Top Lessons from Our Communications Training

Our “Communicating for Results!” training program covers a broad range of communications skills and best practices. Here are five lessons our recent cohort of participants found most valuable:

1. Take the time to create great core messages. Every organization should have a handful of core messages that align with – but are distinct from – your mission statement. These should help your audiences emotionally connect to the work your organization is doing, and clearly articulate why this work is important. Remember that everyone is a communicator in your organization – from the person answering your phones to your board members. Make sure they all have a set of consistent and updated core messages that they can use when they communicate both internally and externally. Ready to get writing? Our Bite-Size Course, How to Create a Core Message for Your Cause, has a fun video and handy worksheet to help you get started.

2. Tailor your messages to each audience group. Chances are that the people who care about your cause – including donors, volunteers, and partners – are motivated to engage with your organization for different reasons. Use those unique attributes to your benefit by tailoring your core messages to each audience group. This kind of approach to communicating with your audiences will help you forge deeper relationships and increase the effectiveness of your calls-to-action. Learn more in our Bite-Size Courses: How to Identify Audiences for Your Cause and How to Customize Your Message.

3. Be a strategic thinker. Many people spend a lot of time focusing on communications “tactics” – such as social media, e-newsletters and events. However, every tactic should tie back to a larger strategic goal and strategy. Ask yourself these questions: Why are we spending time and resources on this tactic? What is the purpose of this tactic? Who are we trying to reach? If you can answer these questions, you are are already on your way to thinking strategically about your communications.

4. Create a master communications calendar. Mapping out all your communications efforts onto one timeline or calendar is a great way to refine your strategy and ensure your game plan is realistic. Your timeline will reveal where there may be gaps or redundancies in reaching particular audiences, which months are shaping up to be especially busy, and whether you’re using the right mix of communications platforms. A calendar can also allow you to be more efficient with your resources, as you will be better able to confirm priorities and determine where your staff’s time should be dedicated.

5. Measure and evaluate your communications efforts. How will you know if your efforts are working if you don’t take the time to track and analyze your results? If you are sending out e-newsletters for example – do you regularly review how many are actually opened or clicked through? If the open rates are low, maybe you need to adjust the subject lines. Qualitative evaluations, like surveys, can also provide valuable insights. Whatever methods you utilize, use your data to guide future strategy and ongoing refinements to your communications plan.

For more information about how your organization can participate in one of our trainings or how you can fund trainings for your grantees to improve their communications effectiveness, please contact Vanessa Schnaidt at vschnaidt@causecomm.org.