device and channel proliferation - what central banks should do

© Bowen Craggs & Co. 2012

How should central banks manage channel and device proliferation

David Bowen, September 2013


This presentation

• What do we mean by device and channel proliferation?

• Responding to the mobile challenge

• What should central banks be doing with social media


Device proliferation


Channel proliferation


The challenge

Device proliferation + channel proliferation

=

Much greater complexity

=

Needs for prioritisation

=

Need for ever more understanding within organizations


RESPONDING TO THE MOBILE CHALLENGE

Where are we heading? Away from apps

Source: Survey of corporate web managers, Dec 2012

But not towards separate mobile sites

Responsive is the future

‘RESPONSIVE’ HAS TAKEN OFF

IT’S A NO-BRAINER - OR IS IT?

Qualcomm: In a muddle

HSBC: Careless implementation

GE: Mobile first … or desktop last?

Microsoft: A study in fragmentation

DOES IT HAVE TO BE LIKE THIS?

Alternatives? The whole site on a mobile template

Give a choice?


Go adaptive?

?


Or do nothing?

Thoughts on mobile

• Consider if you need a mobile-ready site at all –

how are your main audiences viewing the site

how does your current site work on a mobile

• If going responsive, watch your agency like a hawk – good implementation makes all the difference

• Ensure that your desktop usability is not degraded

• Separate mobile sites are often more usable

• Adaptive may well be the answer – wait and watch?


What about tablets and apps

• iPads and other tablets are very popular among senior people

• The desktop website usually works on tablets

• Central banks have been trying out iPad apps – some work better than others


Should we write off apps?

• Apps are rarely a good substitute for a well built website

• They take up space on mobile devices

• Their real strength is when they add convenience when on the move

• They should only be considered if your target audience is likely to come back to them again and again, or if they exploit the particular abilities of the device


HOW TO HANDLE SOCIAL MEDIA


Channel challenges

• How to know which channels to use

• How to know what to use them for


Social media = The Easy Web

• Websites are quite simple to build

• Blogs are very simple to build

• The new generation of ‘social’ pages could be built by a hamster … the Easy Web

Too easy: One jobseeker, three video sites


Too easy

• Your employees, on Facebook, Vkontakte, Orkut, Sina Weibo, Twitter, YouTube - everywhere


Central banks are experimenting


They see advantages

• Faster publication

• Ability to broaden audience – especially to young people

• Ability to interact with the public

• More informal channel

• Source: B of E survey


They also see disadvantages

• Risk to reputation

• Violation of ‘single voice’ principle

• Stretch of resources


The majority believe they should do more

• 73 per cent of survey respondents say central banks have been ‘too conservative’ in the use of social media.


But should they?

• The best default position is ‘don’t’, rather than ‘do’ (to avoid the ‘easy’)

• The key to success with social media is to understand what it is, and what it can do.

• ‘Social media’ is not one thing – it is a distinct set of channels held together only by being ‘easy’

• Few channels are ‘social’

• But that does not mean they cannot be useful

• Include your website as one of the channels

• Separate the channels and judge, for each, whether

Opportunities > Risks + resources needed


Good governance is key

• Governance means the way all channels are managed

• There must be a strong degree of central control

• While still allowing imagination to flourish throughout the organization

• A ‘centre of expertise’ should act as the controller

• People numbers are not as important as skill and authority

• A supportive and well-informed senior manager is so often the key to success


Distinguish between platform and social channels• Platform channels are primarily alternative places to place content alongside the

website (social element usually limited to easy sharing)

YouTube and other video sites

Flickr, Pinterest and other image sites

Slideshare

Most blogs

Some Twitter (or other micro-blogging) feeds

• Social channels are based round interactivity and discussion

Facebook and other social networks

Some blogs

Discussion and technical forum sites

Some Twitter (or other micro-blogging) feeds

Important to integrate across channels

Plan what should go where


PLATFORM CHANNELS


YouTube (and other video sites)

Plus

• Video is engaging and ‘authentic’

• Useful way of storing press conferences etc

• Good for education – fun works

• Videos can be embedded on websites as well as on YouTube

• Sharing mechanism can work well

Minus

• Can get very little traffic

• Can easily look out of date

• YouTube itself is not easy to navigate


Flickr

Plus

• A low cost, low effort way of storing and displaying images

• Increasingly accepted as ‘respectable’, and replacing on-site libraries

• Good range of download options for publications

• Levels of copyright protection can be specified

• Easy to share pictures, so they will be spread

Minus

• Flickr site is hard to navigate

• Hard to integrate into a website

• Under threat from Pinterest and Instagram?


Twitter broadcast (one way) feeds

Plus

• Rapid posting and reaction mechanism

• Viral effect means posts can spread fast

• Alternative to RSS or email alerts

• Journalists tend to follow Twitter

• Generalist image means it can be used for varied announcements

• Can build a ‘tribe’ of followers to spread views in a crisis

Minus

• Can be missed in all the Twitter ‘noise’

• Less ‘serious’ than RSS or email


Blogs

Plus

• Informal feel means they can be more engaging

• Have an individual feel – good for economists or senior officials?

• Can be used to respond to issues quickly

• Blog posts can be well promoted using Twitter

Minus

• Blogger has to follow strict Bank guidelines

• Must get the tone right

• Must be kept up to date

• Needs resources to write and review


SOCIAL CHANNELS


Facebook

Plus

• Gets to specific demographics

• A mechanism for engaging with the public

• Can be used to attract jobseekers

• Can be used to react fast to negative events or comments

Minus

• Exposes banks to reputational risks

• Difficult to get resourcing right

• Skill needed to get the tone right

• Risks being occupied by irrelevant posts


Other social networks

• Appropriate to use ‘your’ local network (Vkontakte, Orkut etc) – same risks and opportunities as Facebook

• Google + is a worldwide alternative – much less popular but has the power of Google behind it. Some central banks are on it.


Twitter as conversation

• An alternative to Facebook – same pluses and minuses

• Often used for customer service

• Essential to get the tone right – a great skill

The skill of the tweeter….


Social media thoughts

• Well used, channels can add great value and bring central banks closer to their audiences

• Poorly used, they will simply dilute your resources

• Consider the channels individually

• Watch the resources they require – easy to set up, not so easy to run

• Don’t be carried away by numbers (eg Facebook followers) – quality is more important then quantity


How should central banks manage channel and device proliferation

David Bowen, September 2013

device and channel proliferation - what central banks should do

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