Good communication is essential in any strategy of and of . As well as being crucial to securing more sales, it keeps your brand authentic, trustworthy and attractive.
To create a good dialogue with the public, more effective actions and transmit the right message to the right people, you cannot give up a quality communication plan.
For this reason, in this post we are going to explain better what it is, what its benefits are and how to create your own, step by step!
What is a communication plan?
It is nothing more than a methodology that groups all the communication actions of your business in a strategic planning.
Through the communication plan, your brand analyzes all the details and schedules of what will be put into practice. In addition, it contains all the necessary studies to understand how to transmit an assertive message to your .
Why is it important to have a communication plan?
Increase predictability
You will have more preparation to carry out your communication and brand disclosure actions. Also, you will know in advance what steps will be taken, which will contribute to the speed and perfection of each task carried out.
A schedule will allow everything to be broader, preparing you to make changes when necessary, avoid unforeseen events and delays.
more organized routine
It will be much easier to put your ideas and strategies into practice, since everything will be planned and organized. You will know what your priorities are, the due dates and you will have more space in your agenda for other tasks.
More market knowledge
During the process of developing the communication plan, you will have more access to information about your competitors and you will make more which will make your business even more aligned with the current moment and the news of your niche.
Helps identify competitive advantages
With a well-structured communication plan, it will be easier to identify the differentials of your brand. This will be one more element for you to improve your competitive advantages and gain relevance against other competitors.
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How to make a communication plan?
Next, we will explain step by step how to make a strategic communication plan in tune with your business.
1. Study the market and your business
Do a study of your market niche and analyze how your business is doing. Thus, you can but also assess the political, social and economic landscape.
You must carry out a deep analysis of your business to really understand what is working, what needs to be improved and what did not work for you.
2. Set goals and objectives
Define the objectives of your business well. These must be specific, measurable and express exactly your purpose in brand communication.
Then list the goals that need to be accomplished as tasks within that goal. Set a deadline for each goal and don’t forget to specify the steps you need to take to complete them.
A good method to establish your goals is SMART. It is based on 5 requirements that will indicate if what you propose has the potential to be achieved:
S: specific (if it is specific);
M: measurable (if it is measurable);
A: achievable (if it is achievable);
R: relevant (if relevant);
T: time-bound (if it is temporary).
3. Segment your target audience
Meet your ideal client. Build buyer personas to segment your audience and discover who you should specifically target with your brand’s communication plan.
The buyer persona will be the basis for working on other aspects such as language, and the .
4. Set a budget
How much will it cost your business to invest in marketing, advertising and content? Will this investment be digital only or will you carry out actions in other such as TV, the press or a physical establishment?
Take into account all the necessary expenses in your communication plan to draw up a realistic budget and with a certain margin for unforeseen events.
5. Define a schedule for communication actions
This step is crucial for your communication plan to move forward!
Put each stage of actions and strategies on a timeline. You will have more control over the completion time of each phase, a more complete vision of the communication plan and you will be able to organize yourself so that everything goes according to plan.
A timeline also prevents surprises, makes it easier to make changes, and supports the success of other strategies.
6. Train your team
Business communication only brings good results when carried out by a qualified team.
Make sure that the professionals in this sector are prepared to carry out the proposed communication planning and are up-to-date with the latest techniques and strategies in their area.
Offer courses, classes, readings and all kinds of knowledge so that your team can improve the position of your brand in the market.
7. Test
It’s not a good idea to publish your communication plan without testing it first. Show content and actions in advance to small and specific groups.
Observe if they reach the stated objective and only then decide if it is worth including the content in the planning or if you will reformulate it.
8. Monitor the results
It is essential to define at the beginning of your planning, as they will serve as a basis for analyzing whether the expected results are being achieved.
Some examples of indicators for your communication plan are the traffic of your website, the conversion rate of a landing page or the engagement metrics of your brand in social networks (comments, shares, etc.).
You should monitor the KPIs regularly and think about strategic changes if the numbers are not so encouraging.
9. Don’t be afraid to change
Changes are always necessary!
Stay calm if something goes wrong and you need to change your plan. Accept that this is a natural learning process and adaptations serve to improve the performance of your business.
Discover what is not going well and find new paths.
Communication goes beyond words
Adopting a communication plan is much more than creating publications or outreach texts.
You must know your business, your client and develop a series of strategic steps that will guide the relationship of your brand with the public.
With the plan, the benefits will appear in the short, medium and long term, preparing your team for the next steps, organizing each stage, expanding your market vision and creating competitive advantages.
Well, surely after reading this post you have everything ready to create your communication plan. But, it is important that you focus on other areas of your business that also need good planning.
To help you, we have prepared a post with a step by step so that you can and take the lead in the market!
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