Road Map to Impact: Setting Strategic Communications Objectives (2024)

Blog

To motivate and mobilize people, you need a strategic communications plan.

Strategic communications plans, products and activities should be designed to achieve specific goals and objectives.

The first step in designing a strategic communications plan is to articulate an ambitious goal, identify the audiences that can help you achieve it, and determine exactly what each audience can do to advance the cause.

From there, you are ready to set communications objectives. Strategic communications can be held accountable for achieving three main outcomes, all of which are measurable: Raising awareness, changing attitudes and motivating people to take action.

We use a strategic planning tool called the Road Map to Impact to set objectives for strategies, messages, creative content and campaigns. These objectives show us exactly which changes in awareness, attitudes and action our communications need to achieve in target audiences.

Road Map to Impact: Setting Strategic Communications Objectives (1)

The Road Map to Impact shows that, in order to be motivated and mobilized to take action for a cause, the audience must:

  1. Be aware of the need
  2. Care about the cause
  3. Understand the problem and solutions — and believe change is possible
  4. Feel a sense of urgency to act
  5. Know how to help — and feel good doing it

It’s a tall order. But a single communication — a strategically crafted advertisem*nt or video, for example — can achieve all of these things.

Road Map to Impact: Setting Strategic Communications Objectives (2024)

FAQs

Road Map to Impact: Setting Strategic Communications Objectives? ›

You can think of it as the roadmap for how a company communicates with their stakeholders, employees, customers, the media, and regulators. Part of the plan includes what information to share, who the target audience is, how frequently to provide updates, and what channels are the best to relay these messages.

What is the roadmap of the communications plan? ›

You can think of it as the roadmap for how a company communicates with their stakeholders, employees, customers, the media, and regulators. Part of the plan includes what information to share, who the target audience is, how frequently to provide updates, and what channels are the best to relay these messages.

What are the three main strategic communication goals? ›

Organizations use strategic communication to achieve various goals, including creating awareness, influencing behavior, or enhancing corporate image. Besides, sharing purposeful information with your target audience helps stakeholders know more about your business, build support, and grow lasting relationships.

What are the five components of a strategic communication plan? ›

A business communication is strategic when it takes into account the following key elements:
  • Target audience(s)
  • Context.
  • Intended outcomes.
  • Key messages.
  • Appropriate medium.
  • Preferred messenger(s)
Mar 21, 2017

What are the six key points that a communications strategy must address? ›

The more information you know about your audience, the higher the chances that you will be able to create a communication strategy that helps motivate them.
  • Context. ...
  • Measurable and Specific Goals. ...
  • Key Messages. ...
  • Outcomes. ...
  • Channels or Communications Platform.

What is a roadmap for strategic planning? ›

A strategy roadmap visualizes your plan for accomplishing your goals through specific efforts in a given time frame. You can create an overarching strategy roadmap that encompasses a company's broad strategic vision or a more discrete strategy roadmap for a certain product.

What are five of the seven steps of communication planning? ›

Use these seven steps as a framework when you develop your plan.
  • Step 1: Summarize the Situation. ...
  • Step 2: Determine Your Desired Outcome. ...
  • Step 3: Define Your Audience. ...
  • Step 4: Develop Your Messages. ...
  • Step 5: Decide What Your Strategy Is and What Channels and Tactics You'll Use. ...
  • Step 6: Populate Your Communications Calendar.

What are the pillars of strategic communication? ›

Four Pillars of Effective Communication
  • Credibility. Every communication, no matter how minor in scope or message, must be believable. ...
  • Reliability. Can members and employees rely on their club's leaders to give them the information they need? ...
  • Connection. ...
  • Clarity.
Apr 9, 2020

What is a communications strategy objective? ›

Communications objectives should align with corporate objectives and be SMART (specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and timely). They should also include a desired effect. How do you want your target audience to respond to or feel about what you need to communicate?

What are the four essential steps of strategic communication? ›

Start with a thorough assessment of your current situation (Step 1). Set measurable communication goals (Step 2). Define your intended—sometimes called “target”—audiences (Step 3). Develop and pretest your messages to those intended audiences (Step 4).

How to create a strategic communications plan? ›

The five steps involved in creating a communications plan are: (1) establishing goals; (2) defining key audiences; (3) identifying key messages; (4) creating a tactical outreach plan; and (5) specifying a timeline for moving forward.

What is a communication strategy framework? ›

The framework guides you through the process of planning and organizing your messages, so that you can avoid communication barriers, increase understanding, and get the response that you want from your audience.

What is a communication plan template? ›

A communication plan template is a tool for organizing and planning a communication strategy for a project or program. The template format can range from a simple chart to a multistep plan. Adapt the template to meet your organization's needs.

What makes a successful comms plan? ›

Identify the audience to whom you plan to deliver your communications plan. Outline and write your plan, keeping your audiences in-mind. Determine the channel(s) on which you need to deliver your messages. Decide which team members are responsible for delivering the message.

What is the impact communications strategy? ›

An impact communications strategy is only the first step in your organization's journey to inspiring action or demonstrating the value and significance of the impact generated by the organization's activities.

What is the communication matrix? ›

The Communication Matrix is designed to show you exactly how your child is communicating now. It will also give you an idea of logical communication goals for your child. It was first pub- lished in 1990 and was revised in 1996 by Dr. Charity Rowland of Oregon Health & Science University.

What is the purpose of the roadmap plan? ›

The purpose of a roadmap is to visualize how you plan to meet your objectives. No matter how they look, roadmaps need to show where you are going and how you're going to get there.

What are the parts of a communications plan? ›

8 Elements of a Successful Strategic Communications Plan
  • Plan Purpose. Why are you creating a communications plan? ...
  • Situational Analysis. A situational analysis develops a basis for understanding the environment. ...
  • Audience Personas. ...
  • Messaging. ...
  • Channels. ...
  • Communications Matrix. ...
  • Goals, Strategies & Tactics. ...
  • Calendar & Budget.

What is a map in communication? ›

A map is a graphic representation of information which we require to be transmitted. Communication always takes place with a definite aim in view which may be achieved or not, as the case may be. This is equally true of maps.

What is communication plan in project plan? ›

A project management communication plan identifies how important information will be communicated to stakeholders throughout the project. It also determines who will be receiving the communication, how those people will receive it, when they'll receive it, and how often they should expect to receive that information.

Top Articles
Latest Posts
Article information

Author: Tuan Roob DDS

Last Updated:

Views: 6359

Rating: 4.1 / 5 (62 voted)

Reviews: 93% of readers found this page helpful

Author information

Name: Tuan Roob DDS

Birthday: 1999-11-20

Address: Suite 592 642 Pfannerstill Island, South Keila, LA 74970-3076

Phone: +9617721773649

Job: Marketing Producer

Hobby: Skydiving, Flag Football, Knitting, Running, Lego building, Hunting, Juggling

Introduction: My name is Tuan Roob DDS, I am a friendly, good, energetic, faithful, fantastic, gentle, enchanting person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.