7 steps to effective master communication plan

Building a communication plan is something that every business must do for the public to recognize the brand. Measuring a brand's exposure to customers poses the challenge of having a perfect communication strategy. The steps below to create an overall media plan will be of great help to marketers.

Basics to know about a master communication plan

Building a communication strategy is not just a science, it is an art. Because it is very diverse, unpredictable and difficult to find a common denominator, a "perfect" model standard for a communication plan. Depending on the circumstances and environment, each communication plan will bring different effects and benefits. So to plan communication with a specific strategy, we need to understand the following model:

This is called the SMCRFN model – Contrast with an affective relationship. This is a classic model for PR - Marketers, it is the foundation for building a successful communication plan.

1. Letter S (Source/Sender – Source): This is the first element, which can be an individual or an organization broadcasting to the public.

2. Letter M (Message): The main message is the content sent directly to the customer. So you need to choose how to attack the best.

3. Letter C (Channel): Channels to reach users are very important, online or offline channels… Channels are the best means for brands to convey their messages.

4. Letter R (Receiver): The recipient is the ultimate goal you need to aim for, not anyone else. Find out carefully the audience you are targeting, come up with a specific strategy to be able to hit the recipient's heart in the easiest way.

5. Letter F (Feedback): Don't think what you do is right, but put the first priority on customers. Learn how to listen and acknowledge your customers' own feelings. Feedback helps you correct the flaws of your messages and channels to make them more realistic.

6. Letter N (Noise): Noise is what businesses must pay great attention to. Many times you come up with a one-sided message, but due to many competitive or environmental factors, the message can go wrong and ruin your entire communication plan.

In summary, the above model is the basic that the developer should know if starting to make a project communication plan template. Every time it is established, it is necessary to know the nature to get the best foundation. But to really create a complete plan, what steps will need to be made accordingly?

Steps to create a professional master communication plan

Step 1: Overall analysis of the external environment

This step helps us to locate where we are and what we are facing, without understanding the whole, it is difficult to create a perfect brand communication plan. The tools have a saying "Know people, know you, you will win a hundred battles", so it is necessary to clearly identify your competitors in the market. More importantly, know what strengths and weaknesses you have to fight against your opponent.

SWOT analysis is also a pretty effective model. Strengths and Weaknesses will give you a focused view of your inner strength. The Opportunities and Threats section will give you an overview of the external environment. You need to focus on the following points:

What has your competitor been doing recently?

What have your competitors done about problems similar to yours?

What is the legal context (about your issue)?

What does the mainstream press say on the subject?

What special events/dates (if any) may be relevant to your program?

Step 2: Define communication goals

Communication goals in projects and social activities have specific characteristics that must be measured and that goal must be achieved within a finite period of time. You've got an overview of the context. So now is the time to define a clear goal to hit the target customer. Perhaps you will have to use the "mantra" of economic schools, which is to apply the SMART model:

Specific – Specific

Measurable – Can be measured

Achievable – Measurable

Realistic – Reality

Time - focused - Focusing on the time element

The benefit of the overall media planning step is to define a “forever impression”, which helps to measure the market and customer needs. Help you learn how to express the main idea of the whole program, the goal of the plan.

Step 3: Identify the target audience

From this step onwards, all subsequent steps need to be based on the previous sections to determine exactly. The target audience is the direct audience that you want your communication to reach. In the model at the beginning, this is the Receiver – the Receiver.

Be sure to define your target audience carefully when you include a potential audience. This is the step for you to understand who you will be sending your message to and how to target it accordingly. If the target audience is shared, it is difficult to implement a communication plan because the interests of each public group are different. After dividing the target audience, the group that is easy to influence, we will do the communication first. By measuring and using market analytics, you can find the right audience to reach them directly.

Step 4: Determine the message to convey

It can be said that in order to sell goods, you need to have super content, especially for the fanpage communication plan, so the message helps you effectively implement your communication plan. The messages will see your entire communication process, it will be the thing that takes up as much attention as the product. Brand message is what you want to tell people, a good message will help your brand be remembered for a long time in the minds of customers. To create a good message should pay attention:

Communicate what you do and why you do it

Convey what will make a change, new

Consistent with your goals

Show all you want to the public

Step 5: Determine a reasonable communication channel

It is necessary to choose which channel the overall communication plan we have the target audience there and depending on where our target audience is. There are many communication channels, each channel we only need to choose a representative.

For product design (also known as media) depending on the channel we choose, for example newspapers have articles, photo channels have photos, social networks can bring clips, radios... In Vietnam, there are more than 300 radio and television channels, 7 television stations, more than 800 newspapers and magazines, not to mention OOH outdoor advertising, point-of-sale advertising, etc. Hundreds of new media on social networking platform.

Depending on your budget, goals, and the nature of your campaign, you can integrate a selection of multiple channels. However, always pay attention to the effectiveness because just choosing the wrong channel, even if the message or product is good, inevitably your strategy will not achieve the expected effect.

Step 6: Make detailed communication tactics and budget

With this step, detailed activities are described and taken into account. It is important to clearly describe when the product will be released and when it is reasonable and detailed how much the budget will be. A detailed communication plan will be accompanied by a reasonable budget for each period. Marketers need to pay attention to this so that the plan and cost must be reasonable and effective. Based on the above steps to think about the best environment and best practice to reduce the risk to a minimum.

If you propose a large expense, try to make a detailed and specific plan for each item. You will find that the more detailed the cost proposal, the more approved it will be.

Step 7: Measure and report the overall communication plan

This is the final step of the communication plan to measure the goals we set out at the beginning. Summarize and draw experiences to avoid encountering in the next campaigns. Reviewing the effectiveness of your implementation, the measures to evaluate an effective communication plan are: