Executive Digital Communications Training Course

Duration 5 days 10 modules · 33 contact hours
Level Advanced Certificate on completion
Who attends Chief Executives and Executive Directors, Chief Communications Officers and others
Fee from USD 1,100 KSh 95,000 for Kenyan organisations
Where 52 cities + online See dates by city
Next start 16 Nov 2026 Course code SD-PRC-059

Before you join: Participants should have substantial management, leadership, communications, marketing, public affairs or corporate affairs experience.

Dates & prices

Two start dates a month in every city, and live online on weekdays or weekends. Fees are per participant; classroom fees include tuition, materials, lunch and refreshments, and the certificate.

Suggest a date or city

Showing the next six months. Later dates, other cities and private deliveries for your team are available on request.

Course overview

Senior leaders are expected to communicate credibly through digital channels while protecting organisational reputation, meeting disclosure obligations and responding quickly to stakeholder concerns. A poorly governed executive post, delayed response to misinformation or inconsistent leadership message can damage trust with customers, employees, regulators, investors and partners. Digital communication requires more than channel familiarity: it requires clear narrative choices, disciplined approval routes, evidence-based listening and measurable objectives.

This course equips executives and senior communication leaders to set a corporate digital communications direction and govern its delivery. Participants work with stakeholder salience mapping, message houses, the PESO model, executive thought-leadership planning, social listening, digital crisis playbooks and the AMEC Integrated Evaluation Framework. They learn how to establish executive voice guidelines, build content systems, manage online issues, communicate change internally, set decision rights and report communication results to senior management or boards.

Teaching combines concise instructor briefings, analysis of corporate communication cases, group work, crisis-response simulations and structured planning sessions. Participants apply course methods to a current organisational priority, such as a transformation programme, reputation issue, regulatory change, market entry or executive visibility challenge. Each participant leaves with a practical 90-day digital communications plan, supported by governance, measurement and crisis-readiness components that can be adapted for their organisation.

The course is suited to C-suite executives, directors, heads of communication and senior leaders who sponsor, approve or represent corporate communications through digital channels. It is particularly relevant where public scrutiny, regulated communications, employee trust or reputation risk demand disciplined leadership communication.

What you will be able to do

  • Design a corporate digital communications strategy using stakeholder, narrative and channel analysis
  • Construct message houses that connect audience needs, proof points and organisational priorities
  • Establish executive voice guidelines and thought-leadership editorial plans for digital channels
  • Implement digital communication governance using RACI matrices, approval routes and risk controls
  • Prepare digital crisis playbooks using SCCT, monitoring thresholds and first-hour response sequences
  • Build measurement plans using the AMEC Integrated Evaluation Framework and executive dashboards
  • Assess social listening signals, misinformation risks and online community response requirements
  • Develop a 90-day digital communications plan with owners, milestones, measures and resource needs

Benefits of attending

For you

  • A defensible framework for executive digital visibility and communication decisions
  • Greater confidence handling online criticism, misinformation and fast-moving reputation issues
  • A practical method for briefing, approving and evaluating executive thought-leadership content
  • Stronger ability to challenge weak communication plans using evidence and stakeholder analysis
  • A 90-day action plan for improving personal and organisational communication practice

For your organisation

  • More consistent leadership messages across corporate, employee and public digital channels
  • Clearer accountability for content approvals, issue escalation and crisis response
  • Earlier identification of stakeholder concerns through structured social listening
  • Reduced reputational exposure from poorly governed executive communications
  • Better reporting of communication results, risks and recommended management actions

Course modules

10 modules over 5 days

Participants can set a digital communications mandate linked to corporate priorities, stakeholders and reputation requirements.

  • Digital communications mandate aligned with corporate strategy, reputation and stakeholder expectations
  • Stakeholder salience mapping using power, legitimacy and urgency criteria
  • Material issue prioritisation from investor, customer, employee and regulator signals
  • Corporate narrative architecture: purpose, proof points, tensions and strategic choices
  • Channel roles defined across owned, earned, shared and paid media
  • Executive communication principles converted into decision rights and operating priorities

Participants can build evidence-based audience segments and messages for high-stakes communication priorities.

  • Audience segmentation combining needs, influence, behaviour and information preferences
  • Persona evidence drawn from listening data, interviews and service insights
  • Stakeholder journey maps identifying moments of attention, trust and action
  • Message house construction: audience need, central claim, proof and response
  • Framing choices tested against cultural context, risk and likely interpretation
  • Plain-language editing for executive messages, public statements and digital copy

Participants can establish credible executive digital presence with clear editorial and risk-management controls.

  • Executive voice guidelines balancing authenticity, authority, disclosure and organisational consistency
  • LinkedIn thought-leadership programmes built around signature themes and editorial cadence
  • CEO content formats selected for attention, credibility and production feasibility
  • Ghostwriting workflow covering briefing, drafting, approval, attribution and version control
  • Executive visibility calibrated against regulatory obligations, security and reputational exposure
  • Comment moderation protocols protecting dialogue, dignity and escalation discipline

Participants can create an editorial operating model that produces consistent, accessible and evidence-led content.

  • PESO model assigns content purposes, audiences, formats and distribution routes
  • Editorial calendar integrates corporate moments, campaigns, leadership and reactive capacity
  • Content pillars translated into repeatable story angles and proof sources
  • Long-form reports repurposed into articles, video, newsletters and social posts
  • Accessibility standards cover captions, alt text, contrast and readable structure
  • Editorial quality assurance checks facts, approvals, rights and brand alignment

Participants can identify, assess and respond to digital stakeholder signals before they become material issues.

  • Social listening queries distinguish brand mentions, issues, sentiment and misinformation
  • Signal triage separates isolated complaints from emerging stakeholder concerns
  • Issue maps connect triggers, affected audiences, evidence and response options
  • Online community management applies response matrices, service recovery and escalation
  • Misinformation rebuttals use verified facts, credible sources and proportionate visibility
  • Dark social and private channels considered within listening and response plans

Participants can define governance controls for safe, accountable and legally aware digital communications.

  • Digital governance model defines account ownership, publishing rights and approvals
  • RACI matrix assigns accountability for routine content and high-risk responses
  • Records retention requirements applied to social posts, direct messages and comments
  • Data protection checks cover consent, lawful basis, profiling and data minimisation
  • Generative AI policy addresses confidentiality, accuracy, bias and human review
  • Platform terms, intellectual property and image rights assessed before publication

Participants can lead a timely, proportionate digital response to crises and reputation threats.

  • SCCT selects response postures from crisis responsibility and stakeholder expectations
  • Digital crisis playbooks specify monitoring thresholds, holding lines and approvals
  • War-room roles coordinate executives, legal counsel, operations and customer teams
  • First-hour response sequencing addresses facts, empathy, action and update timing
  • Hostile narratives assessed through reach, credibility, persistence and harm
  • Post-incident reviews convert timeline evidence into corrective communication controls

Participants can use digital channels to communicate organisational change and sustain employee trust.

  • Employee communication cascade aligns senior leaders, managers and frontline teams
  • Change narratives explain rationale, personal impact, choices and timing
  • Manager toolkits provide talking points, FAQs, listening questions and escalation routes
  • Internal channels selected by urgency, sensitivity, dialogue and reach
  • Employee advocacy programmes establish participation principles, disclosure and safeguards
  • Sentiment findings translated into leadership actions and communication adjustments

Participants can measure communication contribution and present meaningful findings to senior decision-makers.

  • AMEC Integrated Evaluation Framework links objectives, outputs, outtakes and outcomes
  • Measurement plans distinguish awareness, understanding, trust, behaviour and reputation
  • Baseline data and targets set before campaign activation
  • Dashboard metrics combine channel analytics, media analysis, sentiment and stakeholder feedback
  • Attribution limits documented when correlating communication activity with business results
  • Executive reports present decisions, risks, results and recommended adjustments

Participants can produce a prioritised implementation plan for improving digital communication performance.

  • Digital communication audit identifies priority gaps, risks and quick wins
  • 90-day communication plan sequences objectives, audiences, content, owners and measures
  • Governance roadmap assigns milestones, dependencies, approval changes and resource needs
  • Executive scorecard tracks narrative consistency, visibility, trust and response readiness
  • Personal leadership commitments define behaviours, routines and stakeholder conversations
  • Peer review sharpens plans through challenge, evidence and practical recommendations

Exercises and examples are adapted to each cohort's sectors and roles.

What you take back to work

  1. Corporate digital communications strategy template
  2. Stakeholder salience map and message house
  3. Executive thought-leadership editorial calendar
  4. Digital communications RACI matrix
  5. Digital crisis communication playbook
  6. 90-day communication plan and executive scorecard

Who should attend

  • Chief Executives and Executive Directors — need credible digital visibility while managing organisational risk
  • Chief Communications Officers — set communication direction, governance and reputation priorities
  • Corporate Affairs Directors — coordinate stakeholder communication across public, policy and media channels
  • Heads of Public Relations — strengthen executive content, issue management and measurement practice
  • Marketing Directors — align corporate narrative with brand, campaign and customer communication
  • Senior Transformation Leaders — communicate organisational change clearly to employees and external stakeholders

Skills and tools covered

Digital communication strategyExecutive positioningCrisis communicationSocial listeningCommunication governanceReputation measurement

Tools and standards

PESO Model, RACI Matrix, Situational Crisis Communication Theory, AMEC Integrated Evaluation Framework

How the course runs

Training methodology

The course uses short instructor briefings to introduce frameworks, followed by corporate cases drawn from regulated, consumer, public-service and business-to-business settings. Participants analyse stakeholder evidence, develop message structures, assess digital risks and compare response choices. Group exercises examine executive content, governance scenarios and measurement dashboards. A timed digital crisis simulation tests monitoring, escalation, holding statements and leadership decision-making. Participants then use structured application planning to produce a 90-day communication plan relevant to their own responsibilities.

Requirements and prerequisites

Participants should have substantial management, leadership, communications, marketing, public affairs or corporate affairs experience. They should understand their organisation’s principal stakeholders, communication channels and approval processes, and be prepared to discuss a current communication priority or risk. Prior experience managing social media accounts is useful but not essential. The course does not require coding, graphic design, media-buying expertise, advanced analytics software knowledge or prior formal public relations qualifications. It is designed for leaders who make, sponsor or approve communication decisions.

A typical training day

08:30 – 10:30First session
10:30 – 10:45Refreshment break
10:45 – 12:30Second session
12:30 – 13:30Lunch and networking
13:30 – 15:00Third session
15:00 – 15:15Refreshment break
15:15 – 16:30Workshop and daily review

Live online deliveries follow the same structure in East Africa Time, with shorter screen blocks and longer breaks.

What the fee includes

  • Instruction by a practitioner facilitator
  • Full course workbook and materials
  • Exercise files, templates and case studies
  • Refreshments and lunch on classroom deliveries
  • Certificate of completion
  • Post-course application plan

Frequently asked questions

Participants should have senior management or substantial communications-related experience and familiarity with their organisation's stakeholders. No formal public relations qualification, coding ability or specialist analytics training is required.

Bring information about a current communication priority, planned change, reputation concern or executive visibility objective. Participants may also bring existing communication plans, governance documents or reporting examples, subject to their organisation's confidentiality rules.

It is designed for C-suite executives, directors and senior leaders in communications, corporate affairs, marketing, public relations and transformation. It also suits leaders whose public statements or digital presence carry material reputational consequences.

This course focuses on corporate reputation, leadership communication, stakeholder trust, governance, issues and crisis response. It does not concentrate on advertising-platform setup, paid campaign optimisation or consumer conversion tactics.

Participants leave with a 90-day plan, governance actions, measurement priorities and crisis-readiness improvements linked to a real organisational need. The templates can be used to brief communication teams, align senior leaders and obtain approval for changes.

The programme runs from 08:30 to 16:30 each day, providing approximately 32.5 contact hours across five days. Time is divided between instruction, case analysis, group work, crisis simulation and individual application planning.

Questions about this course?

Ask about dates, fees, group bookings or running it for your team. Our training team replies by email.

Ask on WhatsApp info@skillsetdevelopment.com

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