In a post earlier this year, we wrote about the meanings of impact and a few related terms. This post looks in a bit more detail at impact communication and how to approach it. 

Communication involves providing information to an audience and may elicit responses, so it’s more interactive than dissemination. It’s primarily about you helping other people to understand your message, in contrast to engagement which is more of a two-way process. Communication may occur throughout a project, but is less likely to contribute to the research than engagement, and can be important in facilitating your impact pathways or raising awareness of your impact once it has occurred. But where should you get started with impact communication?

Know what you’re trying to achieve

What you are trying to achieve through your communication can vary throughout a project. You may be on a pathway to impact, but need to develop interaction with particular groups to make this effective. Or you may have achieved impact, and want to celebrate this and encourage others to follow suit. Knowing what you want to achieve can help to shape your approach to communication.

Also consider whether the best approach is communication or engagement – you can find out more about the differences in our blog post or Impact and Knowledge Exchange Glossary, but a key difference is that engagement involves greater input from others, who may be considered as participants rather than an audience.

Choose your channel and know your audience

When looking at communications guides, selecting your communication channel and knowing your audience are often listed separately, but they should be considered together. It is important to know who you are trying to reach, in order to identify the channel that will reach them most effectively. Likewise, it is important to know your channel, in order to understand who your audience will be and what they will expect from you.

Consider…

  • Social media
  • Policy brief
  • Podcast
  • Blog
  • Press release
  • Articles (think The Conversation, LinkedIn, news platforms…)

Weigh up the advantages and disadvantages of your options, and remember that it can be useful to use some of these in conjunction, such as using social media to promote a podcast or press release, or writing a blog post summarising a policy brief.

Tailor your language

The way that you write will depend on the channel which you use. The short-form of posts on X (previously Twitter) differs from the extended form of a blog which in turn differs from the formality expected of a policy brief. Consider what type of language would be most appropriate for your chosen channel. Be conscious of using jargon or abbreviations that might alienate your audience.

Engage with your audience

Just putting information out into the world and leaving it isn’t communication – that’s dissemination. To make the most of communication, you should interact further with your audience, whether through using comment sections, inviting responses, or adding in alternative channels. This interaction can help to ensure that your audience understands your message and address any questions. 

Remember that the Media Team are there to help with any press or media questions – email pressoffice@port.ac.uk or call 023 9284 2728. For impact questions, contact impact@port.ac.uk.