A few years ago I heard it said by political advisors that one hand-written letter to a Minister counts for more than 100 emails on the same topic.The perception was that if someone sat down and wrote their thoughts in long-hand it showed more interest and commitment than if they typed and posted them onlineRead… Read more »
In the past couple months you may have heard about popular burrito chain Chipotle’s new marketing campaign. The campaign commissioned ten well-known creatives to write something that could be read in two minutes, then printed that work on the sides of nicely designed Chipotle soda cups and paper bags.The writing tapped the talents of peopleRead… Read more »
Let’s be honest, most public service organizations (PSO) are bad at writing. Really bad. Our texts are too long, full of jargon or overly erudite words (point in case). We wrote badly for the web and now we write badly for social media. We write press release with 4 line titles that say next toRead… Read more »
As a government agency, serving your stakeholders is at the core of your mission. You have information that your citizens need, and it’s your job as a communicator to get it to them. But getting the right information to the right people at the right time isn’t as simple as sending a letter anymore. WhileRead… Read more »
The other day I was at the local outdoor market and I walked passed a man impeccably dressed in a white suit and tie, standing on a wooden crate. The man, from his makeshift pulpit, was sermoning passersby on the need to repent their sins given the imminent end of days. While many looked onRead… Read more »
In 2009, the U.S. Department of Interior (DOI) had to face an unsettling fact: when it came to generating stakeholder engagement, the old way of doing things just wasn’t going to cut it anymore. After conducting research, DOI realized that despite being a federal agency with a huge stakeholder base and a wealth of importantRead… Read more »
Dealing with the public over social media when you are a public sector organization (PSO) posts a particular set of challenges. Some people inherently dislike and distrust the public sector and will feel the same about your organization. Some may try to use your social media channels to vent on issues that may or mayRead… Read more »
It is no big secret that the public sector is slow in adopting new technologies. When Public Sector Organizations (PSO) do adopt new technologies, they don’t always do it properly. This was the case (with a few exceptions) with social media. Most PSOs went in late and then tried to do it in a “businessRead… Read more »
In parts 1 and 2 of this series on professional use of social media in the public service, I talked about the two different approaches you can take and about the social media disclaimer. In part 3, I would like to discuss two different models commonly used for message amplification through employee professional use ofRead… Read more »
In the first part of this series on professional use of social media in the public service, I talked about the two different approaches you can take. In part 2, I will try to untangle the issue of the social media disclaimer. It is a common sight to see social media accounts, particularly Twitter accounts,Read… Read more »