Why internal comms needs its own strategy  

Internal comms was often seen as the poor relation of PR and marketing. A few all-staff emails. A slide on the intranet. Maybe a quarterly town hall if people were lucky. But today? That won’t cut it. 

When internal comms is weak, teams drift, culture slips and strategy gets lost in translation. When it’s strong, everything else runs better. People understand what’s happening, where they fit and why it matters. Energy builds. Alignment sticks. 

It’s not fluff. It’s fuel. And it needs its own budget and strategy now. 

What an internal communications strategy looks like 

A proper internal comms strategy isn’t just a calendar of updates. It’s a plan that connects people with purpose and leaders with trust. Here’s a simple internal communications strategy example you can adapt. 

1. Start with objectives 

Link internal comms directly to business goals. Are you driving culture change? Embedding new values? Supporting a restructure? Be specific. 

2. Map your audiences 

Employees aren’t a single group. New starters, managers, frontline staff and leadership teams all need different levels of detail, tone and frequency. 

3. Choose the right channels 

Don’t rely on one all-staff email. Mix it up – leadership videos, team huddles, digital toolkits, intranet articles, Slack or Teams messages. Use the right format for the right message. 

4. Plan your messages 

Structure matters. An example internal communications plan might include:

• Change updates: what’s happening, why and how it affects people 
• Culture campaigns: values, behaviours, recognition moments
• Everyday clarity: updates that keep the wheels turning without noise

5. Evidence and measure 

Build in metrics – engagement rates, survey scores, retention data, intranet analytics. What gets measured gets improved. 

Best practice in action 

Here’s a sample internal communications plan to show how it comes together: 

Objective: Increase alignment with new strategy 

Audience: All staff, with specific focus on line managers as key messengers 

Channels: CEO video, branded slide deck for managers, weekly intranet Q&A, fortnightly email digest 

Key messages: Strategy in simple language, three priorities, what it means for each team 

Measurement: Pulse surveys, Q&A participation, line manager feedback 

Common mistakes to avoid 

• Overloading people – too many messages, no prioritisation 

• Copy-paste jargon – corporate speak no one believes or remembers 

• Leadership silence – leaving a vacuum that gets filled by rumour 

• One-size-fits-all – treating every employee as the same 

Why marketing managers should care 

Internal comms isn’t HR admin. It’s brand, culture and strategy brought to life inside the business. And when it’s neglected, it shows up outside too – in customer experience, employer brand and even financial performance. 

A strong internal comms plan template gives you control, consistency and credibility. Done well, it creates alignment you can’t buy with any external campaign. 

The point 

Internal comms isn’t about noise. It’s about clarity, consistency and connection. For marketing managers, that means treating it with the same seriousness as customer comms: with a strategy, a budget and a plan to measure impact. 

Because if your people don’t get it, no one else will.