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10 steps to communications success
Impresseon’s succinct 10-step strategy for marketing success. It builds joined-up communications from the inside out, helping organisations navigate today’s fragmented media landscape and growing awareness, reputation, engagement, revenues, and ROI along the way.
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All Roads Lead to Rome
In days gone by, we focussed on an ‘All Roads Lead to Rome’ approach to marketing. This was based on an inbound strategy drawing users back to a brand’s own website, where they could ultimately be converted into leads.
Today, due to a whole range of factors including AI, zero click search, ecommerce, walled social media gardens and more, it is no longer possible to rely solely on an inbound pipeline in this way.
The onus then falls on us to go out and meet audiences in the wider world, wherever they may currently be on their customer journey.
The Rings of Atlantis
We call this more expansive strategy ‘The Atlantean Approach’, because the outbound process on which it functions can be visualised in the form of the concentric circles upon which the mythological city of Atlantis is built.
Messaging begins in the central circle, which is home to important state and administrative buildings, before moving out through the central business district, marketplace, residential zones, and into the wider world.
It’s through this joined-up approach that organisations are able to maintain consistency of messaging, even as their brand footprint increases.
Step 1: Product Marketing
‘Begin with the end in mind’ is one of the ‘7 Habits of Highly Effective People’ named in Stephen Covey’s 1989 book of the same name - and it’s as relevant today as it’s ever been!
The key to getting your overall marketing right, is to first get your product marketing right, and this involves developing a clear understanding of: what your audience is looking for, how your products & services can meet those specific needs, and how best to package up these offerings to standout in a crowded marketplace.
Strong core messaging provides solid foundations for building out broad brand resonance.
Step 2: Content Creation
Once you have a clear concept of your core offering, it’s time to create quality content around it.
This usually begins life as a blank canvas in the form of a simple Word doc, used to sketch out strategic narrative, before evolving into videos, ads, press releases, podcasts, newsletters, reports, presentations, etc.
It’s useful to keep in mind that individual customers consume content in different ways, and indeed that unique platforms lend themselves to particular forms of content. As long as communications remain clear and consistent throughout, messaging can be amplified in many different ways.
Step 3: Internal & Stakeholder Comms
One of the most important components of modern marketing is internal & stakeholder comms. In the first season of Game of Thrones, Robert Baratheon asks, “What’s the bigger number, five or one?” highlighting the effectiveness of a single united army vs a range of disparate entities.
Before your brand hits the public domain it is essential that everyone is on the same page internally, from executives and board members, to junior staff and suppliers, and even existing customers. This isn’t just essential to your creative output - in an age of social media and individual reach, your immediate circle becomes your biggest brand advocate.
Step 4: Public Relations
Once your brand does hit the public domain, it’s helpful to take a ‘press first’ approach.
Journalists & influencers can have a huge impact on the size and sentiment of your audience, and usually appreciate a heads-up on breaking news and emerging trends.
This activity isn’t just part of the process, it also takes us back to concept. By considering how best to package up your announcements for an industry journalist or Instagram influencer, you’re able to view your messaging through a fresh lens. Over time, through regular interactions, it’s possible to build up a trusted and sustainable press presence.
Step 5: Site Engine Optimisation
Having done your due diligence through your digital rolodex, it’s time to take publication into your own hands.
This is where the branded website still plays a key role in communications, providing a public noticeboard upon which you can publish your own information, in a way that gives you direct agency over how it’s presented and consumed.
Of course, with the advent of AI, the emphasis of SEO has shifted from ‘Search Engine Optimisation’ to ‘Site Engine Optimisation’, and by creating accessible content relevant to broad audiences, organisations can significantly increase their chances of appearing in all forms of results.
Step 6: Social Media
A lot of people wince before taking this step of the journey, because we know that in 2026 most of the main ‘social’ channels have become anything but…
But when we say social media, what we really mean is media that’s social, and this can include anything from the content you give to journalists, to the articles you publish on your own site, and beyond to the direct relationships you forge with audiences through mediums like newsletters and podcasts.
By creating clear messaging, and delivering it in a joined-up way, social media - including the mainstays - can be a great amplification and engagement tool.
Step 7: Direct Marketing
Where social media leads, direct marketing follows, because it’s here that likes & comments turn into DMs, and more superficial exchanges turn into meaningful conversations.
Direct marketing can include anything from email campaigns, to personalised physical mailouts, or indeed picking up the phone to make a sales call.
The important thing is that by the time we reach this stage of the process, your brand is already prepared. Even if the person you are approaching is not yet familiar with your organisation, there should be enough information already out there to reassure them of its relevance.
Step 8: Events
Picking up the phone is great, but there’s nothing like in-person interaction, and in recent years we’ve seen a resurgence in the popularity of real-world events.
It can be something as simple as a coffee meet-up, or walking the floor of an exhibition hall, right up to taking a stand or speaking slot at a conference, or even running your own convening.
Events also represent the point at which organic activities transition into paid spend, because from basic travel costs, through to marketing and sponsorship, setting your sites on physical presence requires at least some form of investment.
Step 9: Advertising
At its heart, you can interpret the Atlantean Approach as falling into the three key stages of: content, communications, & commercial.
In other words you begin with quality content, communicate that as far and wide as you can organically, and then and only then do you consider putting down some paid spend, in order to amplify these activities.
This can come in the form of traditional advertising, PPC, social amplification, ecommerce, advertorial, the afore-mentioned events, etc. and when approached in a quantitative way, can yield significant results.
Step 10: Analytics
At the end of the process, usually at the end of each month, we sit down and analyse the results. What worked well? What needs strengthening? Was there a particular press release or social post that really resonated? Are we working to optimal CPC rates? And so on…
All of this information - as well as more qualitative forms of feedback - can then be dovetailed with an organisation’s wider sales and operational data.
It’s then used to determine the next round of activities in the next cycle of the process, and over time allows us to track and enhance effectiveness, efficiency, and ultimately ROI.
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The map is not the territory
The Atlantean Approach provides a roadmap for navigating today’s fragmented media landscape. However, we must remember that the map is not the territory, and particularly in the case of Atlantis we are talking about a mythological city that represents a utopian society. So it’s important to be realistic in your marketing outreach, aim for sustainability, build in flexibility, react to macro trends, and be prepared to prioritise certain parts of the journey over others along the way.
It’s also true that Plato’s original story of Atlantis began life as a cautionary tale against hubris, and the city eventually plunged into the sea - so try not to drown out your audiences with too many one way conversations!