Understanding Strategic Communications: A Comprehensive Guide
Introduction
Strategic communications is a broad approach to managing communication efforts within an organization and with its stakeholders.
It involves planning, implementation, clear communication, and evaluation of efforts to achieve specific objectives that align with the organization’s goals.
To learn more about Strategic Communications read: Strategic Communications 101
But this is not where it stops.
To be successful at strategic communications, you must understand the importance of crafting messages that align with your organization. The target audience and their needs. Last but not least, you must know how to choose the appropriate channels for maximum impact.
This article will explore what is strategic communications, the multilayered world of strategic communications, including tips for standing out.
I’ll share some of my personal strategies that I’ve used to build strategies for organizations and guide various government ministries.
Finally, we’ll touch on the future of the industry and how you can adapt to the emerging trends.
Whether you’re new to strategic communications or a veteran interested in revivifying your existing processes, this post will provide valuable insights and actionable strategies for your long-term success.
Fundamentals of Strategic Communications
As a strategic communicator, your job is to manage and distribute messages that align with your organization’s overall goals.
It sounds simple but not so much.
In many instances, not only are we working on changing the public’s perception, we’re sometimes faced with resistance to change internally. This resistance can be because of the introduction of a new process or attempts at employee engagement. Not everyone likes change, and this can be especially true in the very traditional Caribbean market.
However, all of this is a part of the job. The primary aim should always be to build and maintain positive relationships with your internal and external stakeholders, enhance brand reputation, drive engagement, and contribute to the organization's success.
Components of Strategic Communications
There are four main components of strategic communications.
Message Development: Crafting Compelling Narratives
Brand messaging is the foundation of all good brands. I refer to this as the heart and soul of a brand and I talk more about this in Mastering Brand Identity: Uniting Promise, Values, and Principles.9
Brand messaging includes core messages, positioning, and brand stories which together define what the brand stands for and differentiates it from competitors.
To be good at it, however, you need to be skilled at creating clear, concise, and compelling narratives. This involves identifying core messages, defining the brand and voice tone of your organization, and then knowing how to tailor messages for your target audience.
As strategic communicators, knowing how to craft messages that evoke emotion and inspire actions is key to succeeding. The dance between staying authentic to the brand and compelling to your audience is a necessary skill.
Audience Analysis: Understanding Stakeholders and Their Needs
As a strategic communicator, it’s your job to research to thoroughly understand your audience. This research also includes gathering insights on your stakeholders.
This type of research isn’t surface-level. It can include demographics, psychographics, communication preferences, and concerns. Knowing your audience is key to segmenting audiences, choosing channels, and personalizing messages.
Channel selection: Leveraging various platforms effectively
Channel selection involves identifying and choosing the most appropriate communication channels– like Facebook or television or print news, for example– to reach and engage with your audience.
In the field of strategic communications, we consider factors such as the nature of the message, the characteristics of the audience, and our organization’s resources to handle the challenge.
Knowing which channels to choose helps you to leverage your strategy strategically to maximize reach, engagement, and impact.
Timing and frequency: Strategic timing for maximum impact
For strategic communications, the when is often just as important as the what.
Knowing when to release messages and how often is more than knowing when your audience is online and active. It’s about being attuned to current events, industry trends, audience behavior patterns, and organizational priorities.
In today’s world, we have so much access to so much information that it is easy for our audience to be distracted. As strategic communicators, we have to know how to avoid information overload and cut through the noise, especially when we need our messages to make an impact.
Implementing a Strategic Communications Plan
One of my favorite activities is creating and implementing a strategic communications plan.
Be sure to read Corporate Communications Planning.
When you’re preparing to implement a strategic communications plan it’s important to remember four things.
Conduct a communications audit - This is your chance to assess current communication practices, channels, and messaging. See what’s lacking and what needs improvement.
Set measurable goals - Establish clear goals that align with your organization’s priorities.
Develop a messaging framework - If there isn’t a defined brand voice and tone set, define one. Identify key messages, brand voices, and tone guidelines.
Create an editorial calendar - Plan and organize content creation. How will you choose to delegate? Who will do what? In Preparing Your Corporate Communications Plan, I lay out five tips to ensure you hit a home run for your organization.
Case Studies and Examples
One of the campaign successes I was really proud of was our work with Disney Cruise Line (DCL).
At the time I co-owned a consultancy firm and we specialized in difficult foreign direct investment projects– using a mix of strategic communications and government relations to assist our clients in closing the deal on their proposed investments.
DCL’s proposed new development was plagued by what looked like broad opposition, both locally and internationally, to the acquisition of the privately held land at Lighthouse Point. The project was in danger of not being approved to move forward by the government and the media landscape was full of misinformation about the project.
When we were hired, the first thing we did was complete a polling exercise to understand what opposition there was and what demographics were most opposed to the idea. We also wanted to know where these audiences were consuming media and what types of media they trusted the most.
We worked with DCL communications leadership to craft a set of compelling messages about the proposed project. This would paint a more accurate picture of the development. By establishing a messaging framework that would inform every communications asset and media interview the DCL team would take part in.
Finally, we laid out a 90-day timeline with a schedule of tactics based on what we learned about the government approvals process and plans the opposition had as well.
The goal was to secure the proposed project’s approval in principle at the end of the strategy’s implementation and through a combination of local support, government relations and strategic communication, we paved the way for the government to grant that support.
In less than two months, Disney Lookout Cay at Lighthouse Point will open after 2-years of construction. This will boost the local economy in South Eleuthera by providing jobs, entrepreneurship and a host of paid creative industry opportunities for Bahamians.
The goal was to secure the proposed project’s approval in principle at the end of the strategy’s implementation. Through a combination of local support, government relations and strategic communication, we paved the way for the government to grant that support.
Emerging trends and technologies shaping the field
Our industry is ever-evolving and to be a part of it, you have to be flexible enough to adapt to everything that is going on.
Some of the recent trends affecting our field are:
Artificial Intelligence (AI): AI is forcing strategic communicators to evolve. It enables personalization, chatbots, sentiment analysis, and predictive analysis. AI has the potential to make our jobs easier if we work with it and not against it. As I said in my blog post on, AI and Public Relations, we should embrace any emerging trend but be cautious as AI comes with its fair share of challenges.
Social Media Trends: As I mentioned in Communication Trends in 2024, social media is changing rapidly. These trends remind us as professionals to remain adaptive to the neverending changes.
Voice Search and Smart Assistants: With the rise of voice search and smart assistants, professionals need to optimize content for voice search queries and explore opportunities for voice-based campaigns to reach audiences through voice-enabled devices.
Conclusion
Strategic communications remain an important factor in business success.
Without it, brands would face several difficulties. These difficulties include and are not limited to ineffective communication, lack of brand consistency, missed opportunities, reputation risks, and legal risks.
As a professional in this industry, your job is important but how you do your job is most important. Knowing how to use your skills to leverage your organization is pivotal to your success.
These ideas should be in your toolbox. Read it, implement it, read it some more. If you have any questions, feel free to book a call with me.
Joey Gaskins is a public affairs professional with a formidable record of designing and executing innovative strategies, campaigns, and tactics—turning around negative perceptions, reaffirming trust, amplifying and influencing policies, and achieving unprecedented results. Connect with him on LinkedIn.
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