A new year is underway. Big picture, that means it’s time to set your yearly goals. In the public relations world, that means it’s also time to draft (or finalize) your first quarter communications strategy.  

Whether you’re a seasoned PR veteran in search of a refresher, or an organization hoping to handle your external communications needs in-house for a little while longer, check out this Henrich Communications 7 Steps to Strategic Communications Planning as a helpful guide. 

1. YOUR GOALS 

Much like the HC Four Questions to Forming Your Message, strategic communications planning begins with writing down your goals. Jot down the big picture organizational communications goals you’ll prioritize this quarter and short-term goals tied to this specific period of time. The number of goals an organization decides to pursue each quarter will depend on a wide range of factors, not the least of which is how many resources you plan to commit towards external comms – both in terms of people and time. 

2. YOUR AUDIENCE 

Step two then dives into who you plan to reach. Messaging connects and compels action when geared toward specific audiences who are connected to those goals. Your organization might have already identified key stakeholders, prospective donors, or potential buyers. Think through and write down which audiences align with this quarter’s goals – and then identify target media outlets and journalists. Make sure your list includes both achievable media targets and your reaches. 

3. TIMELY PEGS 

What differentiates overall messaging work from a quarterly communications strategy? Time. A news peg is the element of a news story that answers the “why now?” question. That means it’s time to clearly identify what dates matter most to your organization this quarter, and consider what media and external comms opportunities can be leveraged from those pegs. Some of those will be company-made pegs, such as planned announcements, while others will be relevant events, special days, or anniversaries related to your organization.  

4. TEAMWORK 

No silos allowed in the communications world. The left hand must know what the right hand is doing. Proactive – and positive – internal communication among team members is key to successful planning and execution. Develop a pipeline of information-sharing among internal – and external, if applicable – team members to find and share key points of interest that impact each others’ work to help bring out the best results for everyone.  

5. MESSAGING AND PITCH DIRECTION 

No need to flesh out every media pitch at the start of the quarter, but now’s a good time to brainstorm and set the direction for where that messaging will go. Bullet point in 1-2 sentences the priority pitches that you’ll leverage to achieve each of the goals, tying them whenever applicable to your target media outlets/journalists from step two.  

6. CALENDAR 

Early January turns into the end of March much faster than we’d like to admit. That’s why breaking down the entire quarter into weekly or biweekly chunks of time with specific action steps tied in helps in a big way. Calendaring your communications and public relations activities for the quarter not only keeps your comms team on task internally, but this also helps build buy-in and a capability understanding from the organization’s other stakeholders and decisionmakers. 

7. MEASURE (AND ADAPT…MAYBE) 

New information will come to light after you “finalize” your Q1 communications strategy. New media opportunities will present themselves. It’s important to find balance between flexibility and being too reactionary. Figure out ahead of time how you will measure success, and follow up. Is your plan working? Does it need more time? Should we adjust now, or leverage the results as a lesson learned for next quarter? There’s no cookie-cutter answer to how you’ll proceed, but understanding how you’ll measure success provides the benchmark for intentional decisions by you and your team. 

Sound like too much for your internal team right now? Henrich Communications is here for you! Developing strategic communications plans – and executing them – is part of our bread and butter. Reach out today to discuss how HC can help you and your team own your story!