Communications Plans

 
 

Crisis communications

Challenges

  • Impacting patient care (pandemic, facilities, weather, personnel)

  • Data breach

  • Financial issues

  • Leadership resignations

Process

  1. Preparation - Develop procedures and goals (maintain trust, reduce misinformation, keep messaging consistent across channels), identify the crisis response team, identify crisis severity levels

  2. Activation procedure - Notify team, confirm facts, designate spokesperson, pause social media, prepare holding statement

  3. Stakeholder communication plan

    • Messaging: acknowledge, empathize, inform, act, updates

    • Channels: email, social media, website, phone, talking points

    • Stakeholders: 1.) Internal - Faculty, staff, students, leadership 2.) External - Patients, alumni 3.) Media

  4. Approval from crisis response team

  5. Monitor - Feedback loops to correct misinformation, answer FAQs, escalate threats

  6. Ongoing - Manage updates, create talking points for leadership

  7. Review - Timeline, any issues or gaps in communications

initiatives

Example: Innovative learning technology with opening of simulation lab and digital dentistry

Developing stakeholder communication plan

Objectives and Messaging

  1. Current students - cutting-edge learning experience will make them more marketable; ambassadors

  2. Faculty - will impact student growth and their own growth; get involved

  3. Prospective students - leader in cutting-edge technology; apply

  4. Prospective faculty - leader in cutting-edge technology; join us

  5. Alumni - proactively keeping our reputation for being a national leader in dental education; ambassadors

  6. Donors - be part of the future of dentistry; donate

  7. Community - training to offer a better patient experience and improve quality of rural health care

  8. Government - national leader in learning technology; support

Campaign Materials

  1. Video campaign - student and faculty success stories

  2. Written stories - student and faculty success stories

  3. Social campaign - video clips

  4. Media - news segment featuring students

Main Channels

  1. Current students - social media

  2. Faculty - newsletters

  3. Prospective students - social media

  4. Prospective faculty - social media

  5. Alumni - newsletters

  6. Donors - newsletters

  7. Community - media campaign

  8. Government - events

Media Inquiries

Proactive Planning

  • Anticipate the types of media questions UNL might receive

  • Develop messaging, talking points, or Q&A documents in advance

  • Ensure responses align with UNL’s brand, reputation, and values

Response Protocols

  • Determine who responds to specific inquiries - communications, subject matter experts, leadership

  • Set timelines for responses so media requests are answered quickly

  • Coordinate to verify facts before publication

Monitoring & Evaluation

  • Tracking media inquiries to identify trends or areas needing better communication

  • Adjusting messaging strategies based on what works or doesn’t in past responses

Social Media - complex topics

Trigger: To promote research in general or a journal article

  • Promote inspiration with researcher quote featuring impact and background story

  • Promote touching with quote from person benefitting from research

  • Promote curiosity with fun fact or myth buster

  • Promote exclusivity with behind-the-scenes images

Subject Matter Experts

Set Expectations Up Front

  • Describe the goal of the publication, the purpose of the story, and how it will be used

  • Describe the audience and key things the audience will care about

  • Share example questions; remind them to highlight most important takeaways to avoid going into small details

  • Remind them they will be sent drafts and asked for focused feedback; remind them to read drafts with the lens of the audience

Build Long-Term Relationships

  • Want them to feel respected, appreciated, and understood.

  • Share successes such as reach, engagement, positive feedback