Writing your communication plan shouldn’t be seen as the equivalent to crafting a novel, says Sara Gilbert, founder of Strategist in Montreal. In fact, the exercise can be completed on just a single piece of your office stationary.
“Just make sure to keep it simple,” she says. “Because if it is too complicated, then, you won’t stick to it. It shouldn’t take weeks and weeks of planning.”
The two most important things to keep in mind when creating a communication plan is to know what your goals are and to have a clear plan on how to communicate them clearly, Gilbert says. Ultimately, how you choose to bridge these pillars together will be the “sweet spot” of your communication strategy.
Gilbert offers some tips on how you can keep your communication plan short, precise and on point:
> Decide: Time or resources?
Before even putting a pen to paper, you should decide on the resources you have and that you can commit to making your strategy work.
If, for example, you are already starved for time but are looking to take your practice to the next level, then you might consider delegating some of your communications work outside to another writer or third-party marketing firm.
However, if you don’t have the funds but do have some time, you might choose to do your communications work internally.
“Advisors must first decide which option is best for them: devoting time or money?” says Gilbert.
> Create a calendar
If you decide to go at it yourself, an easy way to build a communication plan that is wafer-thin is to take a blank sheet of paper and divide it out into 12 boxes.
Each one of these boxes will represent your communication goals for each month of the year.
Next, you and your team can easily fill in each of these boxes with the specific topics you want to communicate during that month — and via what medium.
If you feel overwhelmed by having to devise a strategy that will cover an entire year, fret not. Think about what major financial events are scheduled in each month and use them as a guide.
For example, in January, you might want to do a few pieces about the benefits of RRSPs vs tax-free savings accounts for your clients. As well, financial planning week takes place in November, so writing something about intergenerational wealth transfer would be topical.
Once you have filled in these “prime” spots, then you can go to your inventory bank of topics to complete your calendar.
> Know your “optimum points”
Once you have identified “what” you want to communicate, you can then turn your attention to “how” your will deliver your message.
Given the saturation of different social media platforms, electronic newsletters, blogs or whitepapers, you clearly have many different options to choose from.
The important consideration here for you and your team is to determine how to navigate these different media in order to maximize your reach.
For example, if you choose to use Twitter as one of your main tools, then you should be prepared to tweet about three times a day. Facebook, by contrast, maximizes its audience penetration at about three times per week, says Gilbert.
For other media, Gilbert says to follow these simple rules: if you are using LinkedIn as your communications anchor, post about twice per week; a blog should be updated about once a week; a newsletter should be prepared monthly; and a white paper can be sent either quarterly or semi-annually.
Using this advice as a guide for your strategy will help you get maximum return on your investment.
This is the second instalment in a four-part series on Communicating: with a plan.
On Monday: Building your communications inventory