The Christmas break is one of the few times in the year many people get to spend thinking. Thinking about the year gone, our accomplishments and where we could have done better. Then January comes and we’re full of resolutions and plans to make sure we actually do things better this year.

So, here are a couple of simple tips on how to create a good communication plan for 2007.

1. Conduct some research.
I don’t necessarily mean hire an expensive consultancy. Survey employees, review your press clippings, talk to your stakeholders and have a look at your competition, so you can understand the situation right now and set some benchmarks. At the end of the year, you should be able to measure improvement against this starting point.

2. Identify your publics.
It’s not just about who you need to communicate your message to. Post Cluetrain, you need to think about communicating with your audiences.

3. What do you want to say?
What should people know about you, your product or service? What makes your offering different, or worth spending money on? Why should people want to work for you? Why should a community feel good about your presence in their area? [I bold the people, because that’s who you will be talking with, not “target markets” or “segments”, or whatever we learned in Marketing class!]

Once you’ve decided on your messaging, it’s always good to bear the “Who? What? When? Where? Why? and How?” rule in mind. Answer those questions in your communications and you’ll be giving people what they want to know.

4. The tools maketh the plan
Considering the Cluetrain assertion that “Markets are conversations”, what are the best Communication tools for you to get that conversation going about your product or service? They can range from the traditional: brochures, annual report,
press releases, whitepapers to online options such as: Website, blogs, an online forum, wikipedia or viral campaigns.

5. Set yourself some target dates
What will you achieve by when? I like to use Red, Amber, Green charts, to highlight the tasks which are 1. Not yet started, 2. Begun but not finished and 3 Completed.

If you need to get a Communication plan up and running for 2007, I hope these tips help get you started! Good luck.