A Guide for Effective Communication Plans
1. Audience: Always begin with the audience, not the message or the medium
- Divide your audience into the smallest market segments possible. Segments are homogeneous, identifiable, measurable.
- Write down the key concerns of each segment.
- Write down the key communicator (that's you) concerns.
2. Message Points and Outcomes: What do you want to say and why?
- What specific messages-that address above concerns-do you want to convey to each market segment?
- What are the three key messages?
- What one message is most important? (In twenty words or less)
- What are the desired outcomes?
- What is the call to action? In other words, what actions do you want the target audience to take? (e.g., increase understanding of X; use X service; increase awareness of X; change attitude toward X; encourage participation in X; complete a task; go to this website; send in this response card; etc.)
3. Strategies and Communication Tools: How are you going to reach your target audience?
- What are the best vehicles for communicating this message to this audience? (see communication vehicles)
- How many times must message be conveyed in order to affect awareness/recall/action?
- What are your measurable objectives? (e.g., increase use of campus escort service by X%; have X commuter students attend safety forum; increase participation in self defense classes by X%)
- How are you going to measure results (e.g., number of registrants, number of phone calls, number of downloads from a website?)
4. Action Plan: Who is going to do what, when, and how?
- Chronological or by objective?
5. Assessment
- Go back to #3. Measure everything.
