Strategic communications is about reaching the right audience with the right message, says Knight Foundation’s communications director Anusha Alikhan. When done well, it successfully advances the goals of an organization.
It also takes into account any potential challenges and opportunities. Alikhan says that successful communications plans adhere to three basic tenets: “First, be consistent. Second, know your audience. Third, always measure your impact.”
We recently talked with Alikhan to get her advice on how nonprofits and startups can create targeted messages and how they can avoid common stumbling blocks. She also shares how growing up as the daughter of a diplomat helped shape her own view of diverse communities.