Social Media and Digital Engagement

Imedia Summit

Nick Jones, Director, Interactive Services, COI

Our Conversation today

What the heck is COI? Defining social media and digital engagement Background and wider context

Review of our use of social media to date The drivers that made it happen

The benefits and risks The role of policy, guidance, standards

COI: the Government’s centre of excellence in marketing and comms

And about 100 more

Demand side >>> Broker of capabilities and capacity >>> Supply sideDemand side >>> Broker of capabilities and capacity >>> Supply side

Typical client functions• Marcoms

– Campaigns – E-Comms– Digital Engagement

• Procurement• IT or Info Services• Policy Digital channels for communication,

consultation, engagement or delivery. Web 2.0 applications and services,

including social media. Digital Presences on web, mobile,

wireless, iTV or other platforms. Meeting government and industry digital

standards, such as web rationalisation, accessibility, usability, metrics etc

Advice and management of design, development, procurement and use of:

In four categories

Digital strategies Digital Solutions Specialism such as mobile,

games, User evaluation and analytics

Other frameworks cover media buying, News & PR, publications, etc etc

And about 85 more

Defining social media• ‘Online technologies and practices that are used to share opinions

and information, promote discussion and build relationships.’

• “It's a fusion of sociology and technology, transforming monologues (one to many) into dialogues (many to many) and is the democratization of information, transforming people from content readers into publishers.”Source: Wikipedia

• Does it allow you to create, connect and share more easily?

The flip-side: digital engagement

Engagement dialogue: moving from broadcast to conversation; not only listening but responding; two way collaboration sharing information, data, opinion, discussion; building and sustaining rational and emotional relationships moving audience from awareness to action.

Digital the leverage of digital media technologies the use of interactive techniques to improve service delivery and information

provision.

What’s happening and wider context

Review of Government use of social media to increase digital engagement The policy drivers

Social Media in communications: RAF Campaign

Bebo – Building Britain’s Future: cross government

DFID engaging and enthusing: devolution of spokespeople

Defra engaging and conversing: consultation plus

NHS diabetes team blog: spreading the load, sharing experience

MoD Media relations: off the shelf tools at the front line

Climate change: off domain collaborative drafting (Copenhagen)

CivilSuite: internal collaboration tools for the Civil Service

Act On Co2

Act On Co2

Plus many others

Royal Navy Engineer Challenge iphone app

http://itunes.apple.com/gb/app/royal-navy-engineer-officer-challenge/id339491226?mt=8  Balance the Bobby, North Wales Police, participatory budgeting

http://www.north-wales.police.uk/balanceyourbobbies/

Cyberbullying, Facebook page, 100,000 fans in a month http://www.facebook.com/EndCyberbullying?v=wall

Wider context; the policy drivers that made it happen so far

2.0 Policy: four guiding principles formed the vision

Open information To have an effective voice, people need to be able to understand what is going on in their public services; government will publish information about public services in ways that are easy to find, use, and re-use.

Open feedback The public should have opportunities to have a fair say about their services and contribute toward their ongoing development.

Open conversation We will promote greater engagement through more interactive online consultation and collaboration. We will also empower people to be active on online peer-support networks.

Open innovation We will promote innovation in online public services to respond to changing expectations and bringing the concepts into mainstream government practice.

Helped frame Working Together: Public Services on Your Side and Digital Engagement: Update on Power of Information :

Policy needed explicit green light to let staff participate

Be credible Be accurate, fair, thorough and transparent.

Be consistent Encourage constructive criticism and deliberation. Be cordial, honest and professional at all times.

Be responsive Share insight and create a dialogue

Be integrated Make it part of something bigger, not just an add-on

Be a civil servant Remember that you are an ambassador for your organisation. Wherever possible, tell people who you are

Principles for Online Participation. Part of the Civil Service Codehttp://www.civilservice.gov.uk/about/resources/participation-online.aspx

:

The benefits and risks

Benefits of using social media

Promote conversation to: Improve reputation and influence Promote transparency

Listen to feedback and improve service/ brand/ product Empower users, stakeholders and partners Change behaviour Enhance search engine performance

Provide a new channel to: Augment traditional channels Increase reach and accessibility

Reflect communication preferences

Enable staff (communications, policy and delivery) Enhance qualitative and quantitative data

Risks

Enhance qualitative and quantitative data Loss of ‘control’ Our unfamiliarity with format Absence of standards IT limitations in departments Elasticity of time and place Low levels of efficacy and trust – earn it Level of commitment required to manage Failure to feedback Government trying to be cool

The role of policy, guidance, standards

Policy – what can be done Guidance – how can I do it Standards - how can it be done well

Policy achievement: drivers and inhibitors on the way

Triple whammy of drivers Ministerial drive Big-hitters’ buy-in Grass roots enthusiasm

Inhibitors are the usual show-slowers Traditional comms control IT control Resourcing implications

Policy need to structure the approach to these issues and the risks “If you can let police walk the streets with guns you can manage the risks of

letting them use Facebook.”William Perrin, Policing 2.0 conference, National Policing Improvement Agency

COI www.coi.gov.uk

Social media strategies…

Start life… As an add-on to campaign activity With part-time resourcing In the tool-sheds Powered by enthusiasm

COI www.coi.gov.uk

… Should nest within wider digital comms strategies…

Such strategies… Integrate all digital comms activity

Content: reuse, sharing, signposting Cooperation across paid, owned, earned channels Conversion: pull towards action goals

Feature full-time resourcing Tools and time Powered by the comms plan

COI www.coi.gov.uk

… and contribute to digital engagement Strategies

Integrated beyond traditional comms function Public participation Data Enabling the workforce

Resourcing from beyond comms Operations Delivery

Tools and time are applied in a system Powered by the business plan

COI Web Standards: helping us do it really well Usability Toolkit

Cost, Usage, Quality Naming Mobile Digigov blog

http://coi.gov.uk/blogs/digigov/ http://www.coi.gov.uk/guidance.php?page=188

Thank you

Nick.jones@coi.gsi.gov.uk Twitter.com/nickjonesCOI

COI is the UK Government's centre of marketing excellence. The Interactive Services team consists of 40 staff with over 350 collective years of digital industry experience. It delivers digital projects and assets for about 90 public sector clients. Working with a framework of about 100 digital suppliers, they deliver anything from widgets, sites and campaigns through to social media engagement and digital communications strategies. The team is also involved in writing guidance and cross-government standard setting on the use of social media, mobile and digital engagement. Clients range from the armed forces, through the education and health sectors to environmental and transport departments.

http://www.coi.gov.uk/services.php?page=109