Frequently asked questions & additional resources

Welcome to Frequently Asked Questions about Impact Communication! Here you’ll find answers to the most common questions that entrepreneurs have about communicating their impact as well as links to additional resources.

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What does impact communication mean?

It means telling the world about the change you’ve made and are still making! It’s about sharing your latest products and innovations, but also sharing your impact in the form of numbers or stories.

Why do I need a communication strategy – or communications altogether?

Communication is important in many ways. It allows you to acquire new clients, to nurture the relationship with existing ones, as well as to convince investors that you’re capable of making a change. Communication is also an efficient way to educate the general public about your cause.

A communication strategy is a tool that allows you to decide who you are talking to, which are your key channels and what is your core message. It helps you and your team focus your efforts on where it matters the most – and give you more time to work on your actual business.

Part 2 of Easy Impact Communication shows you how to create a communication plan for your business.

Which channels should I use to communicate?

These decisions are based on your target group, your core message and your most important stakeholders. Review part 2 to get more clear on your goals and platforms.

Helpful resources on the blog:

How to choose your social media channels?

How to choose the right platform?

Communication takes so much time – I just can’t do it right now!

Believe me, many of your fellow entrepreneurs feel the same way! The first step is to take time to establish the strategy. It takes a while in the beginning but you’ll end up saving more time down the road.

It’s also important to really narrow down your channels in the beginning and be realistic about the publication frequency that you can keep up in the long term. Start small and let yourself grow. It’s better to publish content consistently on one channel once a week than blast 10 messages one week and then go silent for another month.

You’ll also want to make sure that you’ve chosen the channels that really enhance your business and not just consume your team’s valuable time.

Helpful resources on the blog:

Why you need a newsletter and how to start it (the easy way)

My team doesn’t have resources for an impact report, yet our financers ask for one. What to do?

I agree with your investors! You should create an impact report, starting on your first year. But it doesn’t need to be complicated! The simplest way to respond to the demand is to gather content that you already have, such as graphs, infographics, and client testimonials, and maybe add a letter from the founder and a short interview with a supporter or investor.

Part 5 of the series walks you through the process.

I don’t have any data or numbers. What could I communicate then?

First of all, are you sure you have absolutely no numeric data? No customer satisfaction scores, number of clients, a list of countries where your product is sold? Usually everyone has something. Start with what you have and expand your data bank as you go.

At the same time, it’s smart to set up systems or processes that allow you to gather numeric data every step of the way. Set up automated customer satisfaction forms or check up with your best customers every quarter or every six months.

If you aren’t so strong on data, how about customers’ stories? Customer testimonials? Sometimes a story conveys your message better than any number ever could.

For more details, go back to lesson 3.

Actually, I do have customer testimonials but how can I turn them into stories?

Customer testimonials are often stories in and of themselves. Make sure they reflect the situation in the beginning, before interaction with you, and the end result: how your company changed your client’s life.

If you want to learn more about storytelling, you can go back to part 4 of the series.

Helpful resources on the blog:

Tell your story through your About Me page

My team is small and we really struggle with consistent content creation. Which are the best tricks to get content created quickly?

Once you’ve really determined your key channels and publication frequency, pay attention to repurposing your content. It means taking one piece of content, let’s say a blog post, and using that information to create social media posts, for example.

It’s also important to really be mindful about your content creation process. Take time for planning and block working sessions to create a lot of content at once. It’s especially important when you don’t have a dedicated communications person and whoever is in charge also has other responsibilities on their plate.