The document discusses the challenges faced by housing organizations in engaging effectively on social media compared to other sectors. It encourages a shift towards more authentic communication, prioritizing listening to customers and stakeholders, and emphasizes the need to drop jargon and hierarchies. Suggestions include using humor, being relevant, and fostering a culture of shared responsibility in communications.

1. The Reinvention of Social Housing
5: FutureComms - The Last Will and Testament of #UKhousing

2. On average, housing
organisations have only 0.5% of
the social and digital
engagement rates of not-for-
profits on Facebook and 3.4% of
their followers on Twitter.
Purely commercial brands and
utility providers too, such as O2
or British Gas, far outstrip them in
terms of social media popularity
and engagement.
Anne McCrossan
What’s the
problem?

3. Do we talk to each other too much - rather than seek out customers?
How social are we – really?
Do we really need another “sector campaign” or rebrand?
How do we engage dissenting voices and include them?
Do we need to talk less and listen more?
What’s the problem?

4. We asked delegates to imagine they were the last #ukhousing comms team!
What would be their gems of wisdom to pass on to the next generation?
The last will and testament for #ukhousing– what would it say to start doing , and to stop!

5. Start
Get over yourselves! We can use humour and
have fun
Keep it real – make it relevant
Make trust the priority
Make comms everyone’s responsibility
Do with - not to. Engage customers and
stakeholders in conversations
Test more. Experiment more
Just be a little braver

6. Stop
Doing it for the sake of doing it (if you’ve
got nothing to say - don’t say it)
“HB, Voids, UC” - It’s past time to kill jargon
Job titles and hierarchies- they reinforce
role of comms as the only communicators
in an organisation
Being obsessed with digital – other
channels are available
Saying “You can’t say that” (yes, you can!)
Thinking you know your audience. You
don’t – and probably never will
Obsessing over ‘viral content’