Coming up with a strategic communications plan doesn’t have to require a staff retreat and hours of work. Simply focusing on making the right decisions in the right sequence can make a world of difference in helping you gain traction for your work.
For each project or objective, we recommend trying to kick off with these (seemingly simple, but can be complex) questions.
- What are you trying to make happen that isn’t happening now?
- Who has to act or do something differently for you to achieve your goal?
- What would they believe about the issue that would motivate them to do that?
- How will you get that message in front of them?
Extending the four questions to a Theory of Change:
“To __[insert larger goal]__, we need to make __[answer to Q1]__ happen. The people who are best positioned to do that are __[answer to Q2]__. They will only take action if they believe __[answer to Q3]__. They are currently paying attention to __[answer to Q4]__, and we can reach them by connecting to __[insert what you know they care about]__.”
Read the piece in Standford Social Innovation Review that launched the framework: ‘The Back-of-The-Envelope Guide to Communications Strategy‘
