How to improve internal communications as a marketing leader

As a marketing leader, it's pretty fair to say you obsess over the clarity of your external messaging. But what about the messages you send internally?

Sure, you might speak to your team daily, but effective internal communication isn't just about keeping people in the loop. It's the foundation of trust, alignment, and high performance—especially when changes are in motion.

When done well, it helps your team to understand the 'why', navigate any uncertainty, at the same time as staying connected to your strategy and each other.

...and now, it's time to find out practical tips on improving internal communication AKA fixing any friction that might be holding your team back.

🚨 Spoiler alert: Here are 9 signs your marketing team is broken (and how improving your internal comms could be the answer)

Why internal communication is important for marketing leadership

Internal communications is so much more than just updates. Effective internal comms is all about providing clarity, alignment, and trust within your teams—it's an essential part of change management.

Challenges like disconnected messaging across teams, poor adoption of new initiatives or tools, strong resistance to change, and departmental silos are all too common within marketing leadership, but with efficient internal communication, you ensure a much smoother process for everyone involved. (Yay.)

Here's why improving your internal communication will benefit you and your team:

• Its clear communication reduces resistance and anxiety

• Helps employees understand the “why” behind changes

• Reinforces shared goals and values during periods of uncertainty

• Encourages bottom-up input and ownership

• Improves campaign delivery, employee engagement, and executional speed

Take AI adoption as an example. We can all take a big scroll down our LinkedIn newsfeeds and see a bunch of opinions, top tips, and 'hot takes'. If you want your marketing team to be using AI (as you should), you need to bring clarity on how it's going to be used and enable your team properly to avoid disconnect and disengagement.

Need tips on how to use AI across the content lifecycle? Look no further than this content series.

Where your internal comms is going wrong

Okay, so you know the benefits... but can you spot where you might actually be going wrong with your internal communication? Many marketing leaders unintentionally (we hope) create confusion or disengagement when navigating changes, and you might be guilty of some of them:

1. Top-down info dumps with no opportunity for feedback

   
   When you create this kind of culture in your team, you are going to see some serious disconnect. By opening up a forum and make it a two-way conversation where your team can offer feedback or even just talk things through, you involve them which gives them a part to play in any changes you're communicating.

2. Inconsistent or vague messaging that gets lost in translation

   
   Just like all your brand messaging that your customers know and love, your internal communication needs to be clear too. Any comms that goes out to your team should be well-thought-out and well-planned out to make sure it leaves no gray areas.

3. Not connecting changes to the bigger picture or team purpose

   
   You can't just throw out changes or communications without giving the story behind it. Providing context into whatever you're communicating gives your team more reassurance and understanding, and ultimately more trust in leadership.

4. Assuming communication is 'one and done' instead of ongoing

   
   Don't go thinking all your internal comms should be mic drop moments. Make sure you don't leave people hanging (/running around like headless chickens) by keeping the conversation going; making sure there's a good amount of transparency.

5 tactics to improving internal communication for your team

1. Create consistent messaging frameworks

   Just like you build frameworks for external messaging (value props, brand voice, campaign themes), your internal comms deserve the same rigor.

   Develop a messaging playbook for internal use—one that outlines your strategic narrative, change rationale, and core pillars. Equip your managers and teams with consistent language they can reference, repeat, and build on.

   When everyone’s saying the same thing in slightly different ways, it creates alignment. When everyone’s saying completely different things? That’s when things can get a bit chaotic.

2. Use multiple formats of communications

   You can’t rely on one team meeting to get your message across. Today’s teams are distributed, busy, and bombarded with information. You need a mix of synchronous and asynchronous channels to land your message and keep it alive over time.

   Consider:

   • Live team meetings and town halls for real-time connection and Q&A

   • Slack or Teams messages, videos, and email updates for asynchronous clarity

   • Project management tools to keep teams aligned (um hello, Optimizely Content Marketing Platform)

   • 1:1s and small group sessions for context and feedback

   • Recurring check-ins and follow-ups to reinforce key themes

   The rule of seven still applies: if it matters, it needs to be repeated. You’re not overcommunicating—you’re building a better understanding.

3. Make the most of mid-level managers with the right training

   Your messaging is only as strong as how the person delivers it. That’s why mid-level managers are critical to internal communication success.

   Train and equip your team leads with:

   • Talking points for major announcements

   • Clear expectations for how to relay updates

   • Forums to ask questions and flag confusion

   If your managers are unclear or uncomfortable with the message, the whole org feels it. Make them part of the communication design process early so they can act as true amplifiers, not just the messengers.

   

4. Build storytelling into change communication

   When change happens—and it always does—your role in leadership is to help your team understand not just what’s happening, but why it matters.

   In marketing, we always talk about storytelling and really, the same applies here. You can use storytelling to frame change:

   • The origin story: What prompted this shift?

   • The impact: Who benefits, and how?

   • The vision: What does success look like?

   And most importantly: be transparent about what’s known and what’s not. People don’t expect you to have every answer—but they do expect honesty. Uncertainty is more relatable than spin. If something’s evolving, say so. If a decision hasn’t been made, be clear about that too.

   Transparency builds trust. Trust builds momentum.

5. Measure (and iterate on) your internal comms

   How effective is your internal comms... like, right at this moment? You wouldn’t run a campaign without measuring performance—so why treat internal communication any differently?

   Here are a few ways to track how effectiveness your internal comms *actually* is:

   • Pulse surveys: How clear and confident does your team feel?

   • Engagement metrics: Who’s reading your updates, watching your videos, or attending meetings?

   • Qualitative feedback: What are your managers hearing in 1:1s or retros?

   • Adoption metrics: Are people using the new tool? Following the new process? Speaking the new language?

   If something’s not landing, adjust the channel, format, or message Internal communication should evolve alongside your team’s needs.

99 problems but internal comms ain't one

(...now you've read this blog.)

Strong internal communication isn’t a “nice to have”—it’s a leadership discipline that directly impacts execution, culture, and the success of every change you’re trying to drive.

So, where do you start?

• What’s one upcoming initiative or shift that would benefit from better internal comms?

• Where might your team be unclear, misaligned, or unsure of what’s expected?

• Do your messages land consistently across formats and levels?

Audit what’s working...and what’s not. Then have a look into one of the tactics mentioned to help you improve things. Whatever you go for, start now. Because internal communication is one of the most scalable tools you have as a marketing leader.

The better you use it, the faster your team can move in the same direction.