Webcare this is how! A Step-by-Step Plan for the Government

Webcare this is how!
A Step-by-Step Plan for the Government
2nd edition
66%
80%

Government-wide Webcare and Social Media
Network (Rijksbreed Kennisnetwerk Social
Media & Webcare)
The Government-wide Webcare and Social Media
Network (RKW) is involved in the knowledge sharing,
consultancy and administrative planning of webcare:
the role of social media in the contact between the
government and clients. The network was set up on
1 July 2012 based on the need for the government to
act jointly to improve services via social media.
In the coming period, the RKW is going to focus on a
broader, government-wide integration of services and
communication on social media. The emphasis is
always on adding value to the services and the
citizen’s perception thereof. In addition, more and
more employees are being used personally to be the
face and visiting card of their organisation on social
media.
Products and Services
• Knowledge meetings on government and business
cases and trends and developments.
• Advice on the use of social media and webcare.
• Training for service providers, consultants and
directors.
• An annual symposium.
• Guest lectures at universities and universities of
applied sciences.
• Presentations and workshops for the national
government, local authorities and the EU.
• Various specialist publications.

Webcare this is how!
A Step-by-Step Plan for the Government
2nd Edition

Contents
Foreword 4
Introduction 5
Step 1 Determine what webcare means for you and
why you want to use it 8
What is webcare? 8
Webcare, why is it so important? 13
What are the costs and returns of webcare? 14
Step 2 Make sure that webcare is properly embedded in your
organisation 18
Who does what with webcare? 22
Step 3 Create commitment 26
How do you get everybody on board? 26
Tips and trucs 26
Step 4 Determine what you want to know and measure 30
Step 5 Find out all you can about the legal aspects of webcare 36
What are the main issues? 36
What to keep, what not and how? 36
How do you secure your account? 37
Step 6 Ensure good brand perception 40
What are the applicable guidelines? 40
What else should you remember? 42
Step 7 Begin! 46
Which steps do you have to take? 46
Some more tips 48
Training? 49
Step 8 The Next Step 52
Word list 56

Foreword
This is the new booklet by the Government-wide Webcare and Social
Media Network (Rijksbreed Kennisnetwerk Social Media & Webcare). A
shift is taking place towards social media when it comes to communica-tion
with clients. The government has dealings with both citizens and
companies.
As a consumer you may be wondering, “You do not actually buy anything
from the government, do you?” Clients are citizens, entrepreneurs,
students, etc. We use the term ‘clients’ here to refer to people who use
your services.
Webcare can cover a variety of matters, for example resolving complaints,
answering questions, providing information spontaneously or upon
request, providing feedback on client experiences, or a combination of the
above. This booklet contains some good examples, like that of DUO,
helping students with problems in South Africa.
It is important to realise that a civil servant is the organisation’s visiting
card. More and more civil servants are using social media on behalf of
their organisations. They are the right people to explain, at a personal
level, what is going on and to communicate with the ‘client’, in whatever
shape or form.
This booklet shows that webcare is being used more and more by the
government and that knowledge and experience in this field has increased
over time. Our knowledge network has also been developing. We have
added social media to our name. We will continue under the name
Government-wide Webcare and Social Media Network. We will see that
developments in social media are taking place at breakneck speed.
It is therefore impossible for me to predict where we will be in the near
future. I hope you enjoy reading this booklet!
Drummond Coenraad
Chairman of the Government-wide Webcare and Social Media Network
4 WEBCARE THIS IS HOW! – A STEP BY STEP PLAN FOR THE GOVERNMENT

Introduction
We are living more and more in a network society. This requires a government which is
modern and accessible and which is in close contact with all citizens, companies and other
organisations in our country. Social media, which are a diverse mix of forms of communi-cation,
are playing an ever important role in this. The government is also now making
frequent use of social media in its communications and provision of services. The
question is whether we, the government, are using social media effectively? Things are
improving, partly because we are focusing on learning from each other, and this booklet is
living proof of that.
Erik den Hoedt
Director of the Public Information and Communication Office (Directeur Dienst Publiek en
Communicatie) and member of the board of the Government-wide Webcare and Social
Media Network
WEBCARE THIS IS HOW! – A STEP BY STEP PLAN FOR THE GOVERNMENT 5

Step 1 Determine what webcare
means for you and why
you want to use it
What is webcare?
Each area of government has its own definition of webcare. This can best be summarised
by the following sentence:
Improving the provision of services via social media by
listening online and responding to questions and
comments from clients.
PR Consultant Ronald van der Aart has an even more precise definition:
“Webcare is the structural, real-time provision of services by an organisation via social
media to one or more specific target groups. An organisation uses webcare to answer
questions, provide information and resolve complaints. It does so reactively and on its
own initiative. Insights acquired into products, services and/or the provision of services
are translated into feedback for relevant people and/or departments.”
Other social media specialists define webcare as follows:
• @AmazingPR: Service with a smile and a wink via social media
• @wmkaptein: Respond, point out, share, help, thank, congratulate, monitor and
improve processes and services.
• @midd0202: Engage to get better service
It is important to incorporate 3 elements:
1. Listen: What are they saying to you/about you on social media?
2. Respond: An adequate and suitable response to questions, comments and complaints.
3. Improve: Do something with the signals you receive. If you structurally tackle issues
incorrectly, if your information cannot be found or if your information cannot be
understood, you should change it!

Netherlands Food and Consumer Product Safety Authority (Voedsel en
Waren Autoriteit (NVWA))
The NVWA uses social media, for example, with regard to communication of a news
item, such as the news bulletins about dangerous fire blankets of 23 December 2013:
the news
report on the
nvwa website

The NVWA has posted a special message on Facebook with tips for the consumer
along with an eye-catching illustration
pick up
current
affairs
smartly: frying
oliebollen
(dutch snack
similar to a
doughnut but
without the
hole)

The NVWA sends out twitter messages on this subject:
monitoring
activity and
sentiment

Strictly speaking, webcare is different from online reputation management. The latter
means the correct, expedient and correct processing of online questions from your target
group. Webcare goes one step further. It relates not only to the correct processing of
questions and complaints but also - more generally - to the online communication by
your clients with your organisation and communication by your clients about your
organisation.
In the context of government ‘clients’ is a strange term. After all you do not actually buy
anything from the government, do you? Our clients are citizens, entrepreneurs, students,
etc. We use the term ‘clients’ here when we refer to people who use your services.
Webcare can take various forms, namely:
• resolving complaints;
• answering (direct) questions;
• spontaneously providing information;
• providing internal feedback on client experiences;
• or a combination of these.
Social media come in all shapes and sizes. The type of media your organisation focuses on
is determined by your target group. You have to be wherever your target group is. The
analyses you carry out will soon reveal which social media your target group use.
Important note
Government organisations are subject to policy and implementation issues, as well as
politics-related issues. The question is, who is responsible for doing what? Within the
central government the arrangement is often as follows:
• Policy communication is organised via the ministry.
• Communication about politically sensitive issues, which affect the policy of the minister
or state secretary, is arranged centrally (based on the Communication Department of
the ministry).
• The department in question is responsible for communication on policy
implementation.

Webcare, why is it so important?
Is webcare actually something you should invest time and energy in? The answer is yes.
Social media offer clients new way of communicating with or about the government. This
is something you cannot ignore. Certainly now that large companies and other govern-ment
organisations have started focusing on webcare, people are starting to assume that
they can automatically communicate with the government via these channels as well.
What is more, as a government you have to communicate wherever your clients are
active. It is your duty to communicate with them properly, and that means using social
media.
“The main objective of central government
communication is to protect the citizen’s right to
communication with and information from central
government and to support good democratic
governance.”
The Government adopted these established ‘fundamental assumptions’, in RVD
Communicatiereeks, deel 1 (2004) in 2002.
Doing nothing with regard to webcare is more or less the same as not answering the
telephone at the client contact centre (CCC).
Sometimes people within organisations claim that their target group has no social media
presence! That is extremely unlikely. Research has shown that almost 9 out of 10 Dutch
people use social media. For example, in 2014, no fewer than 8.9 million people were
using Facebook, and 3.5 million people were using Twitter. http://www.marketingfacts.nl/
berichten/nationale-social-media-onderzoek-2014
Who actually uses webcare in the Netherlands? A handy overview can be found in ‘The
state of webcare 2013’ (De stand van webcare 2013) by Upstream:
http://www.marketingfacts.nl/berichten/wat-is-stand-van-webcare-2013
However, webcare is not something you can simply start without any preparation.
Organisations have to make a conscious, strategic choice regarding when it is relevant to
start webcare.

What are the costs and returns of webcare?
The first question that arises when you indicate you want to start with webcare is how
much it costs. There is a simple answer. Initially webcare always costs more than it
generates. The start-up phase costs time, money and energy. The next question is
whether webcare might replace some of the telephone calls in the client contact centre. In
the long term the answer will be positive sometime in the future. Webcare will only start to
generate real returns in a later phase. As soon as webcare has been properly and efficiently
set up, it may lead to leverage effects. Then, webcare can be used deliberately to achieve a
social media range which, in the past, had to be purchased by means of, for example,
mailings or campaigns. However, creating good and effective leverage effects does
require skill.
Webcare can also change the role of the client contact centre (CCC). The CCC will probably
increasingly acquire an expertise role. Easy questions will be dealt with more and more
frequently online.
Research by RTL News has shown that the number of telephone calls to call centres is
declining. For example, the customer service department of T-Mobile received 60 percent
fewer telephone calls over a period of three years. The number of telephone calls received
by ABN AMRO dropped from 20 million to 12 million over a 3-year period. http://www.
rtlnieuws.nl/nieuws/binnenland/helpdesk-verdwijnt-we-klagen-liever-online
ROI
The webcare Return On Investment (ROI) is, of course, not just a question of numbers and
euros. Using webcare properly and efficiently can have an enormous impact on your
organisation’s image. The question is: how do you measure this? If you would like to try
to calculate webcare yield, you should, in any event, take account of the following costs
and benefits:
Costs
• Fte.
• Training (NB: use the available knowledge inside and outside your organisation).
• Tools (NB: there are free tools available for immediate use).
• Changes to the website.
Benefits
• Satisfied clients.
• Learning from your clients eventually generates savings on things such as market
research and client panels.
• Preventing damage to your image in the event that incidents escalate.
• An improved image as being a reliable government.
• Eventual reduction in the number of calls.
• Input from clients and other organisations on social media leads to an improvement in
the content of your website.

CIBG, services via webcare
Care providers can register in the BIG register, which is a register set up further to the
Individual Healthcare Professions Act (Wet Beroepen Individuele Gezondheidszorg
(Wet BIG)). A BIG registration provides clarity on a care provider's competence.
Continual improvement is one of the focal points of the BIG register. Among other
things, this involves the use of webcare. The BIG register takes signals received via
Twitter seriously and responds accordingly. Feedback on the solution is provided
immediately wherever possible. However, in other instances the BIG register also
invites people to contribute, sometimes proactively via an invitation, for example for
a usability test but sometimes also after a signal from a critical tweet. As far as the
BIG register is concerned, this is webcare at its very best. Entering into a dialogue,
answering questions, but also helping people and, where possible and necessary,
implementing improvements.
A different organisation
Organisations that use webcare and social media are going to start working differently. The
use of webcare often works like a catalyst, because questions, issues and complaints
suddenly become visible. The outside world, that of your target group, suddenly becomes
much more accessible. That often means your organisation has to start functioning
differently. The integration of social media as an extra channel means that you can access
a world which you cannot control or mould to suit yourself! This is explained in more
detail in Step 2.

Step 2 Make sure that webcare is
properly embedded in
your organisation
How do you determine your objectives? “The world is changing so quickly that there is no
point reflecting on the role of webcare as part of your organisation’s mission, vision and
strategy.” This is a frequently heard comment in relation to social media. Nevertheless it
is good to assess what your organisation represents and how it wants to develop. You
need to ask yourself how you can make a useful contribution with webcare. If you clarify
this, it becomes easier to gain support from the board or from management.
The increasing digitalisation means there is a growing need for digital contact. For many
organisations webcare is an extremely important channel. Precisely because there is less
physical contact. If you do not want people telephoning with any question they might
have, you can achieve a great deal digitally. Your website has to be well-organised.
Certainly as far as government organisations are concerned, it is important to refer to
approved information. This information also has to be easy to find. And it has to be
accurate! In that way, you can avoid people being incorrectly informed.
Objectives
We can use webcare to communicate rapidly and efficiently with people and to learn from
them. Webcare enables you to pick up on signals from people who need extra help, or in
situations where things are going wrong. Your organisation’s objectives can also be
translated into a contributing social media ambition.
Central Government Information on Twitter
On 6 January 2014, the Central Government Information
Service (Informatie Rijksoverheid) started a Twitter account
@Rijksoverheid to answer the public’s questions on national
government legislation and regulations. @Rijksoverheid is
intended to help broaden the provision of services by the
Central Government attuned to the needs and expectations
of citizens. In this initial phase, Informatie Rijksoverheid will
limit itself to answering questions. @Rijksoverheid is an opportunity for Informatie
Rijksoverheid to answer people’s questions in a modern, personal and low-threshold
way.

All being well, your social media objectives will, in any event, be properly anchored in
your communication strategy. Ultimately, that communication strategy is the result of the
organisation’s objectives. Once you have webcare properly up and running, the knowledge
that you acquire by truly engaging in a dialogue with the client eventually generates more
input for your organisation’s strategy and objectives. The picture may then be completely
different from the one below ; ) !
Social media resources
Social media objectives
Communication objectives
Organisation objectives
Organisatiestructuur
If initiatives are developed in a larger organisation with numerous implementing bodies
or divisions, it is a good idea to reflect on possible organisational forms of webcare. In
larger organisations it is, in the beginning, sensible to choose a single central point where
things can be brought together:
• Purchasing (of tools and training).
• Knowledge (knowledge acquired and contacts within the organisation).
• Coordination of communication issues such as corporate identity, tone of voice, etc.
Jeremy Owyang identified 5 ways in which organisations with a number of divisions
develop as regards the use of social media. If webcare is properly organised, clients will no
longer be sent from pillar to post.
Centralized Distributed Coordinated Multiple Hub
and Spoke
Holistic

In most cases webcare is still centralised with one, or at most a couple of, accounts being
used per medium (Twitter, Facebook, etc.) to respond to questions, comments and
complaints. The benefit of this is that your organisation can speak with one voice, making
it easy to organise who answers which question and how this might be implemented
throughout the organisation.
In many cases, the way in which social media are dealt with within organisations develops
naturally. Nowadays there are numerous advisory agencies and consultancies that
specialise in this. This has led to the development of a number of models. For this survey
we used the Deloitte Social Media Maturity Model.
1 Ad-hoc 2 Afdeling 3 Organisatie 4 Netwerk
Strategy &
Operational
Management
No Social Media
Strategy & ad-hoc
decisions
Division has Social
Media Strategies
(uncoordinated)
Integral Social Media
Strategy &
coordinated
Social Media
Strategy Chain &
Integration
Organisation &
Processes
Internal Social Media
focus (experimental)
External Social
Media focus
(experimental)
Service oriented
Social Media
Social Media
integrated in primary
services
Control &
Management
No management
support & cost
allocation
Social Media
embedded in
organisation & cost
allocation
Social Media
Programme manager
& ambassador &
social media budget
CIO/CEO/CFO &
shared budget
Information
technology
Many tools &
methods, no
standards
No supporting
architecture &
functionality
Social Media
Roadmap &
Standards
Social Media Shared
services & central
portal
People &
Culture
No training &
support
Social Media in job
profiles, limited
training & support
Social Media
competency
framework Helpdesk
Social Media trust &
innovation.
Investments in
Training & Support
These processes can be rated on a scale from 1 to 4:
• At level 1 (Ad-hoc), there are no arrangements.
• At level 2 (Department) arrangements have only been made at departmental level or
for the medium term.
• At level 3 (Organisation) the complete organisation is involved in social media
• At level 4 (Network), social media form an integral part of the organisation’s work
processes.

Is the sound organisation of webcare enough to be successful? Indeed, should you
organise webcare so rigidly? Webcare is not an employee or department, but rather a
mentality. All employees make a contribution online. With internal social media networks
such as Yammer, you can ask everyone to help answer a question or solve a problem.
Research within the government has shown that, frequently, it is completely unnecessary
to create new full-time posts in order to initiate webcare. Webcare is generally organised
within the CCC and that is, in the first instance, the right thing to do. The CCC and
communication often go hand-in-hand. The CCC has the expertise to answer client
questions, and people involved in communication also know how to use social media
professionally.
It is a good idea to have someone at the helm who knows how large organisations
operate, who can estimate the risks properly and who can get people to commit. In
complex cases, it may be a good idea to have the webcare start-up supervised by a project
or programme manager. Someone from outside can also be hired in to bring about a
breakthrough where necessary.
The departments and organisational units which are, in any case, needed to initiate
webcare are:
• legal affairs
• complaints handling
• policy
• client contact centre (CCC)
• communication
• (web) editing
• knowledge centre
• ICT department.
SPOC/Webcareteam
Designate a single point of contact (SPOC) in each department. Together, these colleagues
will make up the webcare team. This is both convenient and transparent. The SPOC can
pass on questions to colleagues within their own department. It is important to inform
the entire organisation about the usefulness of webcare. If the SPOC needs help from
colleagues, or support from management, this must be arranged quickly and efficiently. It
can be extremely beneficial if all employees then have the right mindset. Avoid making
the organisation of social media too complicated. Do not involve any major project
organisations for the start-up process. Make sure the preparation does not last for
months. Do not allow it to turn into a massive operation. Organise a ‘what if’¬ session
(see more below) and find enthusiastic people who are also ‘hardcore’ users of social
media in their private lives. Often they will have developed a natural feeling on how to
use social media. A good tip for finding the right people is: ‘take a look round the
organisation. People who are busy using their smartphones are those you should have on
board the project.’

Who does what with webcare?
Who actually does what? Sometimes it is difficult to assign an issue to a SPOC. Make sure
you always consult and meet regularly to discuss progress. The following overview may
help you.
Client contact centre (CCC)
• Primary questions
• Analysis of subjects and issues
Complaints handling
• Complaints and problems
Implementing body
• Secondary questions
• Assess client needs
Policy
• Policy development based on client needs
• Advice to politicians based on client needs
Communication/PR/Information
• Monitor online reputation
• Identify ‘political’ issues
• Create informative product(s) or post(s) about frequently asked questions or hot topics
Legal Department
• Legal preconditions
• Organisation of social media usage and Government Information (Public Access) Act
(Wet openbaarheid van bestuur (Wob))
(Web) editing
• Optimise website on the basis of CCC recommendations and signals on social media
• Measure channel behaviour
• Monitor online needs
• Monitoring tool links
It is also good to find out how other organisations have arranged their webcare. You
should visit some of the organisations referred to in this booklet!

UWV
It has been agreed with the Dutch Employee Insurance Agency (Uitvoeringsinstituut
Werknemersverzekeringen (UWV)) that two units will focus on social media. The
Group Spokesperson focuses on media and informs the UWV-related network. The
UWV webcare team focuses on informing clients and responding to questions and
complaints. The webcare team is part of the client contact department in Groningen.
There, 8 client advisers not only carry out regular telephone work but also provide
clients with practical support on the Internet. The group is managed by a team
manager who acts as a point of contact for colleagues at the UWV.
Webcare and corporate culture
Besides organising and structuring webcare, it is also good to make mutual arrangements
about clear standards and values online. You can organise things as carefully as you want,
but a team is never a team until there is clarity on this. Those standards and values can,
for example, be summarised in a number of rules, such as:
• We do not monitor our own colleagues.
• We always speak on behalf of the organisation and do not respond in a purely personal
capacity.
• We do not make any promises we cannot keep.
• We do not make any negative comments about others.
• We only give answers if we know what we are talking about.
• We always do what we say, in our contacts with each other and with clients.
Besides these internal standards and values, you have to realise, as a webcare team, that
you are the online face of the organisation. This also has implications for the attitude of
the employees on the webcare team. ‘Focus on the client’, should not be an empty slogan
but daily practice. Members of a webcare team must have a willingness to maintain a 100%
focus on service and to act accordingly. Day in, day out! The webcare team is also the
client’s voice internally, within the organisation. The team must therefore be daring and
willing to take up the fight against bureaucracy and red tape. Members of the webcare
team must be passionate about their organisation and the client. Only then will the team
be successful.
Towards a different organisation
The use of webcare and social media for communication and information ensures that
organisations change the way they work in the long run. The signals from outside, which
remained invisible because they were known only to the CCC, are now apparent to
everyone. A purely internal and compartmentalised orientation is impossible if you have
to deal with urgent questions and complaints. The distinction between marketing and
communication and client contact is no longer sustainable on social media. If you send
messages, you can guarantee that people will respond. That is something you can no
longer ignore. Organisations that take social media really seriously will work towards
creating a ‘social media hub’, which will be a combination of webcare, speaking out and
conversation management.

Step 3 Create commitment
How do you get everybody on board?
‘I am willing but my boss is not’ is a frequently heard comment by pioneers involved in
webcare. There are numerous excuses for not beginning with webcare. Examples include no
money for extra people, our target group is not online, it only creates more work, social
media is an overrated hype…
Often the problem is ignorance on the part of managers. The following are a number of
tips and tricks to achieve commitment:
Tips and trucs
Facts and examples
• Facts and figures about social media use in the Netherlands (look at marketingfacts.nl
for the latest figures).
• Show how other organisations use webcare: best practices. Invite another organisation
to give a presentation. This will make people less apprehensive.
• Spend some time on the shop floor of organisations that are further down the line.
• Monitor what your target group is saying about matters relevant to you.
Objectives
• Clarify how webcare can contribute to the realisation of organisation objectives.
• Webcare can help spotlight the organisation’s strengths. Show how.
• Show how webcare can improve your services.
Organisation
• Show how you can start by taking small steps.
• Use the knowledge of webcare within your organisation. There will always be enthusias-tic
people who are willing to share their know-how.
• View webcare purely as a channel for answering questions. The same question is asked
via a different channel. Your clients make the choice.
• Arrange a ‘what if’ session. Arrange a discussion with a group of people who represent
a good cross-section of the organisation. As a group, try to imagine which terrible
accidents can be caused by webcare. Commit these to paper and then devise solutions.
The fact alone that you have reflected on this puts people at ease.
• Propose a pilot period in which webcare is assessed in practice (and possibly under
supervision). This gives everyone in your organisation time to gain experience with

webcare and to learn from concrete interactions with target groups.
• The argument that ‘your boss does not want to’ is, of course, no excuse. After all, you
are the one responsible for client communication. Simply begin (and do it properly).
This will prevent any accidents. After a couple of days reveal what you are doing and
how it went. This is how lots of webcare teams started.
• If you anxious about starting without commitment, you should start by listening.
Analyse what people say about you and report this to your superiors.
• Find an ‘ambassador’ (at a high level) and provide him/her with the right information.
If necessary hire someone in from outside for the initial analyses and presentations.
Sometimes it takes a fresh pair of eyes to put things into proper perspective!
How do you keep everyone involved?
• Webcare belongs to everyone in the organisation. Make sure that, after a jubilant start,
the focus on webcare within the company does not slacken. Therefore:
• Continue to celebrate your successes. Include the entire organisation in this. (Tax and
Customs Administration example)
• Communicate exceptional results (5,000 followers, 1st thousand tweets, positive posts,
posts of Dutch celebrities…).
• Show internally that you communicate and are proud of it!
• Place a beamer with Twitter fountain on the shop floor, near the reception or in the
company restaurant.
• Share unusual posts or interactions via Intranet.
• Also show internally that you analyse your buzz and clarify what your organisation has
learned.
@BDstarters
has become
@BDzakelijk

Step 4 Determine what you want
to know and measure
How do you measure?
Online buzz occurs on numerous platforms and networks. It is impossible to continuously
keep track manually of everything that is being said about your organisation. Certainly if
there is a lot of buzz, for example in busy periods or during a crisis, centralised insight and
analysis is needed of volume, sentiments, trending topics, source types, sources and
authors. At the same time you, as the webcare team, need to be able to control the social
media accounts with numerous people on the most important platforms and to
cooperate.
Tools
With a view to updating online buzz, it is a good idea to think about using tools. Often,
tools not only enable you to monitor, but also communicate (engagement) and organise
work (workflow management). There are both free and paid tools on the market.
Certainly when you are just starting out with webcare, you can go a long way with a free
tool such as Hootsuite or Tweetdeck. If you are going to professionalise or expand your
webcare, you should consider using a paid tool. When choosing a tool you should not just
think of the short term, but also of the long term. In the beginning you will often only
want to listen. However, you will quickly be asked about analyses and reports. Do not
forget to register your communication with clients. Does the tool anticipate a link with a
client database?
Evaluate the tools on the following 5 points:
• Data collection (measure)
• Data processing (analyse)
• Overview (for example by means of dashboard)
• User friendliness (usability)
• Engagement (collaboration, campaign management and Social CRM)
You can arrange some tools entirely as you want. Others are reasonably ‘pre-pro-grammed’.
At the start of webcare opt for simplicity. That will prevent you drowning in the
various options.

Last but not least: in the customer satisfaction survey do not forget to measure the use of
social media. Request feedback on that subject from your target group. The Ministry of
Education, Culture and Science has good experiences with this (see http://www.rijksover-heid.
nl/nieuws/2013/12/03/ministerie-vraagt-volgers-om-feedback-twitteraccount.html).
Problem solved by monitoring
DUO came across this message on Facebook via monitoring (March 2013). It
transpired that the student also had a Twitter account. We dealt with this via a DM
and then resolved it by e-mail. In that way they were able to help a group of 10
students in South Africa terminate their public transport cards and prevent them
becoming embroiled in a time-consuming objections procedure.

Read the
tweets from
bottom to
top
This will give you a complete picture of the added value of webcare. Customer satisfaction
with webcare can also be compared to satisfaction with, for example, the CCC.
Tip: Have a look round at other organisations which have comparable client contact on
social media, and ask them which tools they use and how. Sometimes a single tool is not!

Which search terms do you choose?
You want to know what is being said about the services provided by your organisation on
Internet. In other words, you want to monitor your ‘buzz’. Good monitoring means
thinking properly about search terms. Finding the right words seems easy but often it is
not. Your language is not necessarily the language of your target group. As civil servants
we often tend to use words which are familiar to us, but mean nothing to our clients.
How do you find the right words?
• Use the key words used in the search on your website as inspiration.
• Are there any client panels or surveys going on? Listen and discover the words used by
your target group to describe your organisation.
• Subsidies can sometimes be applied for or certain schemes registered only in certain
periods. Search terms outside these periods often produce no results.
• Keep an eye on the news. If your organisation or a certain scheme is in the news, you
should add new search terms.
• Look for clever combinations of words. That way you can divide the wheat from the
chaff.
What do you report and to whom?
Different target groups within the organisation different information needs. Reports can
vary in size and detail per target group. General reports often contain volumes, trending
topics, specific organisational issues, etc. You should think carefully about the specific
information needs of each target group. The possible information needs of for example:
The Board of Directors
and management
(Web) editing Communication
• Income and expenditure
• Complaints
• Satisfaction
• Subjects and their connection
to the website
• Number of followers
• Quantity of traffic via social
media to the website
• Amount of retweets
• Sentiment analysis
You should also think carefully about the frequency of your reports. Managers sometimes
want direct feedback in the case of escalating incidents. SPOCs are often happy with a
weekly update of a number of responses, the nature thereof and the solutions. The Board
is often happy with a report once every quarter of the most notable points and key
statistics.

Step 5 Find out all you can about
the legal aspects of webcare
What are the main issues?
The legal aspects can be easily summarised. There are three main issues:
1. You communicate on platforms which are not yours. Therefore, all information is, in
principle, public. You have no control over what happens on these platforms. In your
answer you should always link to the information on your own website or to other
information of your own which is already online. Answer the question, respond in
general terms. Do not comment on personal dossiers. With webcare, therefore, you
basically never make any personal statements. The point of departure is ‘one-to-many’.
This means that webcare is primarily effective by serving a number of clients with
a single answer.
2. You cannot always control the information on social media. Consequently, information
may become out of date. Therefore, you should link as much as possible to your own
website where you are able to update the information, or have it updated. There is no
need to worry. Internet users are generally fully aware that a post from 3 years ago does
not carry the same weight as a post from last week.
3. The client is entitled to privacy: do not exchange personal information publicly via
social media. You should first assess whether the general information will help people
and refer them on to information on your own website. If personal information does
have to be exchanged, think carefully about the channel you are going to use. It may
therefore be a good idea to ask the client for a telephone number via a direct message
(DM) so that the CCC can call them.
What to keep, what not and how?
The Government Information (Public Access) Act (Wet openbaarheid van bestuur) states
that all government information is, in principle, publicly available to citizens and busi-nesses.
Webcare is, by definition, partly public. After all, the information is provided on a
public platform and can be followed by anyone who is interested. If webcare results in
individual contacts that lead to privacy-sensitive issues (for example the amount of a
benefit or the progress made in a dossier), it is sensible to record this conversation
somewhere, preferably in an existing database.
If that is impossible, it is a good idea to develop one (temporarily). It may be difficult to
register individual client contacts because the client details may not all be available on the

Internet. Consequently, it is by no means always known who the author was of a blog or
tweet. Try nevertheless to register everything as efficiently as possible. If possible assign a
client number to the registration.
A number of monitoring systems now have a so-called ‘engagement module’. This
sometimes includes an option to record client details. Contact registration is not just an
issue for the government, but also for the business community. After all, the more you
know about a client, the more specifically you can communicate and sell. Currently, the
way in which social media can generate insight into behaviour and client preferences is
the subject of much reflection.
This new discipline is called social CRM (SCRM). Social CRM means that you organise
social conversations smartly so that you can provide optimal assistance to your clients. A
lot of tools already offer the possibility not only to monitor conversations, but also to
record them and gain an insight into who dealt with what, and which conversations you
have already had with certain clients.
How do you secure your account?
Security is not a long story either. In general the same rules apply to security as to other
login codes and passwords. Keep them secret, change them regularly and do not give
them to people who are not authorised to speak via webcare on behalf of the organisation.
Do not worry if you happen to be hacked. Change your password, delete any spam and
inform – if necessary – your followers about what has happened.

Step 6 Ensure good brand
perception
What are the applicable guidelines?
Just as for all other means of communication and channels, social media are subject to
the branding guidelines of the central government. Guidelines now exist for the use of
social media based on the national branding.
If you have special wishes or requirements, please contact your communication depart-ment.
They and the Ministry of General Affairs can investigate the possibilities.
What should you include in your general description?
Think carefully about the general description/bio on your page. A good and clear
description ensures that you do not disappoint clients. Do not forget that on Twitter you
have only 160 characters to describe your organisation. First and foremost explain what
you do and not who you are. Clients can access additional information about who you are
by clicking the link to your organisation’s website.
• If applicable, indicate your target group.
• Explain briefly and clearly what you are (not) communicating. If you want to provide
more information about what you communicate or not, post this information on the
social media page of your website. Indicate which area of government you are involved
in. Save space by using the organisation’s abbreviation.
• What you will and will not respond to. If you do not want to use direct messages (DM),
you should indicate this. If the organisation has several accounts (e.g. corporate), you
should indicate this as well.
• Make it clear what your opening times are, if they are not 24/7. You could also state the
response time.
• The names (and co-tags) of the people in your webcare team. These cannot be read on
your Twitter background on mobile devices.
• Always add a link to your website. People will then know that it is not a ‘fake’ account.
• Should you use your social media temporarily, for example for a campaign? This is
something you should also indicate clearly.
• Because you only have limited space, the texts or the bio must be short and sweet, for
example: ‘24/7’, ‘No DM’, ‘MonFri’, ‘8-17’ etc.

https://twitter.com/BDzakelijk
https://twitter.com/Antw4bedrijven
https://twitter.com/gem_Leek

Which tone of voice are you going to choose?
Choosing the right tone of voice can sometimes be difficult. Communication via social
media is a loose, sometimes almost informal way of communicating. Sometimes this
contrasts sharply with the businesslike way in which we, in the government, have been
used to. Given the space you have and the nature of social media, you need to let that
businesslike tone go. Do not be afraid of doing this. The medium demands this and it
brings you closer to the client. Do not be afraid to address people informally. Only use
formal forms of address if the client does the same.
The quality standards of the Tax and Customs Administration
Format quality: the total message presentation effect. This includes the elements:
• Has this helped the person asking the question or the follower? Can anyone else
benefit from this response? Can we learn from this or make improvements? What
is more, you can measure a really good post by its engagement: has anyone
clicked or responded to your post? And has the post been retweeted, made a
favourite, liked or shared?
• Medium: is the style of responding suitable for Twitter/Facebook/community
without violating the guidelines laid down?
• Message in relation to formulation: is it appropriate to respond in this way?
• Sender, corporate: ‘Is the tweet appropriate for the Tax and Customs
Administration? Is this the way in which the Tax and Customs Administration
wants to present itself to the Twitter/Facebook/community?’ ‘Is there unity in the
notification/message?’
Content-related quality: covers the process-oriented and/or fiscally substantive
and/or technical correctness of a tweet.
Editorial quality: the linguistic aspect of a message. Among other things this means
the structure of a message, spelling, punctuation and references mentioned.
What else should you remember?
Emoticons and abbreviations
Whether you use emoticons and abbreviations depends on the desired style (and with
that the desired reputation) of the organisation. Things to bear in mind here are:
• Do the people you are communicating with also use emoticons?
• Will people take offence at the use of emoticons or abbreviations?
• Emoticons and abbreviations can reinforce the communication considerably in the
limited space you sometimes have.
If you decide to use emoticons and abbreviations, make sure these are used uniformly
and consistently by the entire webcare team.

Personal
Do not forget that although communication via social media might be one to one, it is
still more impersonal than, for example, via the telephone. See whether it is possible to
give the employees a face. You can do this by using photos of employees on your social
media profiles. Alternatively you can use photos to show what your organisation
represents or the image you want to project.
Traceability
When designing your page make sure you can be easily found by search engines. This also
means paying attention to URLs and SEO (search-engine optimisation) techniques. A URL
such as www.uwv.nl/webcare is short and to the point, and is indexed effectively by
Google. Do not forget title tags and meta tags. These partly determine the page rank, as
well as the conversion. The Internet manager can assist you if necessary. Make sure you
can easily be found on the basis of subject. Include (fixed) hashtags # in responses to
subjects people search for. People will then be able to find you quickly and this will
eventually increase the number of followers.
Refer to your social media accounts on your website. Make your website social by
including follow buttons. Refer to your social media accounts in other (offline) communi-cation
channels as well. Also promote your webcare team on your website and in other
communication channels.
How do you maximise your range?
You can extend your range by following people who, for example, tweet about subjects
related to your services. A lot of government bodies are afraid of doing this because
people do not always like being followed by government bodies. However, you should
not be too afraid. After all, social media are two-directional, and that means when
following people as well!
Tips for increasing range:
• Send occasional tweets with general information about what your organisation does.
Such tweets are easy to retweet.
• Ask other organisations to tweet about your twitter account. What you tweet may also
be of interest to the followers of those other organisations.
• Content is King. Make sure you always tweet correct and valuable information. If you
have no news, you should not tweet.
• Find out when is the right time to tweet. Tools are available for this purpose, such as
Crowdbooster. Of course, your own tweet experience also plays a role.
Remember that extending range is not a webcare team goal. Range is an important
precondition only if a webcare team is going to inform clients proactively in the long term.
If you are ready for this challenge, you can, for example, post your webcare team on your
website… or perhaps not?

#begin!
#ELICARE – EEN GOED BEGIN… 45

Step 7 Begin!
Which steps do you have to take?
In general you have to take four steps when starting with webcare.
Step 1 Gather knowledge
Step 2 Start listening
Step 3 Start responding (often in a pilot project)
Step 4 Official kick-off
Step 1
After reading this booklet you will have completed Step 1.
Step 2
After purchasing the right tool, you can start listening. Usually a month of ‘listening’ is
enough to get a feel for the nature and scope of the buzz.
Step 3
It is then time for Step 3: responding. It is important to make working agreements on
what you are going to respond to and what not, and particularly on how you respond. Do
not forget that everything you do is visible and, in principle, kept for a long time.
Which elements are included in your work instructions?
What do you respond to and what not?
• Who responds?
• How quick do you have to be?
• How do you respond?
• How do you deal with complaints or negative responses?
• Do you refer onwards?
What do you respond to and what not?
Think carefully about what you are going to respond to and what not. Above all, do not
respond to negative buzz. A simple rule of thumb can be:
We respond to:
• Questions about our services, schemes and subsidies.
• Posts with complaints about or problems with our organisation.
• Posts which indicate that there may be a complaint or problem with our organisation
(sometimes you have to read between the lines).

We do not respond to
• Posts which do not relate to our services or organisation.
• Discussions conducted on the basis of opinions.
• Messages containing excessive cursing and/or swearing.
Tip: ask yourself the question as to whether you can give a substantive answer. If the
answer to the question is ‘no’, do not respond.
You must also decide whether you only give substantive responses to questions and
comments aimed directly at your organisation. Alternatively you may want to seek out
the conversation and ‘interfere’ (without being asked) with your subjects?
Who responds?
Spread the work among the members of the webcare team. Do not forget the back-up.
Have a colleague read your response to check the correctness of the content and to
ensure there are no spelling mistakes.
You can respond as an organisation, but you can also opt to give the people in the webcare
team a face. On Twitter you then end a tweet with a co-tag (the ^¬ symbol), followed by
the employee’s initials, for example:
Theo Zijderveld : ^TZ
Edgar Merbis: ^EM
You then clarify the co-tags on the Twitter background, in the Twitter bio and/or on the
special landing page of the webcare team on Internet. Sometimes even with a photo.
How quick do you have to be?
Respond as quickly as possible (response time). Preferably within 1 hour. If this is
infeasible, let the client know. Try also to indicate why it takes longer to give an answer
(resolution time).
How do you respond?
RepMen.nl formulated the so-called ZEKEP formula for the answering of questions.
Businesslike
• Always focus on the goal. That is to help your clients. You should therefore keep the
conversation businesslike!
Empathic
• Show that you appreciate the client’s situation. However, do not get too involved.
• Short
• Give responses that are brief and to the point. The more words you use, the more
doubts can arise.

Efficient
• Read the client’s post carefully and focus primarily on the actual question or the
information needed. If the post is unclear, ask for more information or a clarification.
Do not leave any information online which might change later (for example amounts).
Refer instead to the web page containing the up-to-date information.
Personal
• We normally address people informally. If a persons position so requires, we address
them formally. You can also begin your answer with hello/good morning ‘client name’
Some more tips
If you have room, begin your answer with a short summary of the question. If, for
example, you are asked the following question:
‘by when must you have received the combined statement?’ – not: before 1 June. – but:
We must have received the combined statement no later than 31 May 2015.
Always refer to the current information on the website which has been checked and
approved by the web editors. First check whether that website contains all the (correct)
information to answer the question. If that is not the case, you should contact the web
editors.
Check whether the question has been asked by a different channel, such as telephone,
e-mail or chat. This prevents duplication and differing answers.
Of course, you must also check the tweet for spelling, grammar (abbreviated) URL and the
correct @mention before it is sent. However, anyone can make mistakes. Once your
tweet has been sent, check it again. If you notice a mistake, delete the tweet. It is actually
impossible to change a tweet once it has been sent. Then send the corrected tweet. If you
only discover the mistake later, you will have to leave it as it is, unless the tweet contains
factually incorrect information.
How do you deal with complaints or negative responses?
Do not worry too much about negative responses. Social media are full of them. If
someone responds in a rather blunt way, first try to get a picture of the person behind the
response. Study other tweets, read the bio and use Google to find out more about him or
her. This research may tell you whether this person has a habit of responding negatively,
or whether this is an exception. If the person who made the response has a habit of
making blunt statements, it is best not to respond. If negative feedback is an exception,
you should respond. If you expect this to lead to a pointless discussion, try to make
contact in some other way and, if necessary, ask the complaints department for help.
When should you refer onwards and when not?

Social media offer excellent opportunities for the government to present a united front.
After all, clients deal not only with your organisation, but also with other organisations. If
there are questions which you cannot answer directly, do not automatically say no. Try to
find the right governmental organisation that can provide the answer and refer the client
on to them. You should only do this if you are sure that the organisation you are referring
them on to can actually provide the answer. Make working agreements on this with other
organisations.
Giving answers on Twitter
On Twitter you can only use 140 characters in an answer. With the @client name at the
beginning of your tweet and a reference to the website at the end of your tweet, you are
left with even fewer characters. How can you save characters?
aan het eind van je tweet, houd je nog minder karakters over. Hoe bespaar je karakters?
• Leave out articles (the, a).
• Leave out prepositions (on, over, to, from, with, under, over).
• Leave out punctuation (full stop, colon, comma).
• Write numbers in figures: 8 rather than eight.
• Write dates as 25-3-14: rather than 25 March 2014.
• Do not precede an (abbreviated) URL with ‘see’ or ‘colon’.
• Use abbreviations, e.g. info rather than information.
If you cannot give a response in 1 tweet, divide your response into 2 parts and conclude
the tweets with 1/2 (1 of 2) and 2/2 (2 of 2). If that too is impossible, ask the person to
contact you via a different channel.
Training?
Various (commercial) practical webcare training courses are available. On-the-job training
can also be considered. This is the practical reality in many organisations. Use the
knowledge available within your organisation, or ask an organisation with experience to
show you the way. There are various companies and freelancers that can train you or help
you with the implementation of webcare. Find out how it is done in other government
organisations. Do not forget that everyone is learning and experimenting. Do not follow
blindly what others do, but choose your own course and, above all, use your common
sense!

Step 8 The Next Step
Congratulations on setting up and starting with webcare! You have taken the right
decision. You have discovered how much you can achieve with social media. Would it not
be great if webcare were an integral part of your digital communication, with tweets and
posts featuring on your website? Could you not use illustrations and films more for
clarification purposes? On top of all that you are probably desperate to explain the
background to the way you work.
Storytelling
Storytelling simply means telling a (good) story. Compare a random information folder
with a good book. People tend not to remember facts and figures so well. They remember
things better if they feel they can identify with the main characters and events. If you
want to explain something, why should you not use stories relating to real people for
illustration purposes? The Tax and Customs Administration (Belastingdienst), for
example, uses YouTube films to show what kind of things business people come up
against in their dealings with the Tax and Customs Administration. Highway inspectors
from Directorate-General for Public Works and Water Management (Rijkswaterstaat) use
Twitter to show the kind of things they come across in their work. They also answer any
questions they receive.
Visual content
A picture says more than a thousand words. If you can explain something visually, for
example using a film, photo, or infographic, you should consider doing so, certainly if you
get a lot of questions about the same subject..
An improved website
Webcare quickly highlights any deficiencies on your website, and which pages are unclear
or difficult to find. Take these signals seriously and include them in your website improve-ments.
Make sure that you do not become too fixated on the number of page views. If
people stay on your website for a long time and visit a lot of pages, it may mean that they
cannot find their way around. Do not hide your social media channels, but show clearly
on the website that questions can be submitted to you via social media.
Cooperation
Your organisation is not the only one with a webcare team. You may receive questions
about issues that another government organisation knows more about. Make sure that
you know who your webcare colleagues are in other departments and be clever in how you
cooperate with them.
Lastly, do not forget the most important thing about webcare. Helping people with
questions and complaints and showing that you take them seriously.
Make sure that you continue to project this image, also on social media!

Waternet - openness pays off
“On social media – but also via other channels – we are noticing that openness pays
dividends. That is why we respond to every question, even if some of them make us
feel uncomfortable. When, for example, a fence was erected in the Amsterdamse
Waterleidingduinen last year and more deer than normal died during the winter
period, we received a large number of questions from clients. The forest ranger then
recorded a film in which she explained how this happened and what we did about it.
That film was very popular on Facebook. Consequently, we always give honest
answers and do not delete any of the responses.”

Directorate-General for Public Works and Water Management
(Rijkswaterstaat): High-quality content is crucial
Rijkswaterstaat primarily shares background information on Facebook, meaning the
story behind our projects. High-quality content is crucial for appreciation on
Facebook.
The webcare team works intensively with the web editors on the composition of the
messages. We have a dynamic content calendar. Those messages are short and sweet
and are always accompanied by entertaining photos or a short video. People want
the same online as they do on the road: they do not want any hold-ups. A concise
text, accompanied by attractive illustrations has the greatest effect. Fans do not have
enough patience for videos longer than one and a half minutes. Rijkswaterstaat has
drawn up guidelines on how to submit input. Among other things these guidelines
include requirements for image material and the maximum number of punctuation
marks.
Throwback Thursday
On Thursday, the trend is for messages on the major social networks (Twitter,
Facebook, Pinterest and Instagram) to look back at special events. This trend, known
as Throwback Thursday, also offers RWS the possibility of reshowing historical image
material. A question is usually added to stimulate interaction.

Word list
Buzz
The Dutch term is: ‘Gezoem’. It refers to communication on social media: news bulletins,
tweets, status updates, etc.
CCC
Client Contact Centre, also known as the help desk.
SPOC
Single Point of Contact; contact person. The SPOC can, as necessary, pass on questions to
colleagues within their own department.
Social Media
The use of web-based and mobile technologies which enable interactive communication.
Users can place content online (user generated content). Popular social media platforms
are Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and LinkedIn.
Social Media Maturity Model
For this survey we used the Deloitte Social Media Maturity Model. Numerous different
versions of this model are available on the Internet. This is discussed in detail in
Chapter 2.
Webcare
Improving the provision of services via social media by listening online and responding to
questions and comments from clients.
Web monitoring
This means ‘listening’ on the Internet to ascertain what is being said about your organisa-tion/
activities on websites and social networks.
Our thanks go to the people who have contributed to the creation of this publication.

Acknowledgements
Wouter Bronk - Tax and Customs Administration (Belastingdienst)
Wilma Kaptein - Tax and Customs Administration (Belastingdienst)
Jeroen Ham - Tax and Customs Administration (Belastingdienst)
Evelien Starrenburg - Healthcare personnel register (BIG-Register)
Annet van Kruiningen - deGenen
Erik den Hoedt - Public Information and Communication Office (Dienst Publiek en
Communicatie)
Martin Spijker - Public Information and Communication Office (Dienst Publiek en
Communicatie)
Milko Vlessing - Public Information and Communication Office (Dienst Publiek en
Communicatie)
Henk Bakker - Education Executive Agency (Dienst Uitvoering Onderwijs)
Willy Loomans - Education Executive Agency (Dienst Uitvoering Onderwijs)
Carla Aponno - Netherlands Food and Consumer Product Safety Authority (Voedsel en
Waren Autoriteit)
Corine Zaagman-Doornbos - Netherlands Food and Consumer Product Safety Authority
(Voedsel en Waren Autoriteit)
Jan Meijer - Netherlands Food and Consumer Product Safety Authority (Voedsel en Waren
Autoriteit)
Ronald van der Aart - Repmen.com
Margot van der Stap - Directorate-General for Public Works and Water Management
(Rijkswaterstaat)
Drummond Coenraad - RKW
Inge Baars - RVO.nl
Gea Hemmink - RVO.nl
Irene van Munster - State Operations Implementing Body (Uitvoeringsorganisatie
Bedrijfsvoering Rijk)
Mirjam van Midden - Dutch Employee Insurance Agency (Uitvoeringsinstituut
Werknemersverzekeringen (UWV).
Jasper Brouwer - Dutch Employee Insurance Agency (Uitvoeringsinstituut
Peter Haarms - Dutch Employee Insurance Agency (Uitvoeringsinstituut
Mario Kortman - Waternet
Tim van Waard - Werkenvoornederland.nl

Publisher’s details
This brochure is a publication by:
Government-wide Webcare and Social Media Network
(Rijksbreed Kennisnetwerk Social Media & Webcare)
More information
For more information on webcare and the
Government-wide Webcare and Social Media Network
(Rijksbreed Kennisnetwerk Social Media & Webcare)
please contact webcareoverheid@gmail.com or via
twitter @webcareoverheid
Text
Annet van Kruiningen (1st version)
Edgar Merbis
Theo Zijderveld
Number of copies
500, April 2014

Webcare this is how! A Step-by-Step Plan for the Government

Recommended

Recommended

More Related Content

What's hot

What's hot (12)

Viewers also liked

Viewers also liked (20)

Similar to Webcare this is how! A Step-by-Step Plan for the Government

Similar to Webcare this is how! A Step-by-Step Plan for the Government (20)

Recently uploaded

Recently uploaded (20)

Webcare this is how! A Step-by-Step Plan for the Government