Each resource explores a piece of the communication plan structure in detail.
A communication strategy is the action plan used to achieve goals and objectives. It is built after conducting research, identifying publics and stakeholders, understanding what motivates them and tying these elements to command objectives. Build a Strategy that Holds Up breaks down strategy creation into a formula so you can craft effective strategies tailored to specific audiences and outline the message, channels and desired actions.
A communication plan should be clear, concise and cohesive, and consists of three main phases: research, action planning and evaluation. Research includes background information, situational analysis and identifying problems or opportunities. Action planning focuses on goals, objectives, publics, messages, strategies, tactics, calendars and budgets. The evaluation phase measures performance using data and analytics to determine whether objectives were met and to guide future adjustments. Building a Communication Plan: Every Piece Matters walks you through constructing an effective communication plan by fitting together each of these elements.
Communication Planning as a Process introduces RPIE — the official DINFOS communication planning framework. It explains how research, planning, implementation and evaluation support effective communication and military planning processes.
Objectives are the measurable steps used to achieve a communication plan goal. Effective objectives follow criteria that are specific, measurable, achievable, relevant and time-bound, or SMART, and guide strategies, messages and tactics while measuring progress and success. Explore Communication Planning Using SMART Objectives to define the end state in advance by establishing clear, measurable objectives.
Themes, messages and talking points work together to support communication strategies and objectives. Themes are broad, unifying ideas, messages provide tailored and memorable information for specific audiences, and talking points offer factual support for those messages. Support Your Strategy With Themes, Messages and Talking Points shows how effective communication should align with goals by using audience-focused language, remaining simple and relevant and encouraging the desired action or behavior change.
A communication goal is a one-sentence, positive statement that reframes a problem or opportunity into a broad solution aligned with command priorities. Once research has concluded, it guides objectives, strategies and tactics, and should avoid action-focused or promotional terms. These goals should instead focus on constructive, mission-relevant outcomes. Take a look at Writing Goals that Solve the Problem to see how to draft a goal for various scenarios, like campaigns, social media posts, missions, exercises or during crisis response.
Tactics are the specific actions, tools and resources used to carry out a communication strategy. Writing Quality Tactics guides you through writing tactics that align with and support the overall strategy. While strategies define the overall plan, tactics are the concrete, actionable and measurable steps that support the strategy and drive desired changes in audience knowledge, attitudes or behavior.
Effective communication depends on understanding your audience, including who they are, what motivates them, how they communicate and how they affect your organization. Understanding Your Audience 101 will facilitate identifying and prioritizing stakeholders and publics, tailoring messages to different groups and choosing the most effective communication channels to achieve communication goals.
Together, these resources provide a clear path for creating a comprehensive communication plan.