Developing a communications strategy
Developing a communications strategy to support the embedding of your DESMOND service
What is a communications strategy and why is it important?
A ‘communications strategy’ or plan is a document designed to aid an organisation in being clear about what they want to communicate, to whom, by what means, and for what objective. This helps ensure that a standard is set and controls are in place to provide a consistent message throughout, from everyone involved in the work.
What to include in your communications strategy
There are many different approaches to developing a communications strategy, and described below is just one way that you may do this. This includes a description of all the key considerations that should aid in the development of a thorough, effective communications strategy to help successfully embed your DESMOND service.
You may first want to make contact with your Trust or local CCG communication teams, as they will have a wealth of experience in developing strategies for other healthcare services.
Key considerations for a communications strategy
Objectives – What is it that you are hoping to achieve from putting this communications strategy in place? Objective(s) agreed upon need to be actionable and specific
Budgeting – The available budget needs to be clear from the beginning of the process; this provides the rationale for decision-making
Messages and receipt – It is good practice to decide on up to three clear messages that can maximise impact, can be constant and repeated throughout all communication, and that are supported by consistent imagery and narrative. You should also consider in advance what the audience will do on receipt of these messages and the behaviours that you would expect to see from your audience as a result
Who is your audience? – Be clear up front about who your intended audiences are; these may be internal and/or external to your organisation; they may be on different levels and have different expectations or understanding. Consider what are the best ways and means to target each audience group to achieve your objectives
Choosing your channels – There are many different communication tools and activities that you can choose from. Take the time to consider all your options, remembering to tailor to time, money and staff availability
Define timescales – Defining your timelines for all stages of the strategy can be really helpful to ensure that legitimate levels of expectation are set and can be achieved
Measuring your strategy – Auditing can help in assessing the effectiveness of all elements of your communications strategy. It is good practice for this to be carried out at regular intervals by someone independent of the communications strategy’s development and implementation. Any findings need to then be carefully considered and should be shared with all stakeholders, before amending and adapting the strategy
Ideas for your campaign
De-stigmatising diabetes – Preliminary investigations show that often diabetes has a stigma attached to it, and the more focus that is put on de-stigmatising it across the whole community, the more it will impact on everyone’s general awareness of the complexities involved. This, in turn, will help people at risk of, or with diabetes to feel more supported to make changes
Liaising with local charities and professional bodies – Link up with and include people from local diabetes charities, as well as associated professional bodies
Information/marketing materials – If you are delivering a national diabetes programme, then their central office will be able to help you with some programme-specific information/marketing material.