why government agencies should meddle in social media - it starts with listening

Why Government should meddle in Social Media – it starts with listening THE 2012 Network of Public Sector Communicators ConferenceWellington

Nicholas O‟Flaherty, Executive Director, Social@Ogilvy

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Listening gives

you big ears

Understand the

needs and

sentiment of the

community

Listening helps you toKnow what the horizon looks like

4 4

Listening makes

social media your

focus group

Insights from social

media guide both

policy development

and implementation

5

Social media

insights

Relevant

conversations

aren‟t always

taking place where

you think they are

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Listening helps to

identify

influencers who

have the reach,

power, authority

to drive the

actions of others

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Why identify your influencers?

Advocates – those individuals who may

potentially be supportive

> We can then build a strategy for

engaging these individuals. Their support

can be critical during a crisis situation and

they may help drive awareness and

preference

Detractors – those who disagree with us

>We can pinpoint potential arguments and

positions likely to be put forward against us

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Enhancing democracy in action and driving participation:1,200 #marriageequality Twitter posts with a reach of 800,000, drove additional last minute submissions

15,000 followers

5,500 followers

Reputations Are Built or Broken in Search

Get Your “House Rules” in Order

Add a Digital Chapter to Your Crisis Comms Plan

1212

Online Conver-sation

The volume of

talkIdentify

key influen-

cers

Core and new

audiences

Conversa-tion

drivers

Which platforms

?

Positive or

negative sentiment

Opportu-nities to engage

Obstacles to

success

Insights from social media which can impact on policy development

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Why paid listening tools?

If you’re going to listen –

do it properly

Considerations:

• Real time

• Dashboard

• Comprehensiveness

• Consistency over time

and platforms

• Engagement tracking

14

Engage earlier

SM creates the

ability to consult

more informally and

earlier in the policy

development

process

15

Media relations online

and offline are

connected. One

accelerates the other

16

Integrate social

media into your

traditional media

relations

17

Transparency,

always important –

even more so in

NZ

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In conclusion: Government should „meddle‟ in social media because it enhances its ability to:

• Understand the needs of their communities

• Collaborate more effectively internally and cross agency

• Improve policy development, programme planning and

implementation

• Consult earlier and more informally

• Gauge the sentiment and attitude of the target audience

• Identify and engage with key stakeholders and online influencers

• Perceive and manage risk

• Distribute information more widely via QR codes, Hashtag

conversations

• Engage with younger and less accessible audiences

• Improve service provision

• Demonstrate responsiveness and transparency

• Communicate with New Zealanders through their preferred

channels

About Social@Ogilvy

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550+ Social Specialists(over 4000 Digital Specialists)

35 Countries Worldwide

Awarded The 2011 Global

SABRE for Outstanding

Global Digital/Social

Consultancy

Global Team

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Clients In New Zealand