7 Advantages of Strategically Creating Messaging
When you have important messages to communicate, is there a standard way to develop mission-critical messages, or do you do it differently each time?
One of the attributes of best-in-class organizations is that news development is strategic, consistent, and tailored to the needs of the audience. In other words, there is a strategic messaging methodology as one of the standard operating practices of the internal communication function.
What is a strategic messaging methodology and what can it do for you, your executives, and your organization?
Put simply, it's a process that helps you think strategically about how you're developing your story, driving direction, and telling it powerfully – from your company story to communicating change.
What could be clues or clues that you need a strategic messaging method? Here are a few:
- You don't have a single company-wide message to send over your bulk channels to activate employees
- Your employees are exposed to an initiative overload and there is a need to focus and prioritize messages
- Your executives all believe that their initiative deserves the greatest focus and therefore the greatest support for communication
- There is no consensus on what needs to be said about a particular initiative and how it relates to organizational strategy
- You need to develop multiple communications on the same topic
There is power in having a process by which you consistently develop key messages and tell your story. This leads to more efficiency and even better results. Communications professionals have told us that a news platform saves between 20 and 30 hours a month when materials have to be recreated.
The bottom line is that every organization should have a strategic messaging methodology in place.
Go to a news platform
The result is a news platform on a wide variety of topics – company-wide news, key initiatives, timely announcements, departmental plans, and even people.
When all is well done, you can:
- Define and prioritize the target groups: Clarify who the recipients are.
- Identify where the most important audiences come from: Gather their mindset and information needs so your messages can influence and drive appropriate action.
- Agree to convincing messages: Agree and articulate clear, believable, and compelling messages on the topic.
- Outline actions expected: Let the key audiences know what behaviors and actions are expected of them.
- Connect with your audience: You will realize that relevant news will meet your needs.
- Deliver the messages with confidence: Since you are well prepared and have taken a strategic approach, you can be sure that your news will hit the mark.
- Validate the implementation plan: Identify any gaps on any topic before heading to prime time.
Your strategic news platform then becomes the blueprint – the foundation – for all communication related to a particular topic, from which you create a bespoke communication to reach your end audience (e.g. employees, clients, clients, etc.) with it those who communicate receive information in a way that suits their needs.
Tools can then be created quickly and easily
From your platform
Building on your blueprint, you can then easily and quickly create any tool from the messages on the platform. The tools include:
- Leader talking points
- Presentations (e.g. town hall decks)
- CEO video scripts
- Talk
- FAQs
- Intranet content
- E-mail messages
- Website copy
- Blog copy
- Press releases
- Promotional material
- Direct mail
- And more.
Best of all, however, you are spending half the time that you would have spent if you hadn't created the news platform. And who couldn't use more free time during their week?
How could your company benefit from a strategic messaging platform?
– David Grossman
When considering the benefits of a strategic messaging plan for internal communications, make sure that your overall approach to communications is as effective as possible. Download your free copy of Reflect, Reimagine and Reboot Communications via the Pandemic eBook today.
