Most communication plans choose the channel at the end, as a question of reach. I think it belongs near the beginning, because the channel changes what the message means.
Radio taught me this early. A listener hears the same sentence differently depending on what played before it. The words stay the same. The setting decides how they land.
The same holds online. A statement from a chief executive reads as official on the company website and as personal in a short video. A serious announcement placed in a feed built for entertainment risks being read as entertainment, or not read at all.
Channels also differ in how much they ask of the audience. A polished film gives people a finished picture. A short post in a founder’s own voice leaves room for a reply. Neither is better. Each produces a different kind of attention, and the choice should follow what you need the audience to do next.
So we plan from the message outwards. First we decide what the audience must understand. Then we choose the places where they can understand it in the right frame. Often that means fewer channels, each used with more care.
One question helps before anything goes out. Imagine a stranger meeting this message in this exact place, between the posts around it. What will they think it means? If the answer is not what you intended, change the channel before you change the words.
Reach still matters. It tells you how many people saw the message, but the channel decides what they saw.