How does your industry's strategic communication stay current?

1 Know your goals and audiences

The first step to staying current in strategic communication is to have a clear understanding of your goals and audiences. What are you trying to achieve with your communication? Who are you trying to reach and influence? How do they perceive and respond to your messages? These questions will help you define your communication objectives, strategies and tactics, as well as measure your results and impact. Knowing your goals and audiences will also help you tailor your messages to their needs, preferences and expectations, and avoid irrelevant or outdated content.

2 Monitor the environment

The second step to staying current in strategic communication is to monitor the environment in which you operate. This means keeping an eye on the social, political, economic, technological and cultural factors that affect your industry and your audiences. How are these factors changing and evolving? How are they impacting your communication opportunities and challenges? How are they influencing your competitors and peers? Monitoring the environment will help you identify and anticipate trends, issues and risks, as well as opportunities and best practices, that can inform and improve your communication.

3 Embrace innovation and creativity

The third step to staying current in strategic communication is to embrace innovation and creativity. This means being open to new ideas, tools and methods that can enhance your communication effectiveness and efficiency. How can you use digital platforms, social media, multimedia, storytelling, gamification, data visualization and other techniques to engage and persuade your audiences? How can you experiment with different formats, styles and tones to convey your messages? How can you leverage your unique strengths, values and personality to differentiate yourself from others? Embracing innovation and creativity will help you stand out and stay ahead in the crowded and noisy communication landscape.

4 Seek feedback and learning

The fourth step to staying current in strategic communication is to seek feedback and learning. This means being willing to listen to and learn from your audiences, your colleagues, your mentors and your peers. How do they perceive and evaluate your communication? What do they like and dislike about it? What do they suggest and recommend for improvement? How do they cope with and overcome communication challenges? Seeking feedback and learning will help you assess and improve your communication performance and quality, as well as build trust and relationships with your communication partners.

5 Adapt and evolve

The fifth step to staying current in strategic communication is to adapt and evolve. This means being flexible and responsive to the changing needs, expectations and preferences of your audiences and the environment. How can you adjust and refine your communication goals, strategies and tactics based on the feedback and learning you receive? How can you update and refresh your communication content and style based on the trends and issues you monitor? How can you innovate and create new communication solutions based on the opportunities and best practices you embrace? Adapting and evolving will help you maintain and enhance your communication relevance, credibility and influence.

6 Celebrate and share

The sixth and final step to staying current in strategic communication is to celebrate and share. This means being proud and grateful for your communication achievements and successes, as well as acknowledging and appreciating the contributions and support of others. How can you recognize and reward yourself and your team for your communication efforts and outcomes? How can you showcase and communicate your communication value and impact to your stakeholders and the public? How can you inspire and motivate others to join and support your communication vision and mission? Celebrating and sharing will help you sustain and grow your communication passion and purpose.

7 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?