How to Build a Communications Strategy People Notice

More channels. More content. More ways to reach people. So why does it sometimes feel harder than ever to actually get through?

You can post on LinkedIn, send an email, update the website, issue a press release and add something to the newsletter.

Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick.

Plenty of activity.

Not necessarily much communication.

We don't want you to ask:

Where should we post this?

We want you to ask:

Who actually needs to hear it, and what do we need them to think, feel or do next?

You don't need to be everywhere

There is a slight panic that creeps into communications teams from time to time.

Should we be doing more video?

Do we need TikTok?

Should we start a podcast?

Are we posting enough?

Is everyone suddenly on WhatsApp Channels?

Maybe.

Maybe not.

The best performing communications strategy is often not the one with the most channels. It's the one with the detail of where your audience already is, what they care about and what will make them pay attention.

For councils, housing associations, membership organisations, federations, public bodies and businesses with complicated audiences, this matters even more.

Because "our audience" usually isn't one audience at all.

It's lots of groups of people, with different priorities, behaviours and levels of trust.

And sending them all the same thing is unlikely to end well.

Start with people

Not platforms.

Not content calendars.

Not "we need three posts this week."

People.

• Who are you trying to reach?

• What do they already know?

• What do they think about you?

• What matters to them?

• Where do they get their information?

  
  

And perhaps the most important question:

Why should they care?

If you can't answer that, choosing the perfect social platform probably isn't going to rescue the campaign.

Your audience isn't waiting on your website

We love websites.

They matter.

But most people aren't waking up thinking:

"I wonder what my local authority has published today."

Which means communications teams have to be a little smarter.

Sometimes that means social.

Sometimes it means email.

Sometimes it means local press.

Sometimes it means community organisations.

Sometimes it means finding the person your audience already trusts and working through them.

And sometimes the answer is all of the above.

Good communications isn't just about building your own audience.

It's knowing when to borrow someone else's.

Media still matters

Yes, even now.

Partly because media offers something your own LinkedIn page never quite can:

someone else saying you're worth listening to.

Independent credibility matters.

Especially when the subject is trust, public interest, policy, reputation or change.

But there is an important distinction.

Sending a press release isn't the same thing as having a media strategy.

A newsroom doesn't owe you attention because you've written 600 words and added a quote from the CEO.

There has to be a story.

And preferably, it needs to appear before paragraph six.

Journalists have less time than ever. Don't make them excavate the interesting bit.

Social needs a job

Social media can be brilliant.

It can humanise an organisation.

Build familiarity.

Create conversations.

Introduce your experts.

Show what actually happens behind the logo.

But the answer isn't necessarily more.

Before starting another channel, ask:

• What is this actually here to do?

• Build awareness?

• Generate enquiries?

• Reach residents?

• Develop thought leadership?

• Recruit?

• Engage members?

• Support a campaign?

  
  

If nobody knows, that's normally a useful sign that the platform isn't the problem.

Email is not dead

Despite what someone announces on LinkedIn roughly every six months.

Email is still one of the few places where you can communicate directly with an audience that has actively allowed you into their inbox.

That's valuable.

Try not to ruin it.

The answer to low engagement isn't always sending more.

It's often being more relevant.

Better subject lines.

Better segmentation.

Better understanding of pain points.

Better judgement about what actually deserves an email.

Not every piece of internal organisational news needs to become a newsletter.

Don't underestimate the people around your audience

This is one we think communications teams could use far more.

Who already has the relationship you're trying to build?

A school?

A local charity?

A residents' association?

A trade body?

A community leader?

An employer?

A local journalist?

Sometimes it is realising that you don't have to be the messenger.

That isn't giving up control, rather it is understanding influence.

And then there's trust

AI has made creating content incredibly easy.

Which is useful.

And slightly inconvenient.

Because when everybody can create polished copy, good-looking graphics and endless commentary at speed, simply creating more isn't much of a differentiator.

Trust is.

Real people.

Real expertise.

Real evidence.

Real opinions.

Real case studies.

People who know what they're talking about and are prepared to put their name to it.

The irony of AI making content easier is that human credibility has become more valuable. We don't think that's going away.

One good idea can go a long way

One of the easiest ways to make communications exhausting is to believe every channel needs an entirely new idea.

It doesn't.

Start with something worth saying.

Then work out how it travels.

A good conversation with an expert could become:

• an article

• a media pitch

• a LinkedIn post

• a short video

• a briefing note

• an email

• a podcast discussion

• commentary for a journalist

• a useful answer on your website

  
  

Same thinking.

Different context.

That's not lazy repurposing.

That's making good ideas work harder and ensuring your audience sees the message and the content.

Measure something that matters

This is where communications reporting can get baffling and frankly a bit silly.

"We published 42 posts."

Lovely.

Did anything happen?

Outputs are useful.

But they're not the whole story.

Depending on what you're trying to achieve, success might look like:

• More people understanding an issue.

• Better engagement from members.

• More residents responding to a consultation.

• More journalists asking you for comment.

• More people finding you through search.

• Fewer complaints.

• More enquiries.

• More trust.

• More action.

The point isn't to prove the communications team was busy.

It's to understand whether communication changed something. Ideally something you were intending to change.

Before you press publish

Ask yourself six things:

• Who actually needs to hear this?

• What do they currently think?

• What do we want to change?

• Where are they likely to see it?

• Who are they likely to trust?

• How will we know if it worked?

If you can answer those properly, you're already well ahead.

The bottom line

You don't need to communicate everywhere.

You need to communicate well.

That means fewer assumptions.

Less "we've always done it this way."

Less content for content's sake.

And much more understanding of the people on the other side of it.