Communications: 5 Tips for Success

It's no exaggeration to say that communication can make or break your enablement program or campaign. When communication is clear and consistent, your audience will know what is expected of them, why their roles are important, and how to perform their jobs. Your audience and stakeholders will understand the purpose and high-level details of the program, and the management team will be unified in approach. Providing transparency ensures everyone is engaged with and enthusiastic about the work and is performing efficiently.

How can you make sure your enablement-related communications are clear, consistent, and useful? Here are five tips that I have found indispensable:

Tip 1: Designate a Communications Lead

Every project or program should have a designated person in charge of communications. The lead can develop a strategic comms plan that maps to the stages and elements of the program and considers, at every turn, how communications can improve understanding and efficiency.

Ideally, the comms plan keeps everyone informed and coordinated about broader goals and activities and keeps redundancy to a minimum. It should cover what you want to happen (goals), how to make it happen (actions), who needs to take action (audience), and the timeline.

A simple chart like the one shown can be a useful tool to help you get started.

In addition to creating and carrying out the steps of the comms plan, the communications lead should review all important communications to make sure they are consistent in coordination with all departments sending out comms. They should also maintain a means where everyone can connect, such as an interactive dashboard, location on a social media platform, or company Intranet.

Tip 2: Keep a Consistent Brand

Branding—that is, the design, language, and imagery that defines a program or product as distinct—is a form of shorthand that helps your audience recognize and connect to your message. A uniform template helps a reader key in automatically because they know what to expect.

Create a central template for common "types" of communications, such as save-the-dates, reminder emails, webinar sign-ups, etc. Add a logo or icon that can tie together different types of communications - dashboards, emails, calendar invites, handouts, etc. These will establish the tone and look of your program.

Tip 3: Use Best Comms Practices

A few simple practices go a long way when it comes to communicating. Always make sure each piece of communication is:

1. Specific to your audience - This will affect your tone and the level of background you provide. Whenever possible, make your comms feel personal.
2. Timely -  Schedule messages to hit inboxes at times when the recipients can take the action you desire. You may want to schedule additional reminder emails as a deadline approaches.
3. Concise - Cover the who, what, when, where, why.
4. Action-Oriented - Be clear about the action the recipient should take next.
5. Branded - In alignment with your program or company’s brand—use the appropriate style, tone, logo, etc.
6. Subject Line Driven - Make full use of the subject line in emails. This line is the "gatekeeper" that determines whether a person reads the email, so try to make it as enticing as possible.
7. Story-Oriented - Solicit "success stories" about your program, and periodically share them with your target audience. Humans are wired for stories, and they are a powerful medium to inspire and motivate.
8. Sender Clout - Try, whenever possible, to involve senior management in your communications. Having them share a short message (e.g. video), write to employees, or "sign a note," makes a big difference in impact.

Tip 4: Evaluate Your Communications

In order to evaluate whether your communications are having their intended effect, set up tracking mechanisms.

Use the metrics of your email platform (e.g. Salesforce, Mailchimp) to track open rates, click rates, forwarding rates, etc., that tell you how engaged your readers are. Augment that with website metrics, such as session duration, page views per session, number of visitors, and time on page, to evaluate how engaged users are in microsites, intranets, or web pages created specifically for your program.

In terms of feedback, designate a few people in your target audience who can provide regular, constructive feedback on your communications and program. Issue periodic surveys to give everyone an opportunity to offer feedback. Keep these short—five questions or fewer.

Tip 5: Pick the Right Medium

There are several options for enablement-related communications, and each has its pros and cons. Consider which medium will best serve your purposes.

Here are a few of the most common:

• Email: Use emails judiciously since most people have too much. Email is best for introducing a project or sending multiple attachments/large amounts of information. As noted earlier, a snappy subject line helps ensure yours will be read.
• Video Messages: Video messages allow for quick, entertaining overviews and offer a refreshing way to break up communications.
• Newsletters: Be wary. Internal newsletters can tend to have low open and click-through rates. Unless you have metrics showing yours is widely read, newsletters should be considered as a way of reinforcing messages that are getting out in other ways. 
• Calendar invites: Rather than sending emails to remind people to attend an upcoming meeting, send a calendar invite with an RSVP option. Attach materials for the meeting to the invite so everything they need for the meeting is in one place.
• Video calls: Whether used for a presentation or a meeting, video calls allow for a level of engagement that can only be surpassed by in-person gatherings. They are especially useful when a lot of visual content is involved, or a high level of interaction among participants is desired.
• Company Intranet: The success of internal intranets varies widely. If yours is interactive and has a lot of engagement, this can be a great way to reach colleagues. Some have sections for sharing and recording videos, which can be a smart, personable method for leaders to engage and reach employees.
• Instant messaging: For smaller projects especially, IM services (including Slack, Microsoft Teams, etc.) are a great way to facilitate a quick exchange of ideas, ask and answer simple questions, and encourage team bonding.
• Digital surveys: Online survey-building platforms can help solicit quick feedback on programs and projects.