Strategy Brings Clarity to Communications

Guest post by: Ken Wood

Imagine getting in a car, getting a vague description of your destination and being told your only directions will come from those little white lines on the highway. You will not be able to see more than 200 feet ahead. Concentrate. Whoosh. Whoosh. Woosh. Lose focus, lose control.

Certainly exhausting. Probably terrifying.

This is the journey experienced by many nonprofit communications professionals, especially those working for smaller organizations. The “white lines” are tasks to be performed before they get to the next batch of “lines.”  Short-staffed and trying to accommodate the wants of development, leadership and operations, they just hope to keep up.

It doesn’t have to be this way. It shouldn’t be this way.

The problem is most often a strategic misfire. Many nonprofits have a communications plan, singular, which ends up being nothing more than executing tactics, plural. A better way forward is to create a communications strategy – one aligned with the organization’s goals – and communications plans for specific purposes. This helps you prioritize – and see the road ahead.

Development and communications departments should work together to develop the strategy and communications plans, given that they are intertwined at most nonprofit organizations.  

Here is how this might work in real life.

One of a nonprofit’s strategic goals is to stabilize revenue over the next three years. One leg of a communications strategy might be to more efficiently reach existing individual donors, since keeping funders is far more cost-effective than getting new ones.

A communications plan for this would focus on reaching this audience.

What is the stewardship plan? Do you follow the 48-hour “rule” of thanking folks quickly and personally when they make a gift (not the mandatory donation letter)?

Do you keep them informed about what the organization is doing? You should be meeting donors where they live, communications-wise: Your preference may be posting on Instagram or Facebook, but are your supporters following you there? 

Do your donors read your e-newsletter (cheaper to produce, harder to get people to open because of digital clutter) or would a print piece (more expensive) be a better investment?

News coverage of your organization provides a sense of external validation to those who are contributing to your cause. Are you taking advantage of opportunities to pitch interesting stories?

Just keeping up should not be the goal for nonprofit communicators. A top-of-mind strategy will allow you to see your destination and prioritize your work. Your organization will reap the benefits.