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Stakeholders:

This group affects or is affected by an organization's actions. These people can be external or internal to the organization.

• Primary: The customers, suppliers, employees and other affected by the economic aspects of the organization. 
• Secondary: The media, the general public, activist groups, and others affected by the actions of an organization.

Audiences:

Audiences pay attention to a particular medium of communication. Television watchers, radio listeners, and blog readers all represent types of audiences. Audiences are broken up into two types:

• Passive: These audiences receive a message from the media through unplanned encounters. The audience has no influence on the message. Television and radio are examples of passive channels.
• Active: These audiences actively seek out information to fulfill a need. In this case, the audience gets a chance to interact with the media to express their views and interests. 

Publics:

Publics are groups of people who share a common interest, usually around a particular issue. 

• Latent publics: Publics that are unaware of any issues related to the organization.
• Aware publics: Publics that are aware of an issue.
• Active publics: Publics that actively engage with the organization.

Audience Segmentation:

Understanding who the organization is trying to connect with is critical so that the organization does not waste time and resources on segments that will not help them achieve their goals. Marketers use segmentation to divide large groups of people into small, distinct groups. Segmentation allows communicators to understand audiences on a basic level and communicate with them in a way that is most likely to resonate with them.

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Tie goals to the needs of the audience in concise and effective messaging. Develop a strategy in which messages are received, understood, believed, retained, and acted upon by each audience. Of all the emails in your inbox or the hundreds of television commercials and radio advertisements you hear, what sticks out? What makes you pay attention to some and not others? It’s the “sticky” factor.

A sticky idea is an idea more likely to make a difference. We are bombarded with information on a daily basis, and the majority of it becomes white noise after a while. Cutting through the clutter is vital if your messaging is going to succeed.

In their book Made to Stick: Why Some Ideas Survive and Others Die, Chip and Dan Heath developed a framework for understanding the criteria for developing sticky ideas. They believe that if you want to spread your ideas to other people, you should work within the confines of the rules that have allowed other ideas to succeed over time. You want to invent new ideas – not create new rules.

They credit the following six key principles to compelling, or “sticky” ideas:

To summarize, here’s Chip and Dan Heath’s checklist for creating a successful idea: a Simple Unexpected Concrete Credible Emotional Story. Just remember the acronym SUCCESs.

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Once your messaging strategy is defined, turn your attention to the channels you will use to share those messages. A channel is the method of communication or interaction with which a message is sent to its intended receiver.  You need to determine which messaging channel will work best at what time and for which audience.

Oral:

Messages are often rich and easy to understand, especially because body language and voice intonation also provide meaning. They also allow for immediate feedback. 

Effective in transmitting large messages. Humans are limited in the amount of data they can absorb all at once and written information can be studied over time. Reports can include supporting data and detailed explanations. Formal business communications, such as job offer letters, contracts and budgets, proposals and quotes, should always be written.

Electronic/Multi-media:

• Television broadcasts
• Web-based social media like Facebook and Twitter
• Interactive blogs
• Public and intranet company web pages

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Branding: 

Color, shape, typography, and image are the building blocks of visual design. Through these elements, and in relation to other brands within the environment, you can create a strategic position in the minds of your audiences, thereby creating a brand identity.

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Consensus Building (Finding Common Ground):

How to Consensus Build:

Concept Testing:

Presenting Concepts to Clients:

A poor presentation can kill a good idea. To avoid this pitfall, communicators must consider the psychology behind their client’s decision-making. When presenting ideas, communicators usually have a solution they favor. Most communicators can also tell you that their favorite idea usually does not get chosen. This often has to do with how the idea was presented. Was there a core idea that provided a shorthand that allowed the client to quickly grasp the concept presented? Did the concept surprise the client? Was it credible? Was it emotive? Was there a story behind the idea?

Presenting in Context:

Communication, design, and messaging do not exist in a vacuum, but rather they exist in the context in which the design and messaging is experienced. By reviewing the options in the context of the way other projects or initiatives are communicated, reviewers can get a more realistic sense of how well the strategy or design distinguishes itself. Presenting concepts is not about comparing options but rather about simulating the introduction of new design systems. To create this effect, communicators introduce audiences to one approach and collect their feedback, then introduce another approach to a separate audience, then compare the responses of the two groups to see which resonates more strongly.

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Scheduling:

Once the strategy and tactics have been defined, the next step is to determine the delivery schedule for the various pieces of the communication strategy. Communicators need to make sure they consider two factors when defining a schedule:

1. The number of people who will be exposed to the message (reach)
2. The number of times the message will be presented to them (frequency)

From a scheduling standpoint, these two factors will tell you the type and quantity of the communication pieces you are creating, what skill sets will need to involved (e.g. editors, designers, web developers, videographers), when you’ll need to start developing them, and when you’ll need to develop them.

Once you have a sense of when and how often you need to deliver your messages, you can then start to develop a production schedule. Schedules play two key project roles:

Considerations:

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Measure Awareness:

How familiar is the audience with what you are communicating? Do they understand the purpose and any calls to action? Exposure is usually the first goal of a communications campaign along with understandability. Not only do you want people to recognize your product or offering, but it is important that they understand what the product/service does and stands for. Online surveys, both aided and unaided, provide an easy way of understanding how your service is recognized by your target audience.

Measure Acceptance:

Have attitudes or understandings changed for the better? Acceptance can be measured in several ways, but the most common approach is through a benchmark survey that compares actual outcomes against a predetermined standard.

Measure Engagement:

How involved are people? Are they sharing experiences, attitudes, and opinions? Four key areas of engagement include:

1. Involvement: Involvement data answers questions such as, “Are people able to find your site? Do people value the content on it?” This data goes beyond basic metrics.
2. Interaction: By tracking the number and frequency of indicators such as comments, downloads, posts/uploads, etc. you can determine how interested someone is and get insight into the specific areas they are interested in, allowing for customization of future communications efforts.
3. Intimacy: By tracking attitudes and opinions about your product on third-party sites or forums or online surveys, you can get a sense of how well you are meeting the needs of key stakeholders.
4. Influence: The highest level of engagement is advocacy, or the likelihood that your audience will be ambassadors for your product. One approach for measuring influence is to use a Net Promoter Score, which uses a single survey question: “How likely is it that you would recommend <insert product/brand> to a friend or colleague?” Responses are based on a scale of 1-10.

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Continuous Process Improvement:

Did you reach your goals?  Could you do something better?  No plan is ever flawless. There are always areas that can be improved upon, and chances are there’s a new area of attention that popped up during the process.  Gather the entire team together and have a brainstorming review session. Analyze whether you clearly communicated your message.  Do you need to create multiple messages for different audiences?  Was your message too heavy with details and difficult to absorb?  Review your language for clarity.  Look at your design and determine if there is whole new approach you should take or just a few tweaks needed Sometimes you learn of whole new areas that have much greater importance to your audience than you realized. Now is the time to reassess how those areas should be woven into your communications in order to reach your goal.   

Go Back to the Beginning:

Now is the time to review what you originally defined as your goals. Did you achieve each of the questions you asked? Your answers will show where improvement is needed.

Q: Why are we doing this?

Q: Who do we need to reach?

Q: How does each stakeholder’s goal differ?

Q: What do we need them to know?

Q: What do we want them to do?

Q: How will we measure success?

Q: What is the delivery date?

Q: Does the delivery coincide with an event?

Q: What are the key milestones?

The Middle:

Next, review the Who, What, Where, When, How of your strategy implementation.  Determine if there are any areas that need change or improvement. 

• WHO – Who will perform the activities?
• WHAT – What activities will be performed?
• WHERE – Where will the activities take place?
• WHEN – When and how often will activities happen?  Create milestones!
• HOW – How will you carry the activities out?

The End. Or, only the Beginning?:

Last, evaluate if your Key Performance Indicators need any revision.  Maybe you surpassed some of your goals and want to reach even further.   Perhaps there were some goals that fell short.  Was your target realistic?  Do you need to make changes to the associated activities? 

Sometimes your data tells you a new story.  Great!  Now you have a whole new goal to work towards that will lead to even greater success for the organization.

Confluence Communications Plan Template

When you add a new page on Confluence, you don’t have to start from scratch. You can use a page template. Not only do they save time, but they help maintain consistency across teams by organizing work and certain information in a uniform way, making things easy to find.

1. Choose Create from template in the Confluence header. 
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2. From the drop-down box, select the space to which you want to add the page.
3. Choose Communications Plan Template. Click Create. 
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The PM3 Communications Team recently developed a Communications Plan template on Confluence. Its creation stems from working with teams across HCQIS to develop helpful, informative and streamlined communications plans leveraging Confluence. Regardless of whether you have never developed a communications plan and you aren’t sure where to start or you are a communications guru who just needs a quick and easy template to use, we’ve got you covered. Our hope is that you can use this template to get organized in focusing your message and reaching your target audience.

Making it Personal. The bare facts and numbers are useful when it comes to creating reports and measuring financial success. However, when interacting with humans, it is vital to be able to relate to the individual on a personal level. A Persona is a fictitious character embodying a segment of real-world users of your product, website or service. It is based on information gathered via research, both qualitative and quantitative. A persona relays an individual’s driving influences and disappointments, defining the crux of who they are.

Documents

Pro #1:  Documents are great for thorough instructions and in-depth information. You still have the responsibility of crafting your message effectively, but no need to worry about a character restriction (like with most social media platforms) or file size (a common problem with videos and some digital graphics). 

Cons:

Con #1: It can be difficult to keep documents updated with the most current information. Even when you do update the original file, there could be multiple other versions (online, on a peer's computer, etc.) which will no longer be accurate.

Recommendations:

There are endless uses for and types of documents, and even more preferences for how each document should be set up. Here are just a few recommendations to help you create effective documents within the HCQIS Community:

Key Purposes

Documents are best used as codified, official records or publications. They are an important aspect of 508 Compliance, allowing you to provide properly prepared and accessible information, as the primary publication or as a 508 substitute for non-compliant communications. 

Use Templates

Types of documents used within the HCQIS Community include briefings, press releases, memos, training guides, contracts, and newsletters. To ensure consistent and thorough documents, the best practice is to create a standard template for each document. This allows new documents to mirror past versions in content, as well as format (headers, margins, font, etc.).

If you are creating a new type of document, check out the templates of related existing documents to help gather community preferences. You can also take a look at the HCQIS Writer's Toolkit, which includes Microsoft Word Style Templates and Style Guides.

Emails

Reason #2: Emails are a resource that can be revisited for information at a later date. It is convenient as a source of reference for your recipients

Email Types

Which type of email is best for your message all depends on your audience, your desired result and the scope of your message. Below we list three different types of emails that you can send and in which situations they are best suited for use.

Direct Email: This is an email sent from you to one other person or a small group of individuals. This is most effective when you are soliciting a response from the recipients.

Events & Meetings 

To schedule or not to schedule? That is the question. 

Don’t schedule if the information can simply be conveyed in:

• a short conversation
• email
• newsletter
• written report
• website

Need information or feedback from your stakeholders? Consider using a survey that takes no more than 5-10 minutes to fill out rather than a lengthy meeting.

10 Tips for a Successful Meeting:

5 Types of Meetings:

1. Problem solving meeting
2. Decision-making meeting
3. Planning meeting
4. Status reporting/information sharing meeting
5. Feedback meeting

Larger Events – Make an impact! Be memorable.

Nothing worse than sitting in an event thinking you could be using the time for something far more useful.  Don’t be guilty of holding the same type of event.  All you have is another basic PowerPoint?  Then perhaps reconsider scheduling and just send it out by email or post on a website. 

Otherwise, plan an experience that engages.  Be sure to plan way in advance for your event.  Be aware of your budget and stick to it.  Create a planning committee to help pull it off.  Look for ways to make your event interactive and entertaining.  Be bold – make a joke, include a cartoon, try something different!

Advertise your event with posters, flyers, and email broadcasts well in advance.  If you need attendees to register, give a final registration date to create a sense of urgency.  Don’t forget to follow up after the event with a thank you and a recap.

Graphics

Reason #2: They make information easily understandable 

Reason #3: They are attention-grabbing

Reason #4: They are memorable

Types Of Graphics:

Not all images and graphics are free and/or allowed to be used without purchase or prior approval. Ensure all images are of the highest quality and acquired and used properly. Remove all watermarks before use. Here are several types of graphics that you can insert into your document or use on their own.

Publications

So Many to Choose From:

Which? When? How?

Social Media

Social media quickly outgrew its "social" roots and is revolutionizing networking and access to information. Users are now available anywhere, anytime, and as a result, have become more engaged customers and consumers. CMS uses a variety of technologies and social media platforms, including Twitter and YouTube, to communicate and interact with the public. Leveraging social media as a communications channel provides CMS with an effective way to reach audiences and provide current, timely educational information.

Social Media Types:

Tailoring your social media profiles and content to your intended audience is key. Below we list several different platforms and a few tips on how to effectively utilize each one for your desired result and the scope of your message.

• Facebook
  This is a social networking site where users can post text, pictures, and/or videos. Facebook groups are a popular venue for users with similar interests to share information, articles and events.

• Twitter
  This is a micro blogging social site that limits each post to 280 characters. Twitter is ideal for quick, real-time messages to keep your audience up-to-date without overloading them with information.

• LinkedIn
  This is a business-oriented social networking site. Users connect with peers and companies to develop professional relationships. LinkedIn is also a popular platform for posting and finding jobs.

• YouTube
  This is a video-based site where users can post, share and view content. YouTube is a great place to publish videos, since they can then be shared via link to a plethora of other social media platforms and communications channels.

Please see the CMS Social Media Overview presentation for a high level overview of CMS's social media platforms, platform specific checklists, and guidance on more ways to partner with the Office of Communications to contribute content.

Tips & Tricks:

On any social media site, you can create "posts" to share with your audience and other users on that platform. Effective posts include relevant, compelling content to help you gain the interest of users and increase your number of followers (aka: audience). It is important to post content regularly to keep your audience engaged, as well as to increase the likelihood of your message being viewed and shared with others. While some organizations are hesitant to invest so much effort into maintaining an active social media presence, the fact is that customers are having conversations relevant to your industry and operations - with or without you. Get involved in the conversation, educate users, and be a leading voice in your industry!

Below are 10 useful tips for leveraging social media platforms within the government sector as an effective communications channel:

The More You Know!

Learn how to best leverage each platform with this social media comparison info-graphic from Leverage - Creative Agency.

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Videos

Videos are a very popular way to deliver information to an audience in a highly consumable way. There are several formats which you can leverage to get your message across:

Tutorial videos: These videos provide step-by-step instructions. They are also known as “how-to” videos.

Micro-Learning videos: These are short instructional videos that focus on a single, narrow topic. The shorter the better when it comes to these videos and should be less than 2-3 minutes long.

Presentation videos: These are recordings of presentations made available to an audience after the fact. We often use WebEx for this.

Screencast videos: These videos are digital video recordings of your computer screen and typically include audio narration. This is ideal for training on a new software or computer system. SnagIt can do this.

Animated Explainer Videos: These are short, animated videos that explain a concept or thing in an engaging and visual way. They are ideal for simplifying complex ideas. Animaker can do this.

The Process:

However, for the videos to actually be effective there are a few best practices that everyone should keep in mind before getting started.

STEP 1: Define Your Audience

Don’t stop there. You need to actually get to know them. This goes back to the HCD approach of knowing your audience. What does the audience care about? What is the learning objective? How will this benefit them? What do they like? Dislike? What are their expectations with an instructional video?

STEP 2: Choose Your Topic

Select a useful and relevant topic for your audience. You may think this should be #1, but you should know your audience first and tailor your topic and messaging to them. One size does not fit all!

STEP 3: Choose Your Format

Determine the best way to engage your audience based on the topic and their preferences. Consider resources, timelines, and audience expectations.

STEP 4: Outline, Script & Storyline

Organize your thoughts by mapping out what you want to say and the visuals for each scene.

STEP 5: Record Your Video

STEP 6: Review

Building time into your schedule for peer reviews is essential. An animated video with a typo in the text or a tutorial video missing an important step will not only look bad but may cause confusion.

STEP 7: Share

Confluence has a 500 MB size limit, so there shouldn’t be a problem uploading the file there. If you post to SharePoint, consider who does not have access.

Web-Based Communications

Pros:

Pro #1: Information can be more easily shared and received, even with audience numbers far exceeding past capabilities. And now, with the used of virtual desktops, VPNs, etc., users can access closed networks from remote locations.

Cons:

Con #1: While accessibility is certainly increase by web-based communications, it also introduces some new barriers, such as making information available to visually impaired viewers. Luckily, guidelines have been set in place, such as 508 Compliance, to address many of these new accessibility issues. You can find more information on 508 Compliance in the Tip Sheets and Writer Checklists sections of the HCQIS Writer's Toolkit.

Web-Based Communication Types:

Which type of web-based communications is best for your message all depends on your audience, your desired result and the scope of your message. Below we list several different types of web-based communications that you can utilize and in which situations they are best suited for use.

For More Information:

For more information on Atlassian Suite tools, please visit the QualityNet Atlassian Support Knowledgebase (QNASK) space on Confluence. This space provides Atlassian training resources and additional reference materials, as well as tips sheets and how-to articles. In addition, you can find a feed to the Atlassian Team's blog, with posts highlighting updates, best practices, and specific features for Confluence and Jira.

Other Channels 

Communication Channels:

Toolkit for Making Written Material Clear and Effective 

The  Toolkit for Making Written Material Clear and Effective is a health literacy resource from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS).  As shown below, this 11-part Toolkit provides a detailed and comprehensive set of tools to help you make written material in printed formats easier for people to read, understand, and use.

• Toolkit Part 1:   About this Toolkit and how it can help you
• Toolkit Part 2:   Using a reader-centered approach to develop and test written material
• Toolkit Part 3:   Summary List of the "Toolkit Guidelines for Writing and Design"
• Toolkit Part 4:   Understanding and using the "Toolkit Guidelines for Writing"
• Toolkit Part 5:   Understanding and using the "Toolkit Guidelines for Graphic Design"
• Toolkit Part 6:   How to collect and use feedback from readers
• Toolkit Part 7:   Using readability formulas: A cautionary note
• Toolkit Part 8:   Will your written material be on a website?
• Toolkit Part 9:   Things to know if your written material is for older adults
• Toolkit Part 10: "Before and after" example: Using this Toolkit's guidelines to revise a brochure
• Toolkit Part 11: Understanding and using the "Toolkit Guidelines for Culturally Appropriate Translation"

What do we mean by "written material"? 

Written material comes in different shapes and sizes and is used for different purposes.  Examples include brochures and pamphlets, booklets, flyers, fact sheets, posters, bookmarks, application forms, comparison charts, postcards, instruction sheets, and questionnaires.  Since reading something that's on a computer is very different from reading something in a printed format, this Toolkit covers written material on a website only in a limited way (see Toolkit Part 8, Will your written material be on a website?).

What audiences are the Toolkit guidelines geared toward?

The focus of this Toolkit is on creating written material intended for use by people eligible for or enrolled in Medicare, Medicaid, or the Children's Health Insurance Program -- and by people who serve or assist them, such as family members and friends, outreach workers, agency staff, community organizations, and care providers.  While the guidelines and advice we offer are geared to the needs of CMS audiences, most of them reflect general principles for effective communication of information that can be applied to any audience.

Are the Toolkit guidelines mandatory?

No.  CMS offers this Toolkit as practical assistance to help you make your written material clear and effective, not as requirements from CMS or as hard and fast rules that apply to every situation.

Can I save, print, reproduce, or share this Toolkit?

You may save or print all or parts of this Toolkit from your personal computer.  You are also allowed to make and distribute photocopies.  For your convenience, the complete set of files that make up the Toolkit is provided in the downloads below.

Many examples in this Toolkit are excerpts from published materials or have been adapted from published materials.  While some of the source materials are in the public domain, others are copyrighted.  If you wish to use any of the Toolkit's text excerpts, photos, or illustrations in your own work, be sure to contact the publisher of the original source material to get permission.

Toolkit Part 4: Guidelines for Writing

This page links you to the downloads for Toolkit Part 4, Understanding and using the "Toolkit Guidelines for Writing".  These guidelines apply to writing various types of material intended for use in printed formats by culturally diverse audiences that include people with low literacy skills.

Part 4 of the Toolkit consists of four chapters:

To view some or all of the chapters for Toolkit Part 4, click on the downloads listed below.  You are also allowed to save or print a copy of these downloads from your personal computer.

ToolkitPart04.pdf (PDF)

Toolkit Part 5: Guidelines for Design

This page links you to the downloads for Toolkit Part 5, Understanding and using the "Toolkit Guidelines for Graphic Design".  These guidelines apply to designing various types of written material intended for use in printed formats.

Part 5 of the Toolkit consists of eight chapters:

To view some or all of the chapters for Toolkit Part 5, click on the downloads listed below.  You are also allowed to save or print a copy of these downloads from your personal computer.

ToolkitPart05.pdf (PDF)

Toolkit Part 6: Feedback Sessions

Toolkit Part 8: Will Your Material be on the Web?

This page links to the download for Toolkit Part 8, Will your written material be on a website?  This part covers the following topics:

• Introduction
  • Background on the Toolkit
  • What is the Toolkit?
  • The Toolkit focuses on written material in printed formats.
  • What if your written material will be on a website?
• Printed material and websites -- how do they differ?
• Do the "Toolkit Guidelines for Writing and Design" apply to websites?
• Suggested resources for website writing and design
  • Resources for website writing and design
  • Studies of how older readers and people with low literacy skills use the Internet
• Are you using a website to distribute documents for users to download and print?
  • Using websites as a distribution method for material that will be printed on paper
  • Will people have the access and skills to retrieve and print the material?
  • Tips for formatting documents that are distributed on websites for use in printed material

To view Toolkit Part 8, click the download listed below.  You are also allowed to save or print a copy of this download from your personal computer.