Elevate Your Communications Strategy: Best Practices for Content Planning
Content planning connects organizational goals, audiences, owners, channels, timing, and review processes. A documented strategy helps communicators publish consistent messages while leaving room for urgent or local needs.
Key Benefits
This article provides the following benefits:
- Clear accountability: Use defined owners and milestones for creation, approval, publishing, and measurement.
- Better channel balance: Plan how messages should differ across digital signage and the Employee Experience.
- Timely publishing: Use schedules, frequency controls, and review dates to keep content relevant.
What This Guide Covers
This guide covers the following topics:
- Defining goals and audiences
- Choosing categories and channels
- Creating a RACI and editorial calendar
- Using frequency restrictions
- Leaving capacity for urgent communications
- Reviewing performance
Prerequisites
Before you begin, confirm the following requirements:
- Communication objectives: Identify the business outcomes the program should support.
- Stakeholder owners: Assign representatives for communications, local sites, subject matter experts, approvers, and platform administration.
- Channel inventory: List the digital signage and Employee Experience destinations available to the organization.
- Governance model: Define approvals, service expectations, emergency processes, and update responsibilities.
Build the Communication Strategy
Define Goals, Audiences, and Mediums
- Goal: What should the communication change or reinforce?
- Audience: Who needs the message, and what is their work context?
- Medium: Should it appear on digital signage, the Employee Experience, or both?
- Action: What should the audience know, feel, or do?
- Measurement: How will the team know the communication was useful?
When the same message appears on signage and the Employee Experience, adapt it to each medium rather than copying the same amount of detail. Signage should carry the essential point; employee content can provide depth and interaction.
Choose Content Categories
Use an Approved Taxonomy
Align categories with the organization’s communication model and current Appspace guidance. Common categories include Culture & Values, Safety & Compliance, Productivity & Engagement, Goals & Performance, and location-specific communications.
| Customization: Categories are a planning tool, not a required Appspace taxonomy. Document any custom categories so creators use them consistently. |
Define Responsibilities
Create a RACI
| Activity | Responsible | Accountable | Consulted | Informed |
| Content request | Requester or communicator | Communication owner | Subject matter expert | Affected stakeholders |
| Drafting and design | Content creator | Campaign owner | Brand and accessibility reviewers | Local Publishers |
| Approval | Approver | Communication owner | Legal, HR, Safety, or IT as needed | Content creator |
| Publishing | Publisher | Channel owner | Location stakeholders | Audience owners |
| Measurement and retirement | Analyst or owner | Communication owner | Publisher and subject matter expert | Stakeholders |
Adjust the model to the organization’s operating structure and record milestones in the editorial calendar.
Create the Content Calendar
Plan in Advance
- Known events: Holidays, observances, training, town halls, benefits periods, and planned operational changes.
- Creation milestones: Draft, design, review, approval, localization, scheduling, and retirement.
- Channel placement: The exact signage channel, employee destination, location, or audience.
- Content owner: The person responsible for accuracy and timely updates.
- Review date: A date to confirm the content is still current.
Use the Content Schedule Calendar or Signage Content Calendar where it is available and enabled in the organization’s Appspace environment.
Use Frequency Restrictions
Control Repetition
- Exactly: Play the item a defined number of times per minute, hour, or day where supported.
- At Most: Limit the item to a maximum number of plays in the selected period.
- Every X Loops: Play the item after a defined number of playlist loops.
- Airtime Percentage: Allocate a portion of total airtime to the item where supported.
Use frequency settings to increase the visibility of urgent or important information while preventing less important items from dominating the loop.
Leave Room for Urgent Communications
Reserve Capacity
Do not schedule every available content slot. Maintain an approved process for safety alerts, weather disruptions, schedule changes, and other immediate communications.
- Define authority: Document who can request, approve, and publish urgent messages.
- Prepare templates: Create approved alert templates in advance.
- Choose destinations: Identify the channels, devices, or employee audiences used for each alert level.
- Retire promptly: Remove or replace the message when the event is resolved.
Review and Improve
Monthly or Quarterly Review
1. Review upcoming and expired content.
2. Compare the mix across categories, audiences, and locations.
3. Confirm that owners and approval dates are current.
4. Review engagement or operational feedback where available.
5. Adjust frequency, duration, and channel placement.
6. Contact your organization’s designated Appspace support or success team when strategic or technical assistance is needed.
| Feature availability: Calendar labels and capabilities can vary by release and account configuration. |