How to prepare an effective communication strategy

1. Analyzing existing skills and knowledge

Communication Skill	What does it mean
Public Relations	Representing your YO with stakeholders and other external audiences. Managing the public image and reputation of your YO, effectively communicating with staff, volunteers within the external audiences.
Media Relations	Building and maintaining relationships with media representatives, influencers, collaborators etc
Writing/Copywriting	Crafting clear and engaging material to share relevant information with the target audiences, media, other stakeholders
Social Media Management	Creating and managing content across social media platforms
Branding	Communicating the YO s brand identity consistently (mission, vision, values, partnerships etc)
Marketing Communications	Developing and delivering marketing messages and campaigns (offline and Emarketing)
Crisis Communication	Managing and communicating effectively during crises.
Stakeholder Engagement & Relations	Interacting and communicating with stakeholders to provide relevant and timely information about the YO
Graphic Design & Video production skills	Developing design and video material for marketing messages and campaigns
Presentation Skills	Delivering effective presentations to external audiences.
Content Creation	Creating engaging content for various external platforms.
Digital Communication	Using digital tools to communicate with external audiences.
Storytelling	Using narratives to convey messages and engage target audiences
Feedback Management	Collecting and responding to feedback from target audiences
Website Management	Maintaining and updating the organization s website
Event Management	Planning and managing YO activities and events to engage external audiences

And now let’s make a revolution by cracking down the communication strategy and plan for your YO. The charts will show you all the elements you need to include and understand. Like every strategy and plan, they also need to be flexible and adaptable, constantly benchmarked against the communication objectives and goals you set out for your YO.

Communication plan per stakeholder and channel:

Stakeholder	Communication Channels	Frequency	Responsible Person/Team
Youth (14-24)	FB Instagram Linkedin X YouTube Website Digital Newsletter Direct Mailing	3X weekly 3X weekly 2X weekly 2X weekly Regular update Regular update Once a month Special Occasions	YOs Comms Officer and/or Outsourced Comms Specialist Influencer from the field of work YOs Comms Officer YOs Comms Officer YOs Comms Officer YOs Comms Officer
Parents	Direct Mailing Newsletter Flyers	Special occasions Once a month Ad hoc	YO Intern/Volunteer
Schools and other community institutions	Newsletter Community Bulletin Boards	Once a month Special occasions	YO Intern/Volunteer
Potential sponsors/donors	Newsletter Direct Mailing	Biannual meeting (in person or online) Community events	YO leadership team+YO Communications Officer
Local Authorities (eg. Youth Policy Makers)	Newsletter Direct Mailing	Quarterly meetings (in person or online) Community events	YO leadership team+YO Communications Officer

Communicate, Engage, Transform

Planning our communication

How to prepare an effective communication strategy

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