Why Government should meddle in Social Media – it starts with listening THE 2012 Network of Public Sector Communicators ConferenceWellington
Nicholas O‟Flaherty, Executive Director, Social@Ogilvy
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Listening gives
you big ears
Understand the
needs and
sentiment of the
community
Listening helps you toKnow what the horizon looks like
4 4
Listening makes
social media your
focus group
Insights from social
media guide both
policy development
and implementation
5
Social media
insights
Relevant
conversations
aren‟t always
taking place where
you think they are
6
Listening helps to
identify
influencers who
have the reach,
power, authority
to drive the
actions of others
7
Why identify your influencers?
Advocates – those individuals who may
potentially be supportive
> We can then build a strategy for
engaging these individuals. Their support
can be critical during a crisis situation and
they may help drive awareness and
preference
Detractors – those who disagree with us
>We can pinpoint potential arguments and
positions likely to be put forward against us
8
Enhancing democracy in action and driving participation:1,200 #marriageequality Twitter posts with a reach of 800,000, drove additional last minute submissions
15,000 followers
5,500 followers
Reputations Are Built or Broken in Search
Get Your “House Rules” in Order
Add a Digital Chapter to Your Crisis Comms Plan
1212
Online Conver-sation
The volume of
talkIdentify
key influen-
cers
Core and new
audiences
Conversa-tion
drivers
Which platforms
?
Positive or
negative sentiment
Opportu-nities to engage
Obstacles to
success
Insights from social media which can impact on policy development
13
Why paid listening tools?
If you’re going to listen –
do it properly
Considerations:
• Real time
• Dashboard
• Comprehensiveness
• Consistency over time
and platforms
• Engagement tracking
14
Engage earlier
SM creates the
ability to consult
more informally and
earlier in the policy
development
process
15
Media relations online
and offline are
connected. One
accelerates the other
16
Integrate social
media into your
traditional media
relations
17
Transparency,
always important –
even more so in
NZ
18
In conclusion: Government should „meddle‟ in social media because it enhances its ability to:
• Understand the needs of their communities
• Collaborate more effectively internally and cross agency
• Improve policy development, programme planning and
implementation
• Consult earlier and more informally
• Gauge the sentiment and attitude of the target audience
• Identify and engage with key stakeholders and online influencers
• Perceive and manage risk
• Distribute information more widely via QR codes, Hashtag
conversations
• Engage with younger and less accessible audiences
• Improve service provision
• Demonstrate responsiveness and transparency
• Communicate with New Zealanders through their preferred
channels
About Social@Ogilvy
20
550+ Social Specialists(over 4000 Digital Specialists)
35 Countries Worldwide
Awarded The 2011 Global
SABRE for Outstanding
Global Digital/Social
Consultancy
Global Team
21
Clients In New Zealand