Elements in Corporate Communications
Corporate communication is more than just the marketing that your organization puts out to gain clients or customers. The scope of corporate communication includes internal communications, public relations, social media, customer communications and investor relations. When combined, these elements of corporate communication strengthen your company’s brand and presence in the marketplace.
When it comes to corporate communication, how you communicate with your employees internally is just as important as the image you portray to the public. That’s why a strong corporate communication plan should include the following elements:
- Employee communications, including policies and procedures, events, team-building activities and newsletters
- Public relations, such as press releases, sponsorships, community outreach and crisis management
- Internet marketing, including social media, company websites, online advertising and apps
- Customer communications, which encompasses sales and marketing directly to potential clients and customers
- Investor relations, which keep shareholders and other investors regularly informed on the status and progress of the company
All of these elements of corporate communication should be integrated to ensure that the messaging, goals and target audience are streamlined and consistent. Establishing a good corporate communication plan requires a set plan for each discrete element.
Setting and executing a solid corporate communication plan keeps your company on track to meet its goals. It also has a lot of other benefits that enhance your company.
The importance of corporate communication includes:
- Establishing a strong company brand that is recognizable through all corporate communication
- Ensuring that all employees from the top down know how to communicate that brand and feel comfortable doing so
- Building brand trust both inside and outside the organization
- Creating open channels of communication that allow for feedback, criticism and positive reinforcement
- Engaging with customers and clients and providing them a voice as well as a look into your company
- Enhancing transparency with employees, shareholders and the public
- Keeping your staff on track with goals and company messaging
When you make the importance of corporate communication a priority at your company, you will have an easier time developing a strategy that everyone gets behind and follows.
When it comes time to create a corporate communication strategy, it’s vital that you take the time to do it right. Rather than just throwing together a bunch of good marketing ideas you have and executing them as you go, you should actually take the time to strategize what makes sense for your company.
When creating a strategy that includes the elements of corporate communication, you want to make sure the strategy is specific to your company. The elements of corporate communication for one company may look different from that of another. For example, a company that sells products at retail stores is likely to have a different strategy than that of an aesthetic services center that wants to draw in clients.
For each component of your communication strategy, you should plan for the year. You should set targets, deadlines and realistic goals that you hope to meet both quarterly and annually. All department heads involved in each aspect of your corporate communications should be involved to represent their respective departments, such as the communications director, human resources director, internet marketing director and investor relations manager.
The scope of your corporate communication plan should be tailored to your company’s specific needs and realistic targets. If the scope of your corporate communication plan is too broad and unrealistic, it may be impossible to achieve.
It’s also a good idea to check in throughout the year to see if your targets are being met and if you need to make any changes to your corporate communication strategy.