ORGANIZATIONAL SUSTAINABILITY SERIES - Strategy 1: Establish Your Strategic Communications Framework

Strengthening Your Essential Infrastructure

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Methodical communication and engagement strategies are the foundation of organizational growth and resilience, because they enable you to build and share your organizational narrative, maintain client and stakeholder engagement, demonstrate impact, and rally community support. 

If your organization hasn’t consistently implemented a strategic communication program, establishing this foundation may even bring you immediate revenue generation opportunities – such as enabling you to launch a campaign to reengage with past customers or donors. 

Here are the steps to take to be sure you have your foundation in order, starting with a communications audit.

Communications Audit

✅ Your website: Does it reflect your organizational ambitions?

In today’s digital-first world, your website is often your first impression. Think of it as your digital front door for current and potential clients, funders, and partners. For many organizations, the website is an online brochure that sits in the background – only getting attention if something breaks. But in reality, it should be your most powerful tool for attracting and engaging new supporters, with attention committed to regular updates.

In addition to assessing whether your site is making the desired impression, be sure to consider whether it’s easy to find, straightforward to navigate, has clear calls to action, and drives the user to engage with or contact you.

✅ Your digital presence: Are you consistently engaging on social media?

With the right strategy, social media can help you expand your audience, connect with new people, and communicate consistently. It’s an ideal place to experiment with storytelling techniques that showcase your mission, values, and accomplishments. Plus, it adds a human touch to your organization. And you don’t need a big budget to make it work. The downside is that you don’t own these platforms, so you can’t control them – and things you can’t control can be unpredictable. (Consider the recent TikTok ban scares. Many creators built entire careers on the platform, only to face sudden uncertainty.) Additionally, algorithm changes can upend your best-laid plans overnight. So why not skip social media entirely? It’s still the best way to broaden your real-time reach without substantial ongoing expenses. Yes, it’s imperfect. Yes, it’s prone to surprises. But it’s effective – and, for the most part, free. Moreover, your audience expects to find you there, and not having a presence can send an unintended message.

✅ Your email newsletter: Are you regularly sending value-added messages?

Unlike social media platforms, your email opt-in list is an asset you own. It is the one distribution pipeline that isn’t owned by a mega-corporation. Nobody can change the algorithm on you. People join your list because they want to hear from you. It is a reliable, direct line of communication with donors, customers, volunteers, and prospects. Email newsletters may not be the newest or sexiest technology, but don’t sleep on email. It is highly effective and trackable. With segmented lists and compelling content, personalizing your messaging and measuring the results (e.g., open rates, click-through rates) to help you refine your strategy is a fairly straightforward activity. 

✅ Your communication strategy: Are you singing the same song across platforms?

Your website, social media presence, and emails form the three building blocks of your communication platform. To get the most out of them, treat each channel as a distinct format but maintain a consistent, strategic message across them all. Then map your planned content on a shared calendar – so you can avoid scrambling for ideas at the last minute, leave room for timely or opportunistic messaging, and reinforce your strategic messages across all platforms.

Tips

💡 To be engaging instead of self-promoting, frame your strategic messaging calendar around:

• Providing value through educational content 

• Creating an emotional connection through storytelling

• Inspiring engagement by inviting readers into the conversation

• Expanding your reach by leveraging the tools inherent to each platform, such as hashtags, collaborations, audience incentives, and response buttons

💡 To increase chances of success:

• Data Tracking & Analysis: Set up basic tracking (e.g., Google Analytics for your website, social media insights, email open rates, etc.) and review on a regular schedule to continuously refine your messaging and improve ROI

• Unified Branding: Ensure your logos, color palettes, and tone-of-voice guidelines remain consistent across channels to reinforce brand recognition and trust

💡 To make it manageable:

• Use AI and automation tools (e.g., scheduling platforms and AI-powered copywriting assistants) to help you maintain consistency, even if you have a small team. Just remember: automation isn’t about removing the “human touch” – it’s about freeing you and your team to focus on high-impact tasks like storytelling, relationship building, and strategic planning.

Want more strategies for organizational sustainability and revenue generation? Download Sustaining Your Impact: 8 Strategies for Economic Development Organization

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