How do I create a good communication plan?

In this article you will find tips on how to set up a good communication plan.

1. Planning phase:

• Create excitement around the Ducky Challenge and give information about why you are doing it, what it is and who can participate. Involve committed people who can become ambassadors and promote the challenge. It is recommended to create a simple content plan for different communication channels, based on their focus and main message.
• Connect the story of the Ducky Challenge to your sustainability strategy.
• Communicate to your participants why your organization is doing this, why you see this as important for you, and that the participants are a key for reaching this.
• The story should be as simple as possible, so that it’s easy for anyone to retell to other people in the organization. Then it’s easier to get more people to participate.

Communication channels:

• Use your natural channel for internal communication (Slack, Yammer, etc.)
• If you have a Snapchat or Instagram channel, this can be a low threshold way for participants to share their activities throughout the challenge.
• Host a kick-off.

2. During the challenge:

Internally

It is important to keep your employees participating in the challenge regularly updated on how things are going, and reminded that they must register activities. Perhaps encourage a joint registration every day at 12:00?

Make sure to take picture of happenings, people and other things as the challenge is running and post it as it is "fresh". Showing people being engaged is making others more engaged. An example can be to make "a daily tips for saving the climate", asking a participant to share what they do to live more sustainable and why they do it. Choose participants with different backgrounds, variety in age and gender etc. The more people can relate to, the more they will experience sustainability and environment as something normal. Check out how IKEA created engagement here.

Externally

Give participants ownership and let them showcase their sustainable efforts. Stories and photos of engaged participants are ideal content. Use # with the name of your Ducky Challenge and share your journey with Ducky and the organization and/or organizer by tagging us in your posts!

Concrete content tips to create engagement:

• Give participants ownership by letting them take over your social media account for a day and let them tell their stories, post events or share creative content like video and podcasts.
• Statistics and updated results at team level
• Reinforcing effect – all the sustainable things the organization and employees do in addition to the challenge
• New and creative ideas from the participants
• Organize events related to the challenge you are participating in
• Links to local news articles with relevant content or that even cover the challenge.
• Contact your local media agency and let them know about your participation in the challenge and how your organization is on the journey towards sustainability.

3. After the Ducky Challenge:

Allow the participants to see and understand the results. What did you achieve together and how will you communicate the results? Communication can be linked to a ceremony, statistics or visualization, or to predetermined actions that the organization has committed to when internal climate goals have been achieved.