The power of a good communications strategy

Message development can take time and communication strategies require consistency. We offer a lot of these services at the Resurgam Group.

Whether you are a candidate running for office, an advocacy group working to pass legislation, or an organization pushing to change or shift a narrative – your communications strategy will be key to your success.  

A good communications strategy defines you – it tells people who you are or what you stand for and what you’ll do. An even better communications strategy makes sure people hear, see, and internalize your message. Studies show that effective repetition builds truth. Hearing your message over and over, in multiple communication channels, can contribute to credibility and trust.

A good communications strategy can also be the difference between winning or losing a race or – in many cases – winning or losing the messaging battle playing out on our TVs and Twitter feeds. 

Know your message and your audience(s)

The first step in crafting an effective communications strategy is knowing your message and knowing your audience. 

A good message tells people why they should care and what sets you apart. If you are a candidate, it tells people why they should vote for you instead of the other guy. If you are an advocacy organization, your message highlights the benefits of the legislation. And if you are a business, it highlights why your product or service is needed or is the best.  

Make sure to keep it short. There will be opportunities to expound and offer more details, but big picture your message should be clear and succinct. It should not confuse people or be long-winded. 

As you are crafting your message you must make sure to think about your audience. If you don’t know who you are talking to, how will you make a convincing case? What resonates with seniors may not resonate with college students. Often, you may have more than one audience. Businesses may have a B2B or B2C message, political candidates may have messages for primary election voters (more progressive) and general election voters (more moderate), and advocacy organizations are likely to have a message for legislators, a message for lobbyists, a message for reporters, and a message for everyone else. The better you know your audience, the more persuasive and powerful your message will be. Understand your audience’s priorities, their hang-ups, and their motivations and craft a message that addresses them. 

Deliver your message 

Once you’ve identified your message it’s time to make a plan for where you want it to be broadcast. Below are the main channels to consider: 

TV Ads

One of the tried-and-true ways to reach a lot of people and make a splash is a TV ad. These can be expensive to produce and to purchase airtime. For some people running for office, TV ads might be necessary, but if you are short on cash, you should consider alternatives to an expensive ad buy. Instead of purchasing local or cable airtime, you could release your ad on digital and send it to local news outlets in the hopes that they run it. 

Digital Ads

A great and affordable option are digital ads. You can do a lot with a little on digital platforms like Facebook, LinkedIn, and other popular sites that are relevant to your target audience. Digital ads allow you to target a specific audience down to a zip code or region. This helps ensure you are tailoring your message to your desired audience and getting the most bang for your buck. You can also measure how ads perform and adjust them, which make them even more cost effective. A mix of static and video ads are a great option and as we mentioned you could just reserve a TV ad for the digital space.

Social Media

You don’t have to be a social media whiz, but you should develop a social media strategy. Depending on your goals, social media could be an important or less important medium for you. Social is good if you are aiming to target a younger audience, reporters, or if you are running a campaign. If you are an advocacy organization focused on passing legislation, your social media is less important than perhaps finding a high-profile legislator or leader to post about the legislation. You could focus your strategy on getting people with lots of followers or name recognition to serve as advocates for your cause. Determine your goal and then make a social media calendar. It’s best to post at least 2-3 times per week about issues or topics that align with your message. Consistency is important. 

Earned Media

Lastly, earned media refers to articles or news pieces that run in your local newspaper or on local radio or TV stations. Earned media is typically secured by pitching reporters. It’s valuable because your audience likely reads, watches, or listens to one of these platforms and securing (good) press in an outlet is free and helps reinforce your message. Op-eds are another good earned media opportunity, as is appearing on a local politics or news roundtable shows if they have one in your media market. Appearing in news outlets that people trust helps raise your profile and gives you an opportunity to reinforce your message. Earned media can be more challenging to secure due to the 24 hours news cycle, but it’s still an important and valuable tool that should be part of any communications strategy. 

All of the mediums outlined here are important – if you can, use all of them in some capacity. You may find you rely on one more than the other and that’s OK. But it’s important to get your message in all of these mediums at some point to ensure you have the broadest reach possible. Ideally, you want to run a TV ad, appear on a local news show, take out digital ads, and post on social media. You likely reach a different person on TV than you do on digital, which helps ensure your message is getting to the most people possible.

Repeat your message 

It may be obvious from what we’ve outlined above, but your message will be repetitive. The aim of this kind of communication strategy is to ensure your target audience hears it - potentially a lot. There’s a reason why you see the same commercials over and over on TV and digital platforms - repetition works, even if it does seem annoying. Studies show it can take hearing something up to seven times before we absorb it and take action. As mentioned early, the more people hear something the more likely they are to find it to be true. 

It may seem excessive, and during election season in battleground states people will complain about it, but repetition has been found to work. Of course, you don’t want every single commercial to be yours, but repetition doesn’t just work, it’s necessary to ensure your message breaks through. 

Some studies show that too much negativity or mudslinging can have a negative impact, so be sure the ratio is more positive than negative. More often, people want to hear what you are for, not why someone is a bad choice. Consider that aspect, too.

Conclusion 

A good communications strategy tells your story in a powerful and persuasive way. Whether you are running for office, trying to pass legislation, working to change the narrative, or sell a product you’ve got to make your message clear. Today, with a 24-hour news cycle, it’s important to proactively communicate your message before someone else does.  

Message development can take time and communication strategies require consistency. We offer a lot of these services at the Resurgam Group. If you’re interested, reach out to schedule a time to talk. We’ve run communications, organizing, and advocacy campaigns all over the state of Maine and know what it takes to break through the noise and win.