How do you create an effective communication plan?

The Communication Plan: What's its Purpose?

Communication Plan: Definition?  

A communication plan is a short, medium, or long-term communication schedule. It allows you to organize the content you want to share on your company's social media, your personal profiles, or for any other type of internal and external communication. With the considerable increase in communication tools and ever-present competitors, without a solid communication plan, you won't be able to organize yourself and maximize the impact of your content.

Why is a Communication Schedule Important?  

Communication is an exercise that demands significant rigor to achieve real results, whether in terms of visibility or building a qualified audience. Many companies use social media to gain recognition and/or cultivate their brand image without a clear definition of their communication focus and the associated communication plan. This is a mistake.

Today, it goes far beyond simply gaining recognition and working on your brand image. Digital marketing involves concepts that require real effort in production and value creation. Whatever your digital marketing strategy, you need to fuel it with social media to generate traffic and opportunities. We've created a short video guide to give you a broader perspective on digital marketing and help you understand how to implement an effective strategy that covers all the necessary operations (apologies, we didn't have the budget for real actors...).

What are the Different Channels for Your Communication Plan?  

What is a Communication Channel?  

We tend to confuse communication support with communication channel. It's important to distinguish between the two to create your communication plan and reach your target audience. We'll come back to this shortly!  

Communication support refers to the medium by which a message can be transported from the sender to their audience: computer, phone, tablet, smartwatch, etc.

A communication channel refers to the "routes" taken to transmit your message from one support to another:

• Social networks: LinkedIn, Facebook, X (formerly Twitter), etc.

• Emails

• Sponsored posts

• Press through press releases

• Blogs

• SMS

Let's take an example:

When a company communicates, it uses a support: a computer. Its target audience primarily uses a mobile phone. The company, using its computer, will use different communication channels (social networks, emails, SMS, etc.) to reach its target on their mobile phone. Considering the communication support primarily used by your target is important, but to reach them, you need to identify the right communication channel!  

Our tip: To create appealing visuals, you can do it easily, even without being a graphic designer, with Canva!  

The Different Communication Channels  

There are several communication channels, classified into two categories: media and out-of-home media (hors-média). This classification isn't as precise as it once was, as social networks tend to make everything "media-worthy". However, it does offer a comprehensive overview of the communication possibilities.

Media communication includes:  

• Television

• Radio

• Press: regional written press (PQR), weeklies, monthlies, specialized magazines, press releases

• Outdoor advertising

• Cinema: advertising spots before the film and/or product placements

• Internet: It can be classified under media as it includes various communication vectors such as social networks, newsletters, ads, etc.

Out-of-home media (Hors-média):  

• Sponsoring: This is financial or material support provided to an event or individual by a partner or advertiser in exchange for advertising space at an event and/or on objects.

• Patronage: Financial support or logistical/human aid provided to a cause.

• Promotional items.

• Street marketing: Communication actions carried out in public spaces. Example: a human foosball table organized by NIKE before the Champions League final.

• Public relations: These are event-based communication actions aimed at promoting the company's image and/or services to a large and/or influential audience (political, administrative circles, opinion leaders, etc.) in the form of company visits, open days, congresses, conferences, lobbying, trade shows, fairs, exhibitions, customer services, newsletters, etc.  

• Event communication: open days, trade shows, fairs, conferences, seminars, etc.  

• Internet: It can also be considered out-of-home media, as it doesn't use the same communication techniques as the media mentioned above.

How to Choose the Right Communication Channel?  

To choose your communication channel effectively, you need to deepen your understanding of your target audience by modeling your personas. A persona is a fictional representation of a target audience that describes a coherent set of potential buyers and their common characteristics. If you don't have a perfect grasp of your persona, your communication won't be effective. Without a minimum understanding of your target's behavioral habits, you won't be able to identify the communication supports they use, and you won't choose the right communication channels.

For example: If your target audience commutes by public transport, they are more likely to use their mobile phone than to be in front of the television. Therefore, you won't plan TV commercial spots during their commuting hours. No. You'd prefer emails or sponsored posts (or that good old display advertising in subway corridors—old school but terribly effective!). Based on their behavioral habits, you can also identify the appropriate times to communicate.

Do you understand the benefit?  

Beyond personas, also consider adjusting your choice of communication channel to your marketing positioning.

How to Develop a Communication Plan?  

How to Create a Good Communication Plan: Prerequisites

Start by creating a communication strategy

As you've understood from the previous section, establishing a communication strategy and having a clear vision of your communication actions is essential for creating a good communication plan. In our article, we explain all the steps to follow to define the foundations of your strategy, establish your creative strategy, and how to create a good copy strategy. If these terms are unclear, you know what you need to do: read the article to establish a digital communication strategy.

Have a good content strategy

Today, you can no longer simply post a link about your product or service. Social networks are becoming increasingly demanding, requiring us to create posts and include interactive content. Depending on the social network, the number of publications needed to get results varies. Without content, you won't be able to create a communication plan. Therefore, you need a good content marketing strategy to ensure a consistent supply of quality content and implement effective communication. The advantage of a rich content strategy with numerous blog articles is that you can adapt them into different types of publications: infographics, LinkedIn PDFs, videos, GIFs, and illustrations. From one piece of content, you can potentially create dozens of variations and thus, publications.

Understand the basic functioning of social networks.  

To have effective communication, you must at least understand how social networks work. Depending on the algorithm, your communication plan will vary from one social network to another (usage, publication frequency, possible content types, etc.). Let's look at some basic principles to help you!  

Basic principles on LinkedIn  

LinkedIn is THE essential B2B social network. The 1001 algorithm updates since 2020 have significantly impacted publication virality. There are a few elements you need to consider in your communication to maximize your chances and achieve your communication goals.

We differentiate between a personal LinkedIn profile and a company page because they don't have the same objective. Nevertheless, they are complementary and interdependent. You cannot communicate about your activity solely with your profile, or conversely, solely with your company page. To better understand why, you can consult our article on the LinkedIn company page. In your communication plan, you'll need to integrate these concepts well and focus your efforts on both to get results!  

For example, you can publish on your company page once a week. Make a publication on Tuesday mornings every two weeks to share a new video. On weeks without videos, you can publish tips and tricks, market news, checklists, etc. And publish twice a week on your personal profile. If you are a freelancer, you have no interest in creating a company page. However, you will have to redouble your efforts to gain visibility on LinkedIn: publish more and regularly, interact with other publications, create high-value content corresponding to your editorial line, increase the number of connections, etc.  

For personal profiles, results are highly variable. They were the first to be impacted by the various algorithm updates. Here are other elements to know to increase your visibility on LinkedIn:  

• Use a maximum of 3 hashtags.

• Publish quality content that encourages users to interact.

• Post your links in comments to avoid being penalized by the algorithm.

• Publish your videos natively on LinkedIn (embed them directly, don't go through YouTube).

• Ask your colleagues or friends to like and comment on posts within an hour of publication.

• Have a catchy title to attract attention to your publication and encourage users to read it #AIDA_method.

Basic principles on X (formerly Twitter)  

This social network seems very unforgiving to many people. The lifespan of a publication is significantly shorter than on other social networks. It is estimated at 18 minutes. You will often hear people say that you get no results with X and it's not worth bothering with. FALSE, FALSE, FALSE, and again FALSE!  

We can assure you that you can achieve real results if you are rigorous and determined! X amateurs/experts will probably agree with us. It all depends on your usage, publication frequency, and professional interests. If you don't have good basics for publishing effectively, no defined frequency, or you never interact, you won't get results.

Here are some best practices to increase the visibility of your tweets and extend their lifespan:  

• Adopt the X/Twitter mindset: it's much less codified than LinkedIn. You can have a lot of fun with communication.

• Ride trending hashtags.

• Use only 3 hashtags per tweet.

• Diversify the writing of your tweets.

• Use emojis.

• Stand out: a tweet that makes an impression is more easily remembered than a self-promotional tweet.

• Offer attractive and attention-grabbing content.

• Interact with X/Twitter users: they will visit your profile and reshare your old tweets.

• Share external content, also known as content curation.

• Optimize your X/Twitter profile (attractive description, website, #).

Well, after that, we won't lie to you, since Mr. Elon took over this social network, it's a bit complicated to keep up, and many things change from one day to the next. So have fun while respecting your communication objectives, your visual identity, and your strategic orientations, and everything will be fine!  

Basic principles on Pinterest  

On Pinterest, you should publish several times a day. Of course, you'll also need to meet certain algorithm requirements, such as:

• Identify all keywords used by your target audience on Pinterest.

• Organize your Pinterest space (create boards).

• Optimize your Pinterest profile (URL, description, banner, profile picture).

• Optimize all the boards you've created (board descriptions + #).

• Optimize all your publications (short and impactful description, link to your article and #).

• Use a maximum of 3 hashtags in your boards and publications.

• Publish regularly on Pinterest to get visitors.

• Populate your boards with external content.

To learn more, you can consult our article on Pinterest in B2B, or our recap video. You'll find all the information you need to master this social network inside out!  

N.B. It is also advisable to publish or share external content 5 times a week.

Basic principles on Facebook  

This social network is one of the most widely used, even if it has been largely abandoned by young people. Young people have turned more towards more entertaining social networks such as TikTok, Snapchat, and Instagram. For some years now, the audience has been aging. They are also looking for interesting content that brings them something or arouses their curiosity. Content that only talks about the company or the product is not appreciated.

Facebook is like LinkedIn. It's a long-term effort to increase your visibility and meet your communication objectives. Here are some tips to help you increase your visibility:  

• Optimize your Facebook page.

• Share native content, meaning content directly uploaded to Facebook. Example: embed your video directly in the post. External links are not favored by the algorithm.

• Invite people to like your page.

• Adopt a common and less familiar language; the audience is less young on this social network.

• Use a maximum of 3 hashtags.

• Publications without content are also appreciated.

• Prioritize video on Facebook and include subtitles.

We set Facebook aside for some time to focus on LinkedIn and X (formerly Twitter). When we were very active, we published once a week. The results obtained were quite good. We are resuming communication on Facebook, we will give you an update at the end of the second half of 2021!  

Basic principles on YouTube  

YouTube is the bane of many people's existence. Video means filming in front of the camera, editing... And taming YouTube. YouTube has become the television for young and old alike. The content broadcast must allow anyone to be entertained, informed, or solve a problem they encounter. Self-promotional content is not welcome. Viewers prefer a tutorial or an explanatory video instead of one that only talks about the company. It's important to understand this because the themes you choose to address must interest your personas. If they have no interest and/or provide no value, your videos will not be watched or promoted by the algorithm because they won't match the expected level of information.

YouTube belongs to Google. The platform is considered the second largest search engine in the world. And it works in the same way as a search engine, meaning with search intents for a relevant theme for your target. The chosen themes must solve a problem. It's the same principle as blog articles!  

On YouTube, we categorize 3 types of video content:  

• "Hero" content: Hero videos are high-potential discoverability/virality videos that you want to push to the maximum, reaching as many people as possible. Example on our channel: the gel effect.

• "Hub" content: These are videos that keep subscribers engaged, which correspond to the channel's promise, but don't have the potential to go mainstream. Example on our channel: the 10 commandments for an effective landing page.

• "Help" videos: These are videos whose keywords will be searched. Example on our channel: digital marketing.

Beyond theme selection, you need to have a regular publication frequency and relay your content on other available communication channels for more virality.

Some tips to make your videos more viral:  

• Create hero, hub, and help videos.

• Specialize your videos on specific topics: less searched but very useful themes for your personas.

• Work on your tags in the profile and video settings.

• Create chapters per video to promote video virality.

• Include subtitles.

• Share social media links in the video and channel description.

• Associate the website with the YouTube channel (backlinks).

• Create a "channel trailer" to introduce yourself and humanize your profile: this is the first video that appears on your channel. It allows users to learn more about you or your company.

• Optimize the channel profile: optimization is important to allow users to find you easily and to humanize your channel. It's much more attractive for users and encourages them to subscribe.

• Embed your videos in your blog articles when possible.

• Share your videos on social networks thanks to the effective communication plan you will have created ;)  

Are you wondering if YouTube is worth it in B2B? This video is for you!  

Basic principles on Podcast  

Podcasts are increasingly popular content because they can be consumed at any time. You don't need to be in front of a screen; a pair of headphones is more than enough. In fact, audio content is becoming increasingly important. We can consider hosting platforms as a social network in their own right, as you need to meet certain requirements to make your podcast visible. Indeed, hosting platforms take several things into account:  

• Publication frequency.

• Communication of your podcast on other channels, examples:  

• Newsletter (emailing).

• YouTube: you can create a video that only includes the audio to broadcast your podcast and increase its visibility.

• Pinterest: relaying your podcast episodes on YouTube will allow you to share the link on your Pinterest publications. Links from podcast platforms are not accepted.

• Optimize your podcast channel and episodes: title, description, category, illustration.

Other tips to increase your visibility:  

• Feature popular people in your industry.

• Select topics that interest your target audience.

• Choose the right platforms. We recommend using Apple Podcast and Spotify.

Communication Plan Template and Example  

Step 1: Gather all available content  

List all the content you have available: Your blog articles and their images, the videos you have created, your whitepapers... Everything that can bring value to your target audience. While taking stock of your content, take the opportunity to identify the variations you can create to generate publications. For example: you have an article on "The Importance of Human Resources in a Fast-Growing Company," why not consider creating an infographic that summarizes the key elements of the article?  

Step 2: Classify them by publication type  

Depending on the social network, the possible publication formats can vary. To organize yourself efficiently, create an Excel file and make a to-do list for each social network. This will allow you to have visibility on all your content according to the social network and to bring diversity to your publication formats. Start by creating an Excel file and create a tab for each social network. Then, create a column for each possible publication format on the chosen social network. For LinkedIn, for example, you can publish: LinkedIn PDFs, GIFs, videos (remember subtitles), infographics, and images/photos. In the example above, all accepted publication types on LinkedIn have been entered into the columns. Then, complete your list with your topics.

If we take the "video" column, the video created is linked to the article on LinkedIn prospecting. #tips: we use GIFs to attract attention to our articles to avoid simply posting the link. The LinkedIn algorithm does not like external links in publications. We have created a guide on the LinkedIn company page. It will be very useful for you to know all the actions to take.

Step 3: Define your publication frequency  

The amount of available content will determine your publication frequency. If you have two blog articles and one video in your content strategy, you won't get far with your communication plan. You need to have value to transmit. So the idea is to have enough content available to effectively occupy the field. You can perfectly launch your communication plan at the same time as your content strategy, and therefore have little content in advance. However, you will need to synchronize your efforts: Article writing > publication variation > publication, etc.  

Some social networks require more publications than others to be effective. It's difficult to use X (formerly Twitter) effectively with only one tweet per week. However, on LinkedIn, one publication per week on your company page is a good start.

Step 4: Create a reverse schedule to plan your publications  

Each social network has its peculiarities; you need to adapt your communication plan according to the social network. Furthermore, you must integrate into your thinking the use of company pages, but also personal profiles (especially for LinkedIn). To learn more about LinkedIn and how it works, consult our guide.

Communication plan example: LinkedIn  

Columns:  

• Theme: If your content strategy has been well thought out, your articles should be classified by theme on your blog. For example, we have classified all our articles related to prospecting in the "Business Development" category. If you have decided to publish content that has nothing to do with your blog's themes, I advise you to group them by theme. You will find it easier to navigate.

• Article title: Enter the name of the chosen article within the selected theme.

• Publication format: videos, infographics, GIFs....

• Status (to do, in progress, ready).

• Objective.

• Notes.

Rows: Week, date, two broad categories clearly defined: personal profile and company page.

Communication plan example: X (formerly Twitter)  

When creating the communication plan for X, you can use the same framework as for LinkedIn. However, since the number of publications is higher, I advise you to add two columns at the beginning: day and date. This will allow you to have visibility on all your tweets, check the sequence, and avoid duplicates. If you plan to publish multiple times a day, you will find it easier to keep track.

Communication plan example: Pinterest  

Columns:  

• Main board*.

• Sub-board**.

• Theme.

• Article title.

• Format.

• Content status.

• Objective.

• Notes.

Rows: add rows according to the number of publications you plan per day.

* & **: Unlike LinkedIn and X, Pinterest requires a bit more organization. For an optimized profile, you need to organize it. We have created a guide to help you better understand how Pinterest works and its potential in B2B.

Communication plan example: Facebook  

For Facebook, you can create your communication plan in the same format as LinkedIn and X.

Columns:  

• Day.

• Date.

• Time.

• Theme.

• Article title.

• Publication format.

• Status.

• Objective.

• Notes.

Add the number of rows that suits your publication frequency.

Communication plan example: YouTube  

To create your YouTube communication plan, use the framework from LinkedIn, X, and Facebook. The only differences will be in the content type (hero, hub, or help) and the video length. Adding these elements will give you good visibility on the alternation of content.

Columns:  

• Day.

• Date.

• Time.

• Content (Hero, hub, or help?).

• Theme.

• Article title.

• Format.

• Status.

• Objective.

• Notes.

Add the number of rows that suits your publication frequency.

Communication plan example: Podcast  

Regarding podcasts, you can only publish audio. Therefore, you will have fewer columns than the other communication plans.

Columns:  

• Day.

• Date.

• Time.

• Theme.

• Subject.

• Status.

• Objective.

• Notes.

Add the number of rows that suits your publication frequency.

Step 5: Fill in the publications in the communication plan  

This step is a true mental exercise. Depending on the theme, subject, and message you wish to convey, you will need to fill in your communication plan. To proceed well, I advise you to choose a theme and add one publication per week to your communication plan. This way, you will build the backbone of the communication plan. For example, for our X (formerly Twitter) communication plan, we decided to publish twice a day, i.e., 10 tweets per week. By taking the "business development" theme, we took the articles one by one and added two per week. We proceeded in the same way for the other themes. I advise you to keep the message you want to convey in mind to avoid redundancies.

⚠️ Don't forget to define your objectives for each publication.

Step 6: Check the content flow  

This step is important because it will allow you to check the flow of your publications and content, and thus avoid duplicates. For this step, I advise you to do it a little later. If you are too engrossed in your communication plan, you will miss some duplicates. For those who don't want to create it, we have provided a template with detailed instructions ⬇️😊.

Once you start communicating, don't forget to measure the impact of your actions.