Wrap up your 2025 communications, strategically

As the end of 2025 approaches, it’s a good time to take stock of how communications went over the past year and figure out how you’d like to begin next year’s communications.

This post will guide you through how to review your communications strategy, social media and website.

Communications strategy review

If you have a communications strategy, this is the first item to look at in your annual review. (If you don’t, creating one is item #1 for 2026!) There are a few key points you’ll want to review and reflect on.

Review your target audiences and determine if they still make the most sense to help you reach your communications strategy’s goal and objectives. As you think about the communications materials you created over the past year, were these the audiences you kept in mind? Were there any different audiences that you communicated with and that you can add?

Take a look at your key messages. If you had audience-specific ones, did they work well? Are there any tweaks you can make that will help the message connect more strongly with the audience? Do you need to clarify, add or remove, any calls to action?

If you added a new audience, add in any key messages that may differ from the messages for your other audiences.

Go through your tactics and timelines section with a fine-toothed comb. Mark any tactics completed, adjust timelines as needed, and flag any tactics that were postponed to review and prioritize for next year. If you’ve attached budget amounts to your tactics, review how much was spent and how much is left (maybe you can boost a few more social posts in December!)

Make sure you have updated evaluation data. If you haven’t had a chance to gather analytics throughout the year, book some dedicated time in your calendar.

Finally, create a year-end report to share with your supervisors and colleagues. Highlight how the work you’ve done in communications has supported the organization’s strategic plan, share any key accomplishments, and identify any areas to improve or tweak in 2026.

Social media review

Some aspects of social media can easily be lumped into the “set it and forget it” category, so it’s good practice to look at some of the relatively static aspects of social media.

Take a look at the bios, profile pics, and header images on each of your channels. Do they represent your organization today? Have any numbers or hashtags changed? Are the profile pictures consistent to create a strong brand? Consistency and clarity in your bios and profile information helps reinforce your branding.

Also check to make sure any links or linking tools in your profile are still working properly. Are the featured links still relevant? Do you need to make any updates?

Take a look at your pinned posts. Do they give the first impression you want? Are they the most important things your audience needs to see if they start scrolling from your profile page?

Website review

Do you have a practice of archiving or deleting website content? If so, the end of the year is a good time to review the website sections where you do that.

Remember, your website is not an archive - the content should be relevant and applicable to your current audiences. That said, there may be some sections where you keep older content posted — like your news section or blog.

If your website has a media page, take a look at the information you have on it. Are the photos, stats, organizational info, and contact info the most current? Given what’s happened in the past year, are there any updates to make to this content?

Finally, run your website through a link checker to find any links that aren’t working properly. Assess whether the links are still needed and if they are, update them.

Ready for 2026

Phew! That’s a good batch of strategic, helpful communications work you just did. Well done! Give yourself a pat on the back and know that you’re in good shape to continue your communications in 2026.