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Five Steps To Developing A Successful Social Media Strategy In The Public Sector

by 13.11.16

Our guide to social media strategy success for the public sector

Why a fresh approach can increase success

Social media is becoming increasingly well-used across the public sector for everything from public notices to community announcements to event updates and reminders. When used well, social media can be one of the most efficient and effective marketing tools for your organisation. 

[click_to_tweet tweet=”When used well, social media can be one of the most efficient and effective marketing tools for your organisation.” quote=”When used well, social media can be one of the most efficient and effective marketing tools for your organisation.”]

Take a holistic approach

While one department is often responsible for the development and implementation of a social media strategy within an organisation, to gain a better outcome, a more holistic approach should be taken across the board.

The responsibility usually falls with the marketing and communications department to develop, ‘own’ and almost certainly implement the strategy, but involving teams from across the organisation will help achieve the best outcomes. Most teams will be affected in some way by the strategy, so their input is essential. After all – they know the ins and outs of their department and are best-placed to advise on what needs to be conveyed, rather than leaving it up to assumption.

Solution?

One solution to make the process more holistic is to form a cross-functional team or hold a workshop with representatives from each department that may be involved in social media or who will feel the impact. It’s important to get all colleagues on the same page when it comes to implementing the strategy so they’re already advocates. One key to developing a successful strategy is to find champions who are interested in experimenting with social media and include them in the process from the beginning.

No cookie cutter solution

There’s no ‘one-size-fits-all’ approach to a social media strategy. What may suit one organisation may not suit another. Your service output and brand status may dictate where you need to place your efforts with social media. While one local government may be dedicated to attracting tourism and promoting events via visual mediums, another may need social media purely from a functional perspective – i.e. to inform residents of ‘business as usual’ occurrences, such as waste collections and Council meetings.

What may work for your neighbours may not work for you and vice versa. This should all be assessed as part of your research when producing your social media strategy.

Solution?

Look at your current social media data to discover who your ‘followers’ are and which channels have the most interaction. Stick to two or three channels and do them well. It’s better to concentrate on your output from a couple of sources versus spreading yourself and your resources too thin trying to maintain multiple social media accounts. Remember, you don’t just post content – you have to interact with your followers and develop relationships. This can become overwhelming if you have too many to keep track of.

Enhance, don’t replace

Your social media strategy should complement your existing communication channels, not replace them. As a service provider, your website is still an essential vehicle to convey information to the public, along with other traditional methods of communication, but you need to go where your audience is, and these days that’s on social media.

Solution?

Keep all your channels of communication up to date and relevant and use social media as a way to drive people to find more information. Used effectively, social media’s reach is above and beyond other forms of communications such as your website or an ad in the local paper and it allows a running dialogue, but it needs to be backed up with a solid foundation of good, up-to-date information.

[click_to_tweet tweet=”Companies should focus more on how to BE social, and less on how to DO social media.” quote=”Companies should focus more on how to BE social, and less on how to DO social media.”]

Automate

Keeping social media up-to-date and posting relevant information can be labour-intensive and time consuming, particularly if you want to pump out a few posts a day.

Solution?

Using a social media scheduling tool such as Hootsuite helps automate your content and means you can schedule your posts in batches. This not only saves time and keeps things in order, it also means you can get other teams in the organisation involved by showing them the schedule of posts before they go live and sending out data feedback to teams to indicate what’s working and what’s not.

Forever evolving

Remember that your social media strategy is not static – it is a living, breathing document that’s meant to create an intended outcome, which will evolve over time.

Once you’ve developed the strategy, don’t file it away. Your social media strategy should be a guide that grows to accommodate your changing needs. Use it, shape it and let it develop into something that’s of great value to you and your organisation.

How have you implemented a social media strategy into your organisation?

Are you currently working on a strategy or do you have some tips of your own you can share? Let us know. We’d love to hear from you.

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Social media in government: mastering your social media on a budget can still be a piece of cake!

by 04.05.16

Last month I flew across the other side of the world from Australia to America to attend two social media conferences, meet new people and find the best burger in California. Thankfully, I conquered all three tasks in three weeks! My first stop was the Government Social Media Conference (#GSMCON2016) in Reno, Nevada.

As a specialist helping government departments standout online, I thought to myself: “Surely there’s not much difference between what we’re doing here and what they’re doing there…right?!”

Well, I was wrong.

At #GSMCON2016 I was the only Australian in the sea of government marketers, communication officers and social media managers. In its second year, GSMCON continues to be the only major social media conference for U.S. city, county and state government agencies. During the two days, we had keynote speakers from Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin and, in between those keynotes, we had various seminars to choose from where government staff who specialise in social media provided insights, trends and updates specific to the government sector.

I’m relieved to say that the 20-hour trek there was worth it.

Rather than bombard you with information, I’ve shortlisted my top three takeaways from #GSMCON2016 to help you drive your social media marketing greatness even further without busting your budget.

1. There’s a third wave of social media and it starts with your employees.

Did you know 98% of your fans won’t see your next Facebook post? 

So, it’s not about how many fans you have or how often or when you should post, it’s about: transforming social messages into meaningful relationships with the help of your biggest fans: your employees. If you’re not convinced on how powerful employee advocacy is maybe this will turn you around: 92% of consumers say that they trust word-of- mouth and recommendations from friends and families above all other forms of advertising (Nielsen).

What you should do: Encourage your employees to use social media to help your business generate awareness of your products/services, reach a new audience, influence opinion, ignite action and, most importantly, build affinity with your brand.

social-media-employee-advocacyhootsuite

[image from Hootsuite]

2. If you’re not live, you’re dead in social media.

And what I mean by “live”‘ is live video. I understand why some government agencies are wary of live streaming their events, though Katie Harbath, Global Politics and Government Outreach Director at Facebook, shared compelling statistics about the power of video, especially live streaming. We’ve heard it over and over that video is the mecca for engaging content, however did you know Facebook Live is watched 3 times as more and watched for at least an average of 5 minutes? What’s more:

people comment 10 times more on live video than any other posts 

What you should do: Government agencies need to learn from our US counterparts and use live video. You should test the waters first and live stream minor events or launches on either Facebook or Periscope and then move to bigger events and schedule consistent streaming into your content plan. Some live streaming ideas you could start with include a behind-the-scenes look into how your department works, having a weekly ‘community live news’ update or a live Q & A.

3. We need to consider UX in social media

I’ve heard of User Experience in regards to websites and apps but not in relation to social media. Until now. The Editorial Director from Georgia Technology Authority spoke about the rise of UX in social media marketing, specifically how government agencies should use UX principles to improve their messages online.

So, what is UX in social media? It’s about “reducing the friction between the tasksomeone wants to accomplish and the tool they’re using to complete that task” ( definition by Leah Buley, author of ‘The User Experience Team of One’). When we translate this for government, we define:

  • task as actions, like getting information about your service or completing a transaction and,
  • ‘tool’ as the platform they do this through, which is social media.

Traditionally, UX looks like this: Product —- Usability —-User.
In social media, UX looks like this: social media —- Usability —-follower.

What you should do: In practical terms, UX in social media means:

  • Not using passive voice in our messages (i.e. when the object of an action is the subject of a sentence. E.g. “Why was the road crossed by the chicken?”)
  • Refraining from using acronyms and instead using plain English
  • Avoiding Government jargon…I know, it can be tough!
  • Researching your audience needs via polls on social media or in online conversation
  • Creating user personas for each channel or personas based on common needs, interests, demographics

personas-janine-marin-ux-social-media

[Image from: https://custdevday.wordpress.com/pages/content/lean-ux/]

I hope these key takeaways help you master your social media, oh and if you were curious on what was the best burger in California, I have to say In and Out!

LIMITED OFFER:

I’m offering a free social media policy review for government agencies to the first five people who email: janine@janinemarin.com.au

Who am I?
I’m Janine Marin, a personal brand strategist and digital marketing maverick who helps passionate go-getters and government departments build a standout brand online and grow valuable connections.

What am I all about?
I’m about helping the quiet achievers, the underdogs and the introverts who are driven to succeed. I’m also about helping small businesses, entrepreneurs and government agencies who are great at what they do and just need help to market that greatness.

I believe you’re ready to make a name for yourself online, and I can help you do it.
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