Communication Strategies and Goals
Once upon a time, there was a reporter on the phone who wanted to speak…to YOU. If the thought of that makes your heart race and your palms sweat, it's probably because of one of two reasons.
The first - your agency is under scrutiny or negative attention from the media/public because of some action (or inaction), and now you have to address it, and you're nervous about the questions, the perception, etc. That's a good reason to have sweaty palms and a racing heart. But there are things you can do to address this type of situation, which I will tackle in a different post. (I'm such a tease.)
The second - you're not confident in your communication strategy, or maybe you don't even have one. So let's get you started on building one (and if you take these steps, it makes facing the first scenario a bit easier).
Before we venture down that rabbit hole, however, let's agree on this point: Flying under the radar is not a communication strategy.
When leading the communication for your agency, it is important you understand your agency: its culture; its mission; its goals; and the public’s perception of it. What are you trying to accomplish with your communication? What type of relationship are you trying to build through your communication? Understanding these things and answering those questions will give you a place to start from when building your communication strategy, which will help you reach your communication goal.
For the county I work for, our initial communication strategy and goal was formed shortly after my position was created, and I was hired. In 2012, our county did not have a social media presence, and out of a five-member board of commissioners only two thought it would be a good idea - until the county participated in an emergency training course with FEMA. Following that course, there was an understanding that social media was an important tool to utilize during emergency events.
As we were focused on emergency response and information sharing, it was quickly agreed on that our communication goal was to build a platform (Facebook linked to Twitter back then) that would be THE source of official county information during an emergency event. Our strategy to accomplish that goal was to bring together key stakeholders from each of our county departments to help gather and publish information on the platform so we could build a relationship with our residents. The day-to-day information our county departments would publish between emergency events would help maintain interest and build trust with residents.
Why was this important? Because while emergency events don’t happen every day (thank goodness), relationship building with residents through social media must. There’s a saying in the emergency preparedness world that the time to meet your partner agencies you need help from is NOT during an emergency event. The same is true with communication. You can’t be in an emergency event and expect your residents to just know where you are putting valuable information they need to make decisions about their life, health and safety. You have to build that relationship and trust before any emergency even happens.
Ironically, we ended up with just three weeks to accomplish just that.
In short, the FEMA training was in August of 2012. By the end of 2012, the commissioners approved the use of social media and directed staff to create policy and complete trainings, which was finished in the summer of 2013. We launched the Facebook page (which at that time linked to the Twitter page) in late August, and we enjoyed quietly dipping our toe in the sea of social media. On September 10, 2013, we had 184 page followers, and we thought that was pretty good.
Then, on September 11, 2013, it started to rain, and it didn’t stop for days. Northern Colorado experienced devastating flooding, and the county’s Facebook page was put to the test. We used the page how we outlined during emergencies, and by September 17 the page’s followers grew to over 10,000.
Here’s another quick example: over the years, the public information office at the county has grown in to a four-member team. Whether we are tasked with drafting news releases, website content, or public newsletters, the goal of each piece we write is the same: answer two questions for our residents. What does county government do? And why should taxpayers care?
Our communication goal: produce informative pieces that allow residents to be aware of and understand what county government does for them.
Our communication strategy to reach that goal: find interesting stories about the work county government employees are doing and why the public should know about them and get that information in front of the eyes of our residents - not make them search it out. So, we go to where they are. We have a strong presence on the social media platforms our residents use. We offer opt-in subscriber-based emails for our newsletters so residents can choose to have county information, about topics they are interested in, delivered right to their inbox.
The result is a continual building of the relationship between government and residents. Residents know what government is working on, how we are spending their tax dollars, where we put information, etc. Regardless of whether or not they like government, our residents know where to find information about government projects and action, as well as emergency information - they all tie together to our overall communication goal.
So ask yourself, what is your communication goal for any given project your agency is taking on, and what is the strategy you will take to help you reach that goal?
Once you have those questions answered, you can begin creating effective communication. Which leads to the next blog post - understanding your communication tools.
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