• What communication channels will you use ?
• How will you actually distribute your message ?

 

 

 

When can organize those questions into different steps.

http://www.kansaslearning.org/index/communication

- Step 1 : Make some research

 Evaluate your current communications

- Step 2 : Identify your purpose and objectives

What you might want to say depends on what you’re trying to accomplish with your communication strategy. For example:

• Becoming known, or better known, in the community
• Educating the public about the issue your organization addresses
• Rallying supporters or the general public to action for your cause
• Announcing events

Armed with information from your audit, define your overall communication objectives-the results you want to achieve. These might include

• excellent service to members,
• member loyalty,
• centralization of the communication effort,
• increased employee teamwork,
• improved product delivery,
• visibility for the association and the industry or profession it represents, and
• Influence on government, media, consumers, and other audiences

 

- Step 3 : Identify your audience

Who are you trying to reach? You’ll need different messages for different groups, and you’ll need different channels and methods to reach each of those groups.

List all the audiences that your association might contact, attempt to influence, or serve. Included on your list may be

• members;
• nonmembers;
• consumers;
• related associations;
• adversarial associations;
• educators;
• federal, regional, and local governments;
• related industries; and
• the media.

There are many different ways to think about your audience and the ways they could best be contacted. You can group people according to a number of characteristics:

• Demographics
• Geography
• Employment
• Health
• Behavior
• Attitudes

- Step 4 : The message

When creating your message, consider :

-       content,

-       mood,

-       language,

-       design.

Channels of communication

What does your intended audience read, listen to, watch, and engage in?  You have to reach them by placing your message where they’ll see it. For exemple :

• Posters
• Fliers and brochures
• Newsletters
• Promotional materials - Items such as caps, T-shirts, and mugs can serve as effective channels for your message.
• Internet sites - In addition to your organization's website, interactive sites like Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube are effective mediums for communication

- Step 5 : Create an action plan

   Establish a timetable. Once objectives, goals, audiences, and tools have been identified, quantify the results in a calendar grid that outlines roughly what projects will be accomplished and when. Separate objectives into logical time periods (monthly, weekly, etc.).

http://askthecmmiappraiser.blogspot.fi/2012/10/as-we-adopt-cmmi-how-do-we-improve.html

 

- Step 6 : Evaluate the result

Build into your plan a method for measuring results. Your evaluation might take the form of

• a monthly report on work in progress,
• formalized department reports for presentation at staff meetings,
• periodic briefings of the chief staff executive and the department heads, and
• a year-end summary for the annual report.

 

 

 

 

http://ctb.ku.edu/en/table-of-contents/participation/promoting-interest/communication-plan/main

http://smallbusiness.chron.com/5-steps-project-communications-plan-project-management-18757.html

http://www.hieran.com/comet/howto.html

http://www.connect4action.eu/toolbox/steps-for-an-effective-communication-plan

http://www.slideshare.net/CommunicateAndHowe/5-steps-for-communications-planning-dec-11

http://www.wikihow.com/Create-a-Communication-Plan

http://www.apctoolkits.com/phworkforceactivation/pages/communications/plans.html