Crafting Strategic Communication Plans

Here’s the honest truth: You can be great at your job and still not be seen as a strategic communicator. It’s not about how many town halls you organize. It’s not how beautifully your intranet stories are written. And it’s not the number of campaigns you’ve launched or emails you’ve sent. The difference between tactical and strategic communication comes down to one question: Is your work directly aligned with business goals? Too often, communicators get stuck in execution mode: busy supporting every team’s announcements, launching new channels, and “getting the word out.” That’s important work. But it’s not strategic unless it connects back to what your company is trying to achieve at the highest level. Let me give you a clear example. Tactical Communicator Let’s say the company wants to increase customer retention. The tactical communicator thinks, “We should launch a new internal newsletter focused on customer success stories.” Even if it's well-written, beautifully designed, and goes out on time, there's a problem: It's an assumed solution, not a business-aligned one. There are no metrics that show increase retention. Strategic Communicator The strategic communicator starts with the business goal. If retention is the goal, they ask, "What are the biggest drivers of customer churn? What do employees need to do differently to reduce churn? How are frontline teams being supported to improve service in order to reduce churn?" Then they work with business partners and data teams to identify gaps, co-create messaging that supports behavioral change, and embed communication into operations such as onboarding, frontline manager huddles, or incentives. They don’t just tell a good story. They move the needle. This is where the leap from tactical to strategic happens. The deliverable isn’t the point. The impact is. If you’re a communicator looking to earn a seat at the table, stop thinking of your job as “translating” strategy and start thinking of yourself as a co-creator of it. The real value of communications isn’t in making people aware. Instead, it’s in helping the business perform.

Please stop bringing your COMMs team into projects at the very last minute when you need them to "whip up a quick flyer" or "post this to social media"... 🙏🏾 A good communications strategy starts at the BEGINNING of a project, not the end. Bringing in your communications professional early in the process allows them to ask the right questions and build a thoughtful strategy: 👉🏽 Who’s involved in this project? Are there partners or stakeholders to consider? 👉🏽 What are we trying to accomplish? Awareness, engagement, attendance, or something else? 👉🏽 What’s the context of this project? Communications professionals need to understand the details and nuances of your work and the project - what matters, why it matters, and how to communicate it correctly and effectively. 👉🏽 What, if anything, has already been done? Knowing what’s in place prevents duplicating efforts, gives us an opportunity to identify any gaps that need filling, and ensure a consistent look and feel. When communications professionals are involved early, we can think strategically about the project instead of rushing to create something last minute. Not many people enjoy “building the plane while flying it.” That’s unnecessarily stressful. If you want the best possible marketing and Communications efforts, bring your comms to the table from the start. This helps everyone involved. Fellow communications professionals: How do you advocate for being involved early in the process? 🤔

Most transformations don’t fail because of strategy. They fail because of poor communication. You can have the right roadmap. The right tools. Even the right timing. But if people don’t understand it—or believe in it—momentum stalls. 🔹 Strategic communication isn’t just about distributing information. It’s about building belief. It’s about showing people where they fit in the story—and why it matters. In high-stakes transformation, every conversation is a touchpoint for alignment. Here’s what the best communicators do: ✔️ Create clarity amid uncertainty → Not by simplifying complexity, but by making meaning of it. ✔️ Earn buy-in before resistance can grow → By speaking to people’s values, not just their tasks. ✔️ Drive follow-through long after the rollout → Because repetition builds trust—and trust builds change that sticks. Too often, leaders treat communication as a follow-up strategy. But it’s not a follow-up—it’s the main driver of change. 🧭 If you’re leading transformation, ask: 🔸 Does our messaging drive emotional connection—not just compliance? 🔸 Are we repeating the right messages in the right forums? 🔸 Do people feel informed, involved, and inspired—or just instructed? Because transformation travels at the speed of trust. And trust is built in the words you choose—and the consistency with which you say them. Need help crafting communication that actually moves people? As a fractional transformation executive, I help organizations embed clarity, confidence, and connection into every step of their change journey. 📩 DM me “TRANSFORM” and let’s ensure your next big move doesn’t just get announced—it gets embraced.

Controlling your narrative isn’t just about having good ideas and doing good work. It’s about executing a strategic communication plan. First, you need to socialize your approach across departments and make sure everyone who has influence understands your rationale. This helps define who’s on your side and who might push back ahead of time. With this view, you can understand if you’ve gathered the necessary buy-in, or if you have more selling still to do. Once you know you’ve got enough people on your side, the real work begins: repeating your message. One email or memo won’t cut it, as leaders across departments are busy and will quickly forget the details amongst their other work. To make sure your content is remembered, you have to communicate your message consistently and frequently. Your message also needs to be repeated across various formats and channels to ensure everyone hears it, understands it, and stays aligned. By consistently reinforcing your message, you keep it top of mind and gather the support needed to push your ideas across the finish line - rather than letting them fizzle out or be misunderstood. Successful communication is less about making a single grand statement and more about persistent, clear, and repeated messaging - and it’s a crucial part of getting any major initiative off the ground.

Immediate Action Plan: If you want to be seen as strategic, start acting like it. Comms isn't just creative. It's operational. And if you're tired of being seen as the team that "just sends stuff"... here’s where to start: 3 moves every comms pro can make this week to drive strategic impact: 1. Audit for alignment. Look at what you’re sending and ask: Does this actually help the business achieve its goals? If the answer isn’t clear then neither is the message. 2. Define one business outcome. Pick one initiative you’re supporting and write the goal at the top of every draft: “This message exists to drive ___.” No goal? No message. 3. Report like an operator. Leaders don’t care about open rates. They care about action. Translate metrics into business terms: “This update improved adoption by X%.” “This clarity reduced support requests by Y.” This is just the surface. Sitting here right now, we can: → Get operational → Survive AI → Show measurable value → Stay trusted at the table Because “strategic” isn’t a title. It’s a way of working. 👇 What’s one move you’re making this week to step up your impact?