Course outline for
Communications for Small Business Owners

How to Use This Guide

Session One: Course Overview

Session Two: Key Communication Components

What Communication Is All About

Pre-Assignment Review

Session Three: The Building Blocks

Business and Marketing Strategy

Public Relations Plan

Working on the Plan

Elevator Pitch and Executive Summary

Developing Your Pitch

Practice Makes Perfect

Session Four: Your Communications Plan

Introduction

Selecting Your Communications Destination

Choosing a Communications Route

Making Connections

Establishing a Communications Vehicle

Developing an Approval Process

Inbound vs. Outbound: How Can We Help You?

Session Five: The Five C’s of a Successful Message

Be Clear

Be Concise

Be Complete

Be Correct

Be Compelling

Session Six: Communication Strategies

Setting a Goal for Each Communications Piece

Strengthening Your Core Message

Session Seven: Sharing Information Through Media Releases

Key Pieces of the Media Release

Drafting Your Message

Getting Into It

Session Eight: Communicating Online

Blogging Tips and Tricks

Making Connections

Connecting Through Social Media

Social Media Plan Worksheet

Session Nine: Using Stories to Communicate

The Importance of Story

Tell Me A Story

Session Ten: Polishers and Time Savers

Communication Fact Sheets

Getting It Together

Reduce, Re-Use, and Recycle

Session Eleven: Enhancing Your Results

Search Engine Optimization (SEO)

Optimizing Our Results

Taking Your Communication Pulse

Focusing on the Research

SWOT Analysis

Making Connections

Session Twelve: Maintaining Your Message in Crisis

Recommended Reading List

Post-Course Assessment

Pre- and Post-Assessment Answer Keys

Personal Action Plan