Feeling overwhelmed by communications? Start here
Hello! It's Thursday evening, it's hot and I'm hungry! So this is a quick one from me.
You don't want to see my when I'm hungry ;)
Anyway...
A lot of the amazing organisations that I speak to want to do more comms, but it's the bottom of the priority list when there's no dedicated comms team and staff are busy.
The problem is that when comms is reactive, it feels stressful and it won't have the impact that you want it to.
Here's what I suggest. Plan into your diary 15 minutes for comms.
Look at your business/ organisation plan and identify one of your main audiences. Use AI to save time.
Ask yourself (or AI!)
Who is the most important audience we need to reach right now?
What is the one thing we want them to know, feel or do?
Now think about one key message you want them to know about your organisation.
For example:
A charity might want local families to know about a new support group.
A GP practice might want patients to use online services more confidently.
A community organisation might want more volunteers to come forward.
Each of those has one audience and one clear message.
Repeat it in different ways
Once you know your message, don't move on to something new straight away.
There will be different angles you could use to approach the same message from.
And, there will be many different ways you could present that same message.
You could:
Write a short website news story.
Share it on socials (pick one channel - the best one for that audience)
Find a good photo, or graphic.
Mention it in your newsletter.
Include it in conversations and presentations.
Add it to your email signature.
Ask partners to share it too.
Good communications is about being clear on who you are talking to, and how you are saying your message. It's better to start with one key message, to one key audience than trying to reach everyone (which won't have the same impact).
Keep it simple
Another day, set aside another 15 mins and start to capture
Your audience
Your key message
Why it matters
Where you'll share it
When you'll communicate it
How you'll know whether it worked
When those things are written down, you start to have a plan, and communications becomes much easier to manage.
If all this still sounds too time consuming (I understand if so!), then call me or message me for a chat.
It's what I love to do, and I am happy to talk comms with you.
Have a great evening!
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