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TRANSCRIPT
Betsy Braziel Burkhart
Communication and Media Director
Contra Costa County
November 2, 2016
Nightmares...
Public Outreach Public Works connects with residents
where it’s often very tangible
Engineers tend to focus on doing the work, not telling people you’re doing the work
Great opportunities to broaden outreach in the media
So what is news? And why do they always focus on when things go wrong?
News has immediacy, impact and importance; out of the ordinary
It is not news that we showed up and did our jobs
It is news when we don’t
So does it always have to be bad? Great opportunities exist to enhance and
promote our reputation
Needs to pass the “who cares” test – would you care if something of similar magnitude happened in another department or program?
Did your project or program make a difference – did you do it quicker, safer, first, best?
Let’s take an example: Everyone’s winter headache: Sandbags…
Where to get them
Do you need them
What to bring when you pick them up
How to fill and place them
News Release? Brochure? Flyer?
Packaging…. Makes all the difference!
Sometimes, we’re just sharing information…
Sometimes, we’re nosing our way into someone else’s story
Newsjacking
“The art of injecting our story into or on top of coverage of other news.”
Someone else will; we just lose the chance to shape it. Once rumors are repeated enough, they’re presumed to be facts.
What happens when we don’t tell our own story?
Rules to Live by with Reporters Channel your inner Boy Scout
Help them do their jobs – yes, really
Consider the end result – and ask questions to find out what “the story” looks like to them
Be available
Establish and nurture relationships
Something we can’t ignore… It’s not just reporters who are providing news content
It’s anyone who comes into contact with us and has a cell phone
Of course pictures don’t lie….
Social Media
We Tweet,
We Facebook,
We Instagram
We YouTube,
We Periscope,
We Blog….
Because those citizen journalists are busy:
They Tweet,
They Facebook,
They Instagram
They YouTube,
They Periscope,
They Blog…
We need more “We” to do it…
Government agencies, big and small, are embracing Social Media tools as quickly as possible… which brings us to the
question of… WHY? •Because we can? •Because everyone else is? •Because our boss’s teenage daughter said we need to? •Because it’s more fun to create a FB page than to design and execute a carefully researched communication plan?
A Peek at the Future? Or Today… What Boston PD did … Set the new standard…
Social Media is the new normal
1990s – e-government evolves – telling our story involving digital communication
2000s – e-government becomes expected – save me a phone call, a drive to a county office, a stamp on a tax payment
Today – we need to communicate our message when and how people want to receive it, not just how we want to deliver it… and that means utilizing social media – but in a smart way and with a business purpose
Does our Department or does my project need a Facebook page or Twitter account?
The answer you don’t want: it depends
Understanding of Purpose
Policies and guidelines – do you have them?
Monitoring – unbelievably time consuming
Determining best uses and starting there
Making the Commitment to Do It Right
Preventive Medicine: be prepared Any significant program or project needs a
communication plan
Framework can and should be done long before anything actually hits the fan
Elements are basic
Your audience(s)
Your message(s)
Your best methods to get the message to the audience
Determine Your Audience(s) Media, yes… but they’re usually not your only
audience
Who else might need to be looped in?
Your fellow elected & appointed department heads
Your internal managers & supervisors
Stakeholder Groups
Contractors/Consultants Providing Service
Constituents – Taxpayers who pay our salaries and benefit from our services
Define Your Message(s) Just the facts…
Develop your key messages and own them
Bridge back and make sure no interview ends without you reinforcing those messages
Don’t feel compelled to fill time or space. Answer the question, but don’t offer more unless you are bridging back to your messages
Practice; say them aloud; say them to someone else; look at how they look in writing – these can have a life span longer than your road project or grant funded program
How will I get the word out? The method will vary depending upon the issue and messages – no one size fits all.
News Release or Media Advisory
Website Update
Interview with Key Reporter
News Conference
Social Media
Why do we care?
“Next to doing the right thing,
the most important thing is to
let people know
you are doing the right thing.”
-- John D. Rockefeller
Ways to Preserve your Sanity
Don’t wait until there’s a problem to figure out how to communicate if things go wrong
Make sure follow up is included in your plan
Always assume the person you’re sending information to is on his/her first day on the job
Ask for help…
When you return to your office: Questions to ask back home
Who handles public outreach for your department or
the City/County?
Who handles media outreach & do we have a policy?
Crisis communications – what’s the game plan? Is
there a game plan?
How do I reach the right person 24x7?
Have I set a Google Alert on my name and agency?
Which reporters cover my agency/department, and
how will I engage them?