Memorable branding, digital advocacy, stakeholder engagement, and relationship-building have one thing in common: they’re all reliant on effective communications for success. Creating and implementing a successful communications strategy can be a real challenge — which is where an external comms agency comes into play.
But what should you expect from a good communications agency? What will they help you achieve, and what will they need from you to make it happen? Whether you’re considering hiring an agency for the first time or still trying to nail down the perfect partnership, here’s what you can expect a good strategic communications partner to do for you.
A reliable strategic communications agency is built around a team of in-house experts bringing a wealth of industry knowledge and specialised skills to the table. Expect to receive detailed insights into which communications channels to use, how to frame your message, which people to target — from broad demographics to specific individuals — and the trends governing your policy area.
Any communications agency worth working with will collaborate closely with you to understand your goals and deliver a comprehensive strategic plan designed to ensure you achieve them. A well-crafted strategic communications plan will cover:
The strategies you receive should serve your organisation long after your current campaign has concluded. In this way, working with an agency on just a single project can help you navigate challenges, identify opportunities, and stay ahead of the competition for years to come.
Brand positioning is the art of sculpting the way people perceive and think about your organisation. Your agency partner will identify your unique value propositions and key differentiators — the things that set you apart from competitors and make you special — and craft those into a comprehensive brand positioning strategy that aligns with your goals and appeals to your target audience
Your brand positioning strategy will cover your brand’s key messages, tone and voice, personality, and values. All touchpoints between you and your audience will channel your brand, reinforcing its consistency and strengthening it in the minds of the people interacting with you.
Media relations, content marketing, social media, and other channels will amplify your brand presence and generate positive brand associations: connections your audience makes between you and an emotion, interest, experience, and so on.
Strategic storytelling will portray your organisation as a leader, building trust and credibility with stakeholders and policymakers. With the expert hand of a comms agency at the helm, you can control your organisation’s position in your sector, differentiate yourself from competitors, and maintain a magnetic brand identity.
A successful communications strategy revolves around great content. As part of your communications plan, your agency partner should propose and execute a thorough multi-channel content plan spanning the duration of your campaign.
This content can come in many forms. A good comms agency will leverage their deep understanding of digital marketing channels to optimise your online presence and maximise your visibility via effective SEO strategies, social media campaigns, email marketing, and paid advertising.
Depending on the nature of your campaign and audience, your comms agency may suggest any combination of the following:
By blending creative inspiration with data-driven insights, the agency’s team will ensure your content is relevant to your target audience, grabs the attention of key stakeholders, bolsters your brand positioning, and fulfils your organisation’s objectives.
Sometimes, the best way to reach your audience is with a direct, in-person connection — such as an event or installation that gets people excited about your organisation’s mission and goals. Expect your strategic communications agency to support your event throughout its lifecycle:
Expert-tier event management will transform your event into a powerful platform for engagement, fostering meaningful connections between your organisation and its stakeholders.
There’s no better way to gauge the success of your campaign than with quantifiable proof. An agency worth their salt — and confident in their promises — will provide you with robust data to assess the results and equip you to make data-driven decisions about what to do next.
Your strategic communications agency should give you regular reports on your campaign’s key performance indicators (KPIs), including media mentions, website traffic, social media engagement, and more. You’ll gain a clear understanding of your impact, identify areas for improvement, and arm yourself with data to determine the next steps.
A fruitful relationship with a comms agency is a two-way street. Just as you’ll have expectations for your strategic communications agency, they’ll also need certain things from you. You’ll enjoy optimal results when you’re prepared to meet your agency on the following terms:
You’re hiring an expert team to tell your story to the people who need to hear it. Trust their experience and knowledge, then give them space to leverage their process and get the job done.
Align all key stakeholders within your organisation on your mission, vision, goals, and objectives before bringing an agency on board. Define your KPIs and make sure your agency knows what you expect them to deliver. The clearer the brief you can give to your agency, the more focused they’ll be when executing it.
A good agency partner should feel like an extension of your team. Remember that you’re working together towards a common goal: telling your story in the best way possible. Your agency wants the best outcome for you, because they want to ensure that you become a satisfied client.
The more information your agency has, the better equipped they’ll be to deliver top-quality work. Keep your agency appraised regarding any changes in your project or organisation, especially if they’ll directly affect the work the agency is doing for you.
You and your agency are a team on your quest for storytelling success. The more engaged you are — making your team available for meetings, responding quickly to requests for information, approving proposals in a timely manner — the smoother your relationship will function.
It can be tempting to aggrandise or reach past provable claims to more sensational ones, but your audience will know when you’re being less than truthful. Your agency needs to know the good, the bad, and the ugly of your business so they can present your organisation in the best possible light while also remaining accountable.
A good strategic communications agency should feel like an equal partner in the crafting and telling of your story — crystallising your narrative, identifying the people who need to hear it, and making sure that they do. With expert insights fueling their creative ideas, your agency partner will elevate your presence and promote your brand with a comprehensive comms strategy that delivers tangible, quantifiable results.
Ready to talk about your next communications project? We can’t wait to hear from you — get in touch today.