2015 Communications Planning: Share Your Meaningful Work in a Meaningful Way

Written by Innovate New Albany@InnovateNA10 years ago

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Success in your business is possible and well within your reach when you take the time to create and implement one important thing: a plan.

Joel Kessel of Kessel Communications presented, “2015 Communications Planning: Share Your Meaningful Work in a Meaningful Way” to a group of small business owners at the Dublin Entrepreneurial Center on December 11. He gave advice on how to focus communications efforts to achieve desired results.

Joel said that planning provides clarity, which allows you to chart the course of where you want to go, and align your employees or team members on how to get there.

In order to share your meaningful work in a meaningful way, you must define your purpose, what you want to do, and why you want to do it. Then you can figure out how, when, and where to deliver your products or services to achieve more influence and a larger impact.

Joel provided a handout with a list of questions about identifying a business’s story, value proposition and purpose. He had the group spend a few minutes answering the questions individually, then work in pairs to go over their answers. A few discussed their findings with the entire group.

Joel shared his five steps to creating an effective communications plan:

1. Assemble. Choose 3-5 people to be part of your core planning team. Be sure they have different perspectives, as this will encourage robust dialogues and debates.
2. Ask. Gather your team and conduct research. Tap in to internal and external resources. Ask questions, conducts surveys, and perform interviews. Gather your information and fill in the communications framework.
3. Analyze. Study the data your team has collected and identify themes and trends. This provides an opportunity for more dialogue and brainstorming.
4. Action. Decide the next steps you need to take to reach your goals, and write them down. This will help to streamline your efforts and keep you focused.
5. Assess. Look at what’s working, what’s not, and make adjustments. Embrace the failures, because they help you learn and improve.

Joel encouraged the group to have an accountability partner or advisory board for idea sharing, recommendations, and support. He suggested making the communications plan simple, and putting it into action using paid, earned, and owned media.

Joel is the president of Kessel Communications, a strategic communications agency that helps businesses strengthen their credibility, build positive reputations, and increase brand awareness. For more information about this presentation or creating a communications plan for your business, contact Joel at joel@kesselcommunciations.com, or visit his website at http://kesselcommunications.com.

Innovate New Albany, the city’s incubator for technology startups, entrepreneurs and small businesses, features 16,000 square feet of space within the New Albany Business Park’s Signature Office Building, 8000 Walton Parkway.