Projecting and protecting
your organisation’s reputation
and message online
Simon Wakeman
Head of Marketing

social media relations

influencing reputation through direct
two-way social media communications

influencing reputation through direct
two-way social media communications

influencing reputation through direct
two-way social media communications

why bother?

people have always talked about you...

...but social media is different

no geographical boundaries

no social boundaries

at web speed

three steps to effective
social media relations

1. Monitoring

the local online audit

effective online monitoring

what to monitor
• place names
• people’s names (members, staff, community)
• key issues and identified risks
• campaign-specific terms

www.google.com/alerts

search.twitter.com
www.tweetbeep.com

www.technorati.com
www.blogpulse.com

www.icerocket.com www.socialmention.com
www.backtype.com

bit.ly/UJJP
boardreader.com

but...
www.facebook.com/search

2. Assessment

• size of community/group involved
SCALE / • rate of growth
TREND? • relative influence
WHO?
CONTEXT?
ABILITY TO
RESPOND?

• size of community/group involved
SCALE / • rate of growth
TREND? • relative influence
WHO?
CONTEXT?
ABILITY TO
RESPOND?

• size of community/group involved
SCALE / • rate of growth
TREND? • relative influence of group
WHO?
CONTEXT?
ABILITY TO
RESPOND?

• who’s involved?
SCALE / • relative influence (offline / online)
TREND? • position in network?
WHO?
CONTEXT?
ABILITY TO
RESPOND?

• who’s involved?
SCALE / • relative influence (offline / online)
TREND? • position in network?
WHO?
CONTEXT?
ABILITY TO
RESPOND?

• who’s involved?
SCALE / • relative influence (offline / online)
TREND? • position in network?
WHO?
CONTEXT?
ABILITY TO
RESPOND?

• who’s involved?
SCALE / • relative influence (offline / online)
TREND? • position in network?
WHO?
CONTEXT?
ABILITY TO
RESPOND?
...but what about customer service?

• the bigger picture
SCALE / • fit with protocols / rules
TREND? • consistency with other channels
WHO?
CONTEXT?
ABILITY TO
RESPOND?

• the bigger picture
SCALE / • fit with protocols / rules
TREND? • consistency with other channels
WHO?
CONTEXT?
ABILITY TO
RESPOND?

• the bigger picture
SCALE / • fit with protocols / rules
TREND? • consistency with other channels
WHO?
CONTEXT?
ABILITY TO
RESPOND?

• how could you respond?
SCALE / • what channels do you have available?
TREND? • can you respond in time?
WHO?
CONTEXT?
ABILITY TO
RESPOND?

SCALE /
TREND?
WHO?
1. Ignore
2. Monitor and review
3. Respond
CONTEXT?
ABILITY TO
RESPOND?

3. Action

PROTOCOLS ROLES CHANNELS
• clear, understood social media policy for staff (at work and at home)
• make sure other policies are consistent (eg ICT, HR)
• have an agreed system for handling social media relations

PROTOCOLS ROLES CHANNELS
• who is responsible for social media relations?
• what skills / competencies are needed for this role?
• working with customer service teams

PROTOCOLS ROLES CHANNELS
• in public vs in private
• respond at source?
• use existing council presences to reply?
• be ready for the conversation...

principles
• transparency
• timely
• considered
• appropriate tone and style

more than just communications
• disruption of traditional hierachies/elites
• digitally-enabled community groups
• duty to involve / promote democracy
• more collaborative and participative
future for local government

simon.wakeman@medway.gov.uk
simon@simonwakeman.com
+44 (0) 7771 701902
twitter: simonwakeman
www.simonwakeman.com/lgcsoc