This document discusses how local government communications is changing with the rise of social media and smartphones. It provides examples of how some local governments are using social media for customer services and engagement. It also outlines some challenges for communications professionals, like operating with smaller budgets and needing new skills to handle multiple social media platforms. Case studies show how social media can be used to fact-check news stories, promote awareness of important issues, and handle customer requests from the public.

1. social
media for
local
government
Dan Slee

2. What we’ll do today
Practical exercise: Comms
Planning
Social Media and Customer
Services
Start and
introductions
A 2020 Comms
Team: What Does
Tomorrow’s
Comms Look Like
Today?
Monitoring and
Evaluation:
Social Media
Break
Customer
services

3. A 2020 Comms Team: What Does Tomorrow’s
Comms Look Like Today?

4. “Embrace Chaos.”- Robert Phillips ‘Trust Me, PR Is Dead.’

5. ‘We should
communicate
like insurgents.’
- Tom Fletcher,
HM
Ambassador,
Lebanon

6. Misty / Flickr https://flic.kr/p/cSkSDQ

7. Stats

9. Source: Ofcom, August 2014
2’58”
Watching
live TV
1’19”
Listening
to the radio
0’47”
Email
0’40”
Recorded
TV
0’36”
Websites &
apps
0’29”
Phone
calls
0’29”
Social
media
0’15”
Newspapers
print & web
0’4”
Online
news
0’3”
Magazines
0’2”
Photo
messaging
A UK adult’s
daily media
landscape

10. Scottish stats
Source: Ofcom Scottish market

11. Scottish stats
Source: Ofcom Scottish market

12. Who we trust is changing

13. Six challenges

14. Challenge 1:
Smartphones
and the
internet
Techstage https://flic.kr/p/rMpx54

15. Techstage https://flic.kr/p/rMpx54
Open the door to social
media and customer
services walks straight in

17. 2005 comms skills
Press release, media
relations, media interview,
photo call, print advertising,
print, internal comms,
intranet, website, TV, radio,
strategy, comms planning.
2015 comms skills
Press release, media
relations, media interview,
photo call, print advertising,
print, video, Facebook, social
media advertising, Tumblr,
Twitter, Flickr, Instagram,
podcasting, bloggers, blogs,
infographic, open data, email
marketing, internal comms,
social intranet, audio, TV,
radio, linkedin, Instagram,
Vine, live Q&A, strategy,
comms planning, customer
services, snapchat.

19. Challenge 2:
austerity

20. Challenge 3:
video

22. Challenge 4:
The 80/20 split

23. Challenge 5:
Movements not
hierarchies

24. Challenge 6:
Educate your
clients

25. How does that all come together?

26. CASE STUDY
#foxnewsfacts

27. CASE STUDY:
Remember
Srebrenica

28. CASE STUDY:
Dave Throup,
Environment
Agency

29. CASE STUDY:
Morgan Bowers,
Walsall Council

30. 1. Work out who
your audience is
2. Go to where
your audience’s
eyeballs are at a
time when they
are
3. Monitor,
Listen and
engage with
80/20
4. How would you like them
to change the world?

31. Monitoring:
Topsy

32. Monitoring:
Google Alerts

33. Monitoring:
Followerwonk

34. Monitoring:
Social media
analytics

35. Monitoring:
Google analytics

36. Engage:
Social media
advertising

37. Targeted ads by
area and for
people with
epilepsy to tell
people about a
new treatment

38. Targeted ads by
culture and
ethnicity

39. Amec Social media measurement
guidance
http://amecorg.com/social-media-measurement/

41. Social
customer
services

42. @scc_help
Sheffield City
Council
customer
services

43. Calls
Received
Website
Visits
Face to
Face
Visitors
Emails
Received
Twitter
Enquiries
Self-serve
E-Forms
White
Mail
2012-2013 645,098 4,284,386 222,567 26,674 0 2,632 16,462
2013-2014 762,081 4,361,318 188,014 13,303 0 22,132 27,488
2014-2015 1,109,624 3,976,523 107,689 17,166 479 46,873 30,564
@scc_help
Stats

46. @sccstreettsahead
26 Dec to 15
Feb
255 grit bin
requests via
Twitter

47. Thank you!
Any questions
Twitter: @danslee
Email: dan@comms2point0.co.uk