Internal Communications Deep Dive - Part 5 of 6

Section 7: Annual strategies and tactical communications calendars

Key questions:

• What are the elements of a typical internal communications strategy?

• What are the best ways to track, measure and manage internal communications tactical programs?

Like any other department, internal communications teams need to develop annual strategies with trackable goals, tactical plans, and measurements. Also like any other department, there are many interpretations of what that strategy could entail. According to Snapcomms, an internal communications platform, internal communication strategy breaks down into four steps:

• “Step 1. Where are you now? Start by analyzing the current situation – your audiences, influences and existing communications performance.”

• “Step 2. Where do you want to be? Now that you know your current situation, you can begin to plan what you want it to be. This step is about defining your objectives and ensuring alignment with overall company direction.”

• “Step 3. How will you get there? This step is where the best tactics and most effective communication channels are combined to achieve your objectives.”

• “Step 4. How will you know it works? The final step is about tracking results and implementing a cycle of continuous improvement.”[i]

Lumapps, an intranet platform provider, goes into more depth with a ten-step system, summarized below.

1. Measure current internal communications through surveys, analytics, focus groups, and external audits.

2. Define goals and objectives, consider using the S.M.A.R.T. approach (specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, timely).

3. Identify target audience. Who are the stakeholders and are there any segments?

4. Choose the right internal communication tool.

5. Create the right message,that is clear, informative, engaging and inspiring.

6. Provide engaging communications with appealing headlines, easy layouts, visual graphics, and an inspirational tone.

7. Schedule internal communications. Figure out the best time to send based on analyzing interactions.

8. Provide an employee advocacy tool to allow employees to share the right content with their outside networks.

9. Identify ambassadors to represent the organization.

10. Measure the new strategy, track engagement, monitor reach, ask for feedback.[ii]

There are far too many interpretations to include them all here, but after analyzing a number of sources, they all share a number of common components. A well-formed IC strategy addresses all of the internal departments and teams that will need support, the communication platforms that will be utilized, the appropriate frequency for communicating, and the measurement method for tracking success. Additionally, steps should be taken to ensure that the IC strategy aligns with and complements the larger organizational strategy. A visual diagram that summarizes the strategy can also be helpful for presenting strategies to leadership teams.

Regardless of the exact strategy steps you follow, your strategy needs to be customized for the needs and workstyles of your company. A great IC strategy for an organization where employees all work behind a laptop might not be an ideal strategy for a similar organization where employees are on the road. Another reason why there is no “one size fits all” approach for IC strategy is that organizations do not all share the same IC goals. To illustrate this, a study by Poppulo asked respondents to identify their goals. The graphic below outlines the varying results.[iii] An IC strategy that focuses on employee engagement will not be the same as a strategy that focuses on driving business performance, or one that is aiming to promote brand awareness.

To accompany these overarching strategies, IC teams need to develop tactical plans and calendars that outline the specific initiatives that will need to be managed. Typically created in a spreadsheet application, these tactical calendars should represent the whole time period that the strategy addresses (annual, quarterly). Bananatag recommends that this calendar should start by adding the dates that will not change, like holidays, conferences, and quarterly events. From there, you should add other events, campaigns and launches that are represented in the strategy. Then you would add recurring events like newsletters, leadership messages and town halls.[iv]

Section 8: Creating compelling content

Key questions:

• What are the most effective content strategies for internal communications, including types of materials and design approaches?

Visual and design strategies are critical for any communications initiative. As discussed in the previous sections, most internal communications can be broken out into a few categories: written messages, newsletters, videos and recorded messages. The following sub-sections break down the design strategies for each.

Written messages:

Internal communications will include many types of written messages, including emails, intranet posts, mobile alerts, and messages from any internal communications platforms that the organization has invested in. Bananatag explains how the design of these messages can often be just as impactful as the information that they convey. “Good design is crucial to communication. Without it, you risk clouding your messages or creating cognitive barriers to accessing important information. Visuals influence human comprehension and decision making more than any other factor. And many studies have confirmed that attractive designs work better to convey complex ideas, influence cognition and decision making, and improve usability. So if you are neglecting your internal email designs, you could be clouding your messaging and creating obstacles to clear and effective communication. Good internal email design will make your communications clearer, easier to understand, and more impactful. Attractive employee email designs will also show you are invested in your employees' experience and that you take engagement and communication seriously.”[v]

Variables to consider for written design strategies include the type of fonts, use of any visual banners, color selection, call to action buttons, and the balance between visual and written elements. Many of these decisions are already determined by an organization’s marketing teams, so IC teams should work with them to ensure consistency with brand guidelines.

You could also consider purchasing or creating templates that can streamline this process. Piktochart, an infographic application company, recommends that organizations should “arrange your template to help your subscribers see the most important things first. Prioritize your content from top to bottom, and always place your key news with a call to action first and above the fold. In email design, this is about 350 pixels high and 650 pixels wide. This area will be visible in most email programs without having to scroll down […] Pick colors that your brand uses on a daily basis or use ones that can help you customize your marketing offer and put readers in the right mood.”[vi] Piktochart includes a chart outlining color selections that are based on the emotions and actions that readers would associate with each color.

Newsletters:

Newsletters are a visual newspaper-style communication that typically include multiple sections of content. Meltwater, a media monitoring consulting company, says that “a newsletter is either an electronic or printed report covering various activities of a company or business. It is sent to its employees, customers, community members, or other subscribers and consists of interesting content, promotions, announcements. A newsletter helps to increase traffic and serves as an information source […] Besides being a way to inform employees about the latest company updates, an employee newsletter can also be a fun way of sharing, explaining, and reinforcing your company culture […] In your internal company newsletter, you want to share your wins, notify people about your latest content, and get everyone in sync on your company’s top messages so that they can communicate and increase your reach […] Use it to collect feedback and insights […] You could also include any comments or reviews left by customers that you think your employees should know about.”[vii]

Newsletters are particularly effective for multi-faceted organizations with a variety of teams because they help spread awareness for what is going on throughout the organization. They also provide an opportunity to recognize the successes of teams or individuals. Campaign Monitor, an email marketing software provider, notes that “if you want greater transparency, your internal newsletter is a great place to jump-start those efforts. By creating dialogues within your organization, you can enhance cooperation and break down walls between departments or between staff and management. This is especially useful when it comes to large companies where departments are unfamiliar with each other. Sections like a Q&A or a ‘day in the life’ features can help get everyone on the same page and may lead to inter-departmental collaborations that generate unexpected growth […] People enjoy when their efforts are appreciated, especially in print (or posted online). By giving credit to the people behind important projects, you increase their sense of ownership and highlight their contributions, which in turn motivates them to contribute more.”[viii]

Videos:

Videos have become a major source of internal communications content in the past few years. As iPhone videos have gotten crisper and easier, and platforms like Zoom and Teams have taken off, it has enabled organizations to more easily develop video content, whether they produce it internally with marketing or IC teams, or reach out to external vendors that can provide services for organizations with the budget and appetite for highly professionally produced content. Videos are popular for obvious reasons, they are much more engaging than simple text, and it is often an easier ask to request someone to watch a video rather than read something. According to the Academy to Innovate HR:

• “Employees are likely to retain 95% of a message when they watch a video.”

• “59% of executives would rather watch a video than read text.”

• “Research shows that people rarely watch longer content, so keep your videos under 4 minutes.”[ix]

Videos are also an effective way to onboard employees and educate current employees about any new topic that needs to be understood throughout the organization. An article in Smarp discusses these two uses for internal videos, noting that, “video can be used as an on-demand solution for new starters. With access to online employee training on everything from internal policies to product training, ramping-up staff becomes easier […] You can also encourage new hires to introduce themselves to their colleagues in a short video they would post to your employee communications platform where employees can easily comment on these intro videos. It’s a great way to break the ice and connect new hires with their colleagues! […] On-demand video isn’t just easily accessible, it can help you educate large groups of people in faster than in-person alternatives. Because on-demand video can be delivered to many employees at the same time, you’re able to share new content faster and speed-up the education process in your organization. Educational videos can range from lengthy tutorials to quick how-to’s designed to help staff effectively complete mission-critical tasks while eliminating the risk and cost of errors, and in less time.”[x]

Podcasts:

Podcasts are another relatively recent development for IC. Just as these recordings have taken off for just about every topic you can think of, podcasts have also made their way into the business world. As described by Pacific Content, a branded podcast agency, “What’s an internal podcast? It’s a podcast that is often, but not always, privately distributed, and it’s produced by a company for its employees. One of the most prominent internal podcasts (partly due to the fact that is available publicly) is from American Airlines and it’s called Tell Me Why. The show is hosted by Ron DeFeo who is the company’s Vice President of Global Communications, and it publishes a couple 5-10 minute episodes a month.”[xi]

In the previous section, it was noted that most videos should likely be bite-sized, with a maximum time limit of about 5 minutes, unless it is a recording of a particular webinar or a training with multiple parts. Podcasts on the other hand can be longer and more detailed, given that people generally listen to them while doing something else like commuting or working out, and they are used to listening to popular podcasts that are traditionally 45 minutes or longer. Similar to the variety of video production options, organizations have choices in terms of how they will create these podcasts, whether it is IC/marketing teams who produce them internally with lapel microphones and sound editing software, or if they would prefer to reach out to an external vendor that provides these services.

All Things IC, an internal communications blog, explains this low-cost option succinctly. “You can capture audio content on-the-go really simply, using a lapel microphone and a smartphone. If you’ve got a distributed company structure, you could encourage colleagues to dial-in to video conferencing software and record them there. Alternatively, a simple recorded phone call or voicemail system can enable you to capture a variety of views and voices […] It is possible to keep it quite low-cost. The equipment varies in price but you can start out with very little outlay, using the software and devices you already have.”[xii]

References

[i] Snapcomms, “Internal communications strategy examples”, https://www.snapcomms.com/internal-communication-strategy-example [ii] Lumapps, “How to build a brilliant internal communications plan”, https://www.lumapps.com/blog/internal-communications/build-internal-communication-plan/ [iii] Poppulo, Tim Vaughan, “Delivering effective internal communications”, https://www.poppulo.com/resources/delivering-effective-internal-communication-pdf/ [iv] Bananatag, Kyla Sims, “How to create an internal comms content calendar”, https://blog.bananatag.com/internal-comms/how-to-create-an-internal-comms-content-calendar [v] Bananatag, Kyla Sims, “How to design engaging internal emails”, https://blog.bananatag.com/internal-comms/how-to-design-engaging-internal-emails [vi] Piktochart, Maria Wachal, “Design visually appealing emails”, https://piktochart.com/blog/design-visually-appealing-emails/ [vii] Meltwater, Allison Smith, “Why your organization needs an internal company newsletter”, https://www.meltwater.com/en/blog/11-reasons-your-organization-needs-an-internal-newsletter [viii] Campaign Monitor, “7 tips for creating an internal newsletter that isn’t boring”, https://www.campaignmonitor.com/blog/email-marketing/2019/07/7-tips-for-creating-an-internal-newsletter-that-isnt-boring/ [ix] Academy to Innovate HR, Neelie Verlinden, “The role of video in internal communications”, https://www.digitalhrtech.com/internal-communications-infographic/ [x] Smarp, Amir Shahzeidi, “8 ways video can boost your internal communications”, https://blog.smarp.com/8-ways-video-can-boost-your-internal-communication [xi] Pacific Content, Steve Pratt, “The case for internal podcasts”, https://blog.pacific-content.com/the-case-for-internal-podcasts-5270ee2223cb [xii] All Things IC, Rachel Miller, “How to use a podcast for internal communication”, https://www.allthingsic.com/how-to-use-a-podcast-for-internal-communication/