Did you know that 60% of organizations suffer from poor corporate communication? This often leads to lower productivity and a lack of employee engagement. In fact, even senior teams can struggle to articulate their company’s strategic priorities. When asked, only 28% could list three. Ouch.
So, how do you fix this? Let’s dive into what makes a corporate communication strategy effective, what it should include, and how you can use it to align your team with your company’s goals. We’ll also walk through how to choose the right type of strategy for your needs and how to measure success along the way with an employee communications app.
A corporate communication strategy is a game plan for how your organization communicates—both internally with employees and externally with customers, stakeholders, and the media. It’s more than just putting out press releases or posting on social media platforms. A successful strategy aligns with your business objectives, ensuring that the entire company, from the frontline to leadership, is on the same page.
A strong, relevant corporate communication strategy helps you build relationships, foster employee engagement, and manage your brand’s reputation. It’s not just something for your communications or PR department—everyone in the company has a role to play. And when the whole team understands and supports the robust corporate communication strategy together, that’s when you see real results.
Your internal communication strategy is the backbone of keeping employees informed and engaged. A well-crafted strategy ensures your team knows the company’s mission, values, and how their work contributes to business objectives. This connection helps boost productivity and builds trust throughout the organization.
When you communicate effectively with employees, they feel empowered and connected. Keep your messages clear and concise, avoid business jargon, and make sure your communication efforts are consistent. The result? More motivated employees who are invested in your company’s success.
There are two main types of corporate communications strategies: internal and external communications. An external communication strategy focuses on how you communicate with customers, the media, and other external stakeholders. This could involve press releases, social media posts, or media briefings.
But the focus here is on internal corporate communications. This strategy keeps your employees in the loop, helping them understand how their roles contribute to overall company success. From regular updates and newsletters to interactive activities like employee surveys, a successful internal communication strategy is all about keeping people connected across the organization—from HQ to the frontline.
A well-structured communication strategy ensures consistency across all channels, so every message, whether shared with internal stakeholders or external stakeholders, reinforces your company’s core goals and values.
The foundation of any successful corporate communications strategy is clear, well-defined objectives. These objectives should outline exactly what your company wants to achieve through both internal and external communication. Are you aiming to improve employee engagement? Increase positive media coverage? Enhance relationships with your external audiences? The goals need to be concrete, measurable, and aligned with your business strategy.
A great successful communications strategy, however, must also be flexible. Business environments change, and so do communication needs. While the core purpose should remain consistent, your corporate communications strategy needs to evolve, allowing you to adapt to new challenges while staying true to your brand values and company culture. This balance between consistency and adaptability is what drives long-term success.
Before you can move forward, you need a clear understanding of where your organization currently stands. This is where a situational analysis comes into play. By thoroughly analyzing your internal capabilities, market position, and communication challenges, you’ll identify the gaps in your current communication strategy. Tools like SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats) and PESTLE analysis (Political, Economic, Social, Technological, Legal, and Environmental) are essential for laying the groundwork for effective corporate communications.
This analysis should include consultations with internal and external stakeholders to get a 360-degree view of your company’s communication strengths and weaknesses.
While you may already have a general idea of who your internal and external stakeholders are, taking the time to refine this understanding and develop detailed personas will allow for more effective and communication strategies. Personas help you tailor your communication efforts based on specific factors like location, job role, and preferred communication channels.
This helps you communicate effectively across diverse teams and ensures that your key messages are delivered in ways that resonate with both frontline workers and board members.
Your messaging forms the core of your corporate communication strategy. It’s how you communicate your company’s unique value and perspective, setting you apart from the competition. A strong message should be clear, consistent, and aligned with your business objectives while also addressing the needs and concerns of your target audiences.
This is how you build trust and credibility with both internal stakeholders and the public.
Choosing the right communication channels is critical to ensuring your message reaches the right people at the right time. With so many available, from social media platforms to messaging apps to email, it’s important to use the channels that your target audience prefers. A multi-channel approach is often the most effective way to reach both internal and external stakeholders. For example, you might use newsletters and internal social networks for employees and press releases or social media for the public.
A clear understanding of which channels work best for specific messages can greatly enhance the effectiveness of your corporate communications.
Planning regular communications and campaigns ensures your corporate communication strategy stays top of mind for your audiences. Use a communications matrix to map out content delivery, aligning your messages with your business goals and the needs of your target audiences. This structured approach helps maintain momentum while also highlighting special events and important announcements through targeted campaigns.
Having a content calendar in place allows you to allocate resources efficiently and keeps your communication plan on track. Consistency in your content delivery builds trust and ensures that employees and stakeholders know what to expect from your company’s communications. It also makes reporting to leadership easier, showing clear progress toward your company's goals.
Are your employees engaged? Is your external communication enhancing your brand’s reputation? Measurement tools can help answer these questions by providing data on everything from employee engagement to positive media coverage.
Continuous improvement is key. If your strategy isn’t delivering the desired results, don’t be afraid to tweak it. Measurement not only provides you with the insight to make necessary adjustments but also ensures you’re always moving closer to achieving your company’s broader objectives. Regularly gathering feedback from internal stakeholders and tracking key performance indicators will help ensure your communications strategy remains effective and dynamic.
Executed in the right way, it can hit many other targets and improvements across your organization. Many important research efforts have strengthened the belief that good corporate communication brings tangible business benefits:
Productivity - McKinsey reports that an organization with connected employees will be 20-25% more productive.
Retention - LinkedIn examined 32 millions accounts and found a ‘retention curve'. Alongside internal job moves and good management, one of the top 3 factors in retention was the empowerment of employees through information.
Performance - Think Tank and CMSWire found that organizations that invested in a solid corporate communication strategy were 3.5 times more likely to outperform their competition.
Messaging control - Unlike external coverage, you have complete control over your internal communications and can ensure that the content is 100% accurate every time.
We live in a world where information and communication are immediate and accessible to all; that is precisely why every company and organization needs a coherent strategy in place. It should be a living document that provides clarity and purpose but can also support change and withstand turbulence.
Try to bring your communications strategy up to date by focusing less on faceless corporate messaging and more on the activities and thoughts of staff and co-workers who we might not have heard from in the past.
Decide what success looks like, then monitor and evaluate constantly. If things aren't going in the right direction, be brave enough to change course and try something new.
We've prepared a content strategy template for corporate communication, available here. It gives you a jumpstart when you begin to develop your internal social network strategy, ensuring that you consider all of the elements that will make it a success. Or, if you already have a plan in mind, book a free demo of our employee communications app to drive measurable results!