A presentation I gave at an event organised by Mentor Digital, looking at the role of social media in not for profit and public sector organisations.

1. Sarah Pinch FCIPR MIoD
19/06/2014
Complex and regulated or a gift
horse’s mouth: Social Media in the
public sector

2. Sarah Pinch FCIPR MIoD
• 11 years at the BBC
• 13 years in corporate communications
• High profile sectors:
• International development
• Public transport
• Health
• Passion for behavioural change in
organisations
• Experience of placing communications
as important as finance/HR
• Professional standards & compliance
• New teams in every role since 2000

3. Agenda
• The Government is on our side
• Social inclusion through social
media
• The Good, the Bad and the Ugly
• Leadership
• Innovation and Employees
• Ten Top Tips

4. Why?
• “You have to start with the customer
experience and work backwards”
• “In this tough economic climate, the
internet is such a powerful tool to help
people manage the trickiest
circumstances of their lives, whatever their
age and whatever their location.”
• “Facebook has the forum problem. It’s
getting noisier and noisier, it’s trying to
solve this problem with filtering, with a new
feed, which only shows ‘popular’ items.
But it has the Forum/Chat Problem and no
amount of lipstick will cure that problem.”

5. The Support of the Big Guns
• Alex Aiken’s work within Cabinet Office is to
strengthen transferable skills: including
digital and internal communications
• Baroness Lane Fox’s maiden speech in the
House of Lords, is a thing of inspiration and
transformation

6. Social Inclusion through Social Media
• What is social inclusion?
• the provision of certain rights to all individuals and groups in
society, such as employment, adequate housing, health
care, education and training, etc. (Collins Dictionary)
• AKA your day job
• Social media offers audience segmentation, direct delivery,
engagement, conversation, feedback and above all –
personality and personal relationships like nothing else in
the communicators’ tool box.

7. Over regulation
•Fear
•Mis-information
•Lack of personality
•Mis–matching of personality
•Banning of social media sites
•Complex sign off processes
•Denial
•Reluctance to engage
•Cover up
•Disingenuous profiles
•SHOUTING
•SHOUTING LOUDLY!!!
The Good, The Bad and The Ugly
Gift Horse
•Direct engagement
•Direct feedback
•Personality
•It’s what admired brands do
•If you don’t someone else will take
your place in the conversation
•NHS Employers
•#nomakeupselfie
•Movember

8. Get in where the decisions are
made
Views of CIPR members (75%) and non-
members (25%) 2,531 respondents, provided a
comprehensive overview
•Half (46%) of practitioners brief board
members and senior staff
•Third (35%) contribute to organisational
strategy
More than nine out of ten of respondents to
the State of the Profession said that being
considered a professional is important.
PR must no longer defined by media relations.
It’s a strategic management discipline focused
on building reputation by promoting mutual
understanding.
This is an industry wide opportunity.

9. Demonstrate Leadership
Gaining credibility
•Other professions succeed by reputation
and ‘speaking the language of the board’
•Ethics must be centre stage
•Engagement with employers and
commissioners of PR services
•Campaigning
•Clarity on the route map
•Continuous Professional Development
Show me the money
•15 - 49% media relations spend
•4 - 8% social media management
•4 - 12% event management
•2 - 15% consumer/public
campaigning
•4 - 5% research, planning and
measurement

10. Approach to internal communications
•It’s all about being social
•Make bold decisions
•Align your choices to the personality of
your organisation and its employees
Melcrum Research:
•Innovation and idea exchange (41.5%)
•Employee engagement (38.4%)
•Knowledge management and
collaboration (30.8%)
Research, Plan, Evaluate, Amend,
Innovate
Innovation and Employees

11. Sarah’s Top Ten Tips
1. Become an expert (with support)
2. Approach social media like another channel (don’t be scared)
3. Beware any ‘specialist’ who blinds you with science
4. Look for trusted sources, recommendations and best practice
5. Utilise Government and NFP energy and will
6. Get into the decision makers – and become one
7. View everything online as a fantastic opportunity
8. Don’t do anything on line, that you wouldn’t do offline
9. Learn to evaluate your social media
10.Continuous Professional Development
“This xxxx has too many shortcomings to be seriously considered as a
means of communication. This device is inherently of no value to
use”

12. Questions?
sarah@pinchpointcommunications.c
o.uk
@ms_organised