Local Government | Reach The Public

Top 10 Most Viewed Blog Posts on Reach the Public

I know 2013 started just over a week ago, but it already feels like it’s been weeks since I celebrated the holidays and New Year’s with my family and friends. I think part of this is jumping back into the work day after some time off, but part of it is probably due to the fact that 2012 “year-end” reviews started weeks ago. (Google posted their Zeitgeist 2012 video a month ago! If you haven’t watched it, take a look and note how many cool events were driven by government organizations like yours.)

So I may be a little late to the game in adding my 2012 “top viewed blog entries” list, but I console myself that it’s only been a week or so. And with the belief that this list contains good reading that’s timeless. For those who may have missed these along the way, here are the top ten most-viewed blog entries on Reach the Public in 2012 and why I think they’re worth revisiting:

In this post, Lauren Modeen, Engagement Strategist extraordinaire, answers a question she received in a Reddit chat: how can you use rewards to motivate your online community?

She highlights four different ways that rewards can spur conversation and keep a community engaged, from simply featuring a member’s activity (whether that’s a discussion, question, or profile) to sending thank you notes or swag.

Why do I think this post is worth revisiting now? As we moved through 2012, it was impossible to ignore the impact of social media in government. Not just because it was a “new” way of amplifying the reach of government communications but also because of the emphasis on social. At the end of the day, people want to be part of a community; they want to interact with others who are interested in things they’re interested in. And government organizations began to understand that creating, developing and managing communities could be one way to truly drive mission value in a way that had never been done before.

Using Rewards to Motivate Your Online Community

This post was written quickly as I sat in a hotel room near GovDelivery UK’s office, up late with jet lag; so please allow me a moment to be a bit proud that it’s in this top ten list.

I logged onto my email to catch up on news in the communications world, and I saw the article on ReadWriteWeb detailing Mark Cuban’s opinion on Facebook. It was a fascinating read to me, mainly because of the very provocative but highly understandable situation Cuban faced with his basketball team (the Dallas Mavericks.) His organization had worked hard to gain Facebook fans, and they’d worked hard to engage that audience over a long period of time. So to come face-to-face with the knowledge that those connections aren’t actually available when you want them — or worse, that you have to pay Facebook to reach them — was jarring. For a government agency, that can mean a matter of life or death when you consider a situation like Hurricane Sandy.

Why is this post worth revisiting? It’s a good reminder that direct connections matter, especially in urgent situations. But it’s also good to remember that an integrated communications approach is still the key to ensuring that your government organization’s message is distributed as broadly as possible.

Abandoning Facebook

You’ll notice as you go through the rest of this list how much of these posts cover social media in government. Do you think it’s odd that the second most-viewed post was about abandoning Facebook but other posts in the top ten are about how to leverage or use social media? I think this is indicative of our society’s love/hate relationship with social media.

In this post, we summarize one of the most popular webinars I’ve ever hosted in my professional career (and I’ve hosted a lot of webinars). Our main speaker, Kristy Fifelski, also known as “GovGirl,” detailed her top 8 ways for government to engage citizens with social media – and boy, did we learn how hot a topic that was.

With nearly 1000 registrants, we had to expand our webinar contract (which had been limited to 250 “seats” to 1000 just in case everyone showed up.) And we had to expand our teleconference capability to ensure that everyone who attended could hear us. The experience gave myself and my IT team a mini heart attack – but it was all for a good cause, because this webinar was really amazing.

With concrete examples, in-the-field knowledge and expertise, and a fun presentation, Kristy/GovGirl gave our audience of government communicators key tips and tricks that could be implemented immediately to start using social media in more engaging ways. This is one post definitely worth revisiting.

8 Ways for Government to Engage Citizens with Social Media

Pinterest, another social networking site, launched in beta form in 2010 but didn’t start picking up more traction until mid-2011. By early 2012, it had become, as our post notes, “the hottest thing in social media.” By the end of 2012, the hotness had worn off a bit; but Pinterest remains a solid social networking site, with the most year-over-year growth for social desktop, web and app usage, according to Nielsen’s 2012 Social Media Report.

So take a look at this post on how government organizations can leverage Pinterest. As a site that stresses the social aspect of images, Pinterest can be a powerful storytelling social platform that extends beyond the capabilities of a social network like Twitter. This post reminds you of some ways to leverage this storytelling foundation to generate more interest and provide more value for your stakeholders.

Why Should Government be Interested in Pinterest?

That’s right, folks. The Internet and technology is no longer the sole purview of the young. In this post, we take on the idea that you can’t reach older demographics with digital means. That’s bollocks, as the British would say.

“Studies show that senior citizens are fast adopting email as one of their primary methods of digital interaction and communication. According to the Pew Internet and American Life Project, 87% of senior citizens use email and search engines, while the Nielsen Company found that checking email was the primary online activity for 88.6% of seniors.”

If that’s not a prime reason to review your communications strategy and ensure that you’re using your digital communications to reach a broad spectrum of stakeholders, take a look at this post to find out which age group uses digital technology to do what (i.e. to get email, to use a search engine, to look for health information, etc.) The statistics will surprise you!

Tech-Savvy Senior Citizens on the Rise

The title says it all. Here’s a guide to help you with the best practices we’ve found in utilizing digital communications to reach your stakeholders and the public.

The post talks about why the guide is important and some of the strategies used by well-known public sector organizations. In fact, the guide’s been accessed more than 8,500 times since it was released last April.

The guide itself is a pretty deep dive into what works for digital communications, culled from over a decade of work with government organizations worldwide. If you don’t have the time to sit down to read it all, why not download it and try to tackle one tip or trick a week?

Digital Communication Best Practices Guide Now Available

Our friend and professional colleague, Steve Ressler, Founder of GovLoop, allowed us to share his thoughts on internal communications.

In the world of Gov 2.0 and Web 2.0, he tackles the next version of internal communications, drawing on current technologies used to communicate with the public to help facilitate internal communications. For instance, Human Resources could use text messages/SMS to remind employees of form deadlines.

As one of the top ten most popular posts of 2012, I think this post speaks to the need not only to reach the public to drive mission value but to reach our own internal audiences to help ensure that everyone is on the same page and working towards the same big goals.

Internal Communications 2.0

I have to be honest: this was one of my favorite posts from 2012. Why? Because it brought something virtual and often “abstract” or conceptual into something physical that I understood: a shining example of how great communications can be.

In this post, our resident community management expert, Lauren, addresses the question, “How do I design an online community? What’s it supposed to look like?” And her answer is, in my opinion, pretty awesome.

If your government organization has an online community or is even thinking about starting one, take a look at this post. It’s a critical piece to consider when developing a community. Oftentimes, when we think about communities, we consider finding people who are going to be the community managers and hype people; how to keep an online community going; or how to generate discussion – all of which is important. But a clean, easy, and structured online community helps with all of that, and Lauren gives you an easy-to-read road map here.

How to Design an Online Community

Just a few days ago, Joseph Marks posted a short note about content on government websites, noting that most “dot-govs fail on content, not technology.”

That makes this post increasingly relevant. As a communications person myself, the power of content is becoming more and more apparent. It’s what drives connections between an organization and its audience.

In this post, our Digital Marketing Manager/Guru, Mike Bernard, tackles the idea of content marketing for government and provides ten tips that your organization can start using immediately to leverage the power of content to help meet your agency’s goals and drive mission value. From repurposing content to curation to making content easily shareable, these tactics can help you see an uptick in your outreach programs.

Content Marketing – Government Style

If you’re remotely interested in government technology, you probably already know the acronym “APIs”. It was hard to miss Federal Chief Information Officer Steven VanRoekel’s tweet about it.

That’s why I think this post was one of the most-viewed from 2012. In 2013, I’d be surprised if APIs weren’t a continuing hot topic. The integrations available with this technology make it a critical component of the Federal Digital Government Strategy, but even more than that, it allows connections in ways that make government more efficient. What’s not to love?

In this post, Richard Fong, a (master) Technical Implementation Consultant, discusses his work in helping the US National Weather Service (NWS) implement APIs to help get the word out with tsunami warnings. Their API integration with their digital communications tool allows NWS to send out tsunami warning communications more quickly than ever before, helping to save lives in situations where seconds really matter.

It’s a good post to end the list, too, because it’s a great reminder of the crucially important work that government organizations do and how critical communications are in helping organizations meet their mission in serving the public.

National Weather Service Using APIs for Tsunami Alerts

So that’s our top ten list of most-viewed blog entries on Reach the Public. Was there one that you found especially insightful that I’ve missed here? Did you find these posts useful? Let me know in the comments!

APIs, collaboration, communications, community, content, data, digital government, e-gov, email, engagement, Facebook, Gov 2.0, government, GovLoop, outreach, Pinterest, social media, Steve Ressler, technology

MUSTARD MAIL: 20 things to learn from #govd12

This is a guest post from Dan Slee, Senior Press and Publicity Officer at Walsall Council in England. Last Thursdsay, Dan attended GovDelivery UK’s Annual Digital Communications conference to hear more about delivering real value to the public through effective use of digital communications.

Okay, so here’s three things that may just help you fall off your seat a little bit. Or at least raise an eyebrow.

Boom! Email can be a bit sexy. Not shiny hipster Apple sexy but in an effective way of communicating with people kind of a way.

Boom! I’m seeing one of the key roles of public sector communications is to point people at more efficient ways of contacting them that’s going to make them happier and save the organisation a stack of money.

Boom! Somebody somewhere in a restaurant had a service so very bad they spelt out their complaint in mustard and ketchup.

Here’s 20 things I learned from the excellent GovDelivery Delivering Real Value to the Public Through Effective Use of Digital Communications 2012 event at the National Audit Office.

1. Bad customer service can be repaid in ketchup

Gerald Power from Trapeze used this rather fabulous slide that told a rather splendid story. Person or persons go into restaurant with wipe-clean tables. Nobody comes and talks to them for half an hour. They spell this out in condiments, take a picture, post it to the web and leave. It’s a perfect tomato-based illustration of where we are with customer service in the social web.

If people just ain’t happy they’ll tell their friends. In creative ways that will go viral.

2. Email is…. sexy?

Actually, bad email is always bad news. The sort that clogs the inbox. The cc to far. But cutting through the rubbish, email does have results as a comms channel. Clearly, govdelivery are keen to stress their product which helps government deliver opt-in targeted emails on request on a whole bunch of subjects. But actually, there’s some pretty good results. Thinking it through, wouldn’t mind opting in as a parent for child-friendly events in the borough where I live. Or winter school closure updates.

3. Comms is essential

As one speaker said, the role of comms in delivering the changes needed in local government is central, fundamental and essential. That made me think a little.

Research by accountants PWC has worked out the cost of local government contact by residents to resolve a problem. For face-to-face it’s £10.53, for telephone it is £3.39, while post costs £12.10 and online just 8p.

One of the roles of comms teams is to help point people at the channel that’s most effective to help save money.

So point people at more efficient ways of talking to the council and you’ll earn your worth as a comms team. That’s just a bit important.

Here’s some other things from the event:

4. There are 650 UK gov services (bar the NHS) costing up to £9bn a year but 300 have no digital presence at all.

5. The new gov.uk domain has saved £36m savings pa by moving from directgov and businesslink.

6. There’s a government target to save up to £421m from #localgov by digitisation.

7. The UK gov could save up to £1.7bn by digitising more.

8. Investment in comms is critical for local government.

9. There’s no need for fancy emails. Simple, to the point and effective for MHRA audience.

10. The digital by default line for UK government isn’t just coming from digital people. It’s coming from the heart of civil service too.

11. There’s no universal best time for an email as each campaign is different.

12. Don’t automate social content. Re-shape it.

13. Only way to realise cashable benefits from digital is headcount reduction and estate rationalisation.

14. A quarter of UK adults and half of all teenagers with smartphones and 77 per cent have broadband.

15. Love @geraldpower‘s idea of avoiding digital ’magical thinking’. Don’t copy for the sake of it. Think it through http://bit.ly/cOFmkl #govd12

16. Look to put #digital in BIG areas. Not little. Digital wedding bookings will save pence. Go to where you spend most cash.

17. LGA estmates £67.8m spent by #localgov on print public notices.

18. Public notices are an anachronism in a digital age.

19. 76 per cent of #localgov in an LGIU survey want to publish public notices online only while just 4 per cent want print.

20. There’s a debate about public notices being a subsidy to the print media. There a report. (You can download LGiU’s report here.)

Read the original post on Dan’s blog.

communications, Dan Slee, digital, email, engagement, events, Gov 2.0, govd12, government, government services, GovUK, local government, outreach, responsiveness, technology, UK Government

Abandoning Facebook

Yesterday, ReadWriteWeb posted an article detailing why Dallas Mavericks owner and tech billionaire, Mark Cuban, is taking his social media engagement elsewhere, effectively abandoning Facebook as the Dallas Mavericks’ primary social media tool for connecting with fans. Why?

The short version: “He’s sick of getting hit with huge fees to send messages to his team’s fans and followers.” In fact, Mark tweeted a screenshot of the Mavericks’ Facebook page, showing the option to pay $3,000 to reach 1 million people.

First, some background. If you’re not steeped in social media news (and who really is these days?), Facebook recently changed their algorithm, also known as EdgeRank, which is a formula used to manage which users receive messages on their News Feed. In news stories around the release about a month ago, the changes were noted more as “tweaks,” which were supposed to simply make it “more likely that posts from brands with high engagement get priority placement in feeds over posts with little engagement.”

Image from Sanders Says

But Mark Cuban, along with many other users, has seen a distinct change in their Facebook activities. A private company designed to help brands manage their EdgeRank score commented on this change, saying,

Over time we’ve seen Reach slowly decrease as more Pages, and more users, create content. The more content that is posted to the news feed, the less likely your Page’s content will reach your fans. Facebook has also been rumored to provide 80% organic content, and “20% paid content in the form of sponsored stories” for Pages. So, tweaks in EdgeRank can cause fluctuations in metrics for brands on Facebook.

And daily Web magazine, Slate, reported yesterday that there was a workaround, detailed in a Washington Post article, but that the workaround was quickly shut down by Facebook after it started gaining buzz.

But aside from all this Facebook-changing-its-algorithm-to-drive-revenue drama, Mark hits on a key point that is critical for government organizations:

The big negative for Facebook is that we will no longer push for likes or subscribers because we can’t reach them all…Brands have invested in getting consumers to like their Facebook page with the presumption that every like is created equal, that the brand can reach the user easily. That is not the case…Facebook has never allowed 100% reach. I think the disconnect is that not everyone realized that they didn’t allow 100% reach. I bet if you asked anyone who has subscribers if their posts reached 100% of their subscribers, they would say yes unless they have seen the dollar box for promoted posts show up. (emphases mine)

Mark makes an incredible point here that is as relevant for the owner of a multimillion-dollar franchise as it is for a government organization.

It’s impossible to ignore Facebook as a communications channel: if you are hoping to connect with citizens where they are, it’s almost a necessity for your organization to have a Facebook presence. But if your communications strategy is built upon the number of likes you receive or number of comments you get on posts, you should rethink what it means to connect with your stakeholders – and the budget you have to do so.

Mark’s decision to move to the Mavericks’ communication efforts to Twitter or Tumblr or even MySpace is based on the realization that, through Facebook, he doesn’t have the kind of direct connections that lead to the incredible reach that he feels is critical to the success of his business and the franchise.

How does this translate into public sector?

Direct connections matter. The breadth of your reach is critical. Again, if your audience is participating in social media, it may be important for you to be there. But fighting through all the noise on social media also means that there are people you want to reach who aren’t getting your messages. What you need are true direct connections with citizens and stakeholders to help meet your organization’s program goals and initiatives.

Mark makes it known that he isn’t removing the Mavericks’ page from Facebook but that he’s going to start driving Facebook fans to Twitter while looking to build out a Mavericks’ brand page on other social media sites. At the end of the day, he knows that reaching those people who’ve already raised their hands to say that they like a brand or an organization is only the start – the true worth of that action is in how easily and directly an organization can communicate and engage with its fans.

What do you think? If your organization is on Facebook, have you seen a decrease in the reach you have with your posts? Would you follow in Mark’s footsteps or rethink your outreach and social media strategy? I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments.

communications, community, digital, EdgeRank, engagement, Facebook, Gov 2.0, government, outreach, social media

How Government Can Be “Smarter”

By Jennifer Kaplan, Product Marketing Manager, GovDelivery

If you work in government, you might agree that one of your main goals is to provide services to the public. Thom Rubel, Vice President of IDC Government Insights, recently spoke at the GovDelivery event in Washington, DC. He mentioned a quote from Dave Bargar at JetBlue, who said “We are a customer service business, we just happen to fly airplanes.” Thom helped us see that this translates to the public sector. “Smart government” consists of organizations that think of themselves as “a customer service business first, we just happen to…{fill in the blank with your mission}.” That’s step 1. Step 2 is getting the public to share that vision for your organization.

The best example of this type of public understanding is a story that was told to me by my friend Cindy. Cindy and her husband Ryan have a 2-year-old daughter Mallory. They live a few blocks from the closest elementary school, where Mallory will attend kindergarten in a few years. While walking the path to the school, Cindy and Ryan discovered that there was a part of the street that didn’t have a sidewalk. The shoulder of the road transitioned directly into the grass. Cindy and Ryan found this concerning, as they didn’t want Mallory walking so close to the road. They were also worried about distracted drivers coming too close to the grass. Instead of complaining, finding a different route, or moving, Cindy and Ryan took action by engaging with their local government.

The city and county in which they lived both had well-organized websites that made it easy to find local resources and contact information for those responsible for issues of this nature. They were able to contact various city officials by phone and email. They attended relevant public meetings, which were also listed on the website. They were able to schedule a walk around their neighborhood with a county official, as well as a traffic monitoring session with someone from public works.

After all of their efforts to engage local government through various channels, the city inevitably put in a rumble strip, a road safety feature that alerts inattentive drivers to potential danger by causing a vibration throughout the car. A sidewalk is also slated in the coming years. One small step for Cindy and Ryan. One giant step for the future of their community.

I think we need more people like Cindy and Ryan, who know that government isn’t a monolithic entity, but a collective group of people who also have families, who care about their neighborhoods and who they can engage with to get the help and service they need. However, convincing the public that your organization can be valuable resource to help in these types of situations can be an uphill battle. So, it may be up to your organization to start the conversation.

The great news? Government organizations can help motivate citizens to shift their mentality and take action, ultimately increasing their satisfaction. Digital communication channels are the perfect outlet to take the first step towards stimulating conversation and building a relationship, and I’ve seen a few great examples of this come through my inbox lately.

The Wellesley Police Department takes a proactive approach to fixing street lighting to ensure safety for trick-or-treaters on Halloween. They hit the nail on the head when the say “the WMLP can only repair the lights they know about.” They also do a great job of providing various points of contact for reporting street light outages.

This example from the City of Raleigh, North Carolina does a great job of getting citizens involved. They explain the background and plans for their projects and invite residents to come and provide feedback or concerns. This communication lets citizens know that the city values their feedback and encourages a two-way conversation about these types of projects moving forward.

At the Federal level, petitions.whitehouse.gov gives the public an opportunity to petition the current administration to take action on a range of important issues. Citizens can search current petitions or create new ones. This website was created to be a direct channel to connect with government, because they wanted to hear from everyone. If a petition gets enough support, White House staff will review it, ensure it’s sent to the appropriate policy experts, and issue an official response.

The more government takes action to show they value and encourage feedback from citizens in order to improve the services they deliver, the more likely it is that we’ll move the needle on the public’s perception of government. The next Cindy and Ryan might be right around the corner!

citizen service, communications, community, digital government, engagement, feedback, government services, local government, outreach, responsiveness

Breaking Down Barriers to Effective Emergency Notifications

Over the past week, we’ve seen how critical communications can be when a disaster strikes. After an event like Hurricane Sandy, it’s clear that government organizations have an obligation to keep the public safe and informed. To accomplish this, people need specific information — such as where to seek shelter if they’re being evacuated or if a levy has been breached and what actions to take if people are still in the area — and they need to receive it quickly and through channels that are available and working. Unfortunately, a recent study found that one third of U.S. residents have no knowledge of, or experience with, their local emergency notification program!

How can this be?

In the past, and sometimes still currently, many government organizations have relied on TV and radio as their primary way of communicating emergency information. With Hurricane Sandy, it was impossible to miss the news coverage of the storm. With the adoption of DVR’s and the move to streaming video over the Internet, the effectiveness of announcements on TV has diminished. CDs, MP3 players, and streaming audio have brought about a similar experience with radio spots. Additionally, many people in the midst of Sandy’s path lost power, thereby losing the connection to TV and radio.

So what can be done? How can government keep citizens safe and informed in these critical situations?

Well, there is one common piece of technology that’s become nearly ubiquiweatous…mobile phones. Obviously, contemporary phones can handle voice, SMS messages and email, yet many organizations have not made the move to mobile when it comes to emergency notifications.

This new white paper explores some of the barriers to effectively alerting people during times of crisis:

Damaged equipment
Lack of first responder communications
Incorrect citizen or resident contact information
One-to-one contact trees
Ineffective emergency sirens
Proper help for special needs citizens

Even though Sandy has come and left extensive damage in her wake, your government organization can still make an impact by understanding how you can be more effective in relaying emergency notifications. Download this white paper to see if your emergency notification alerting system is doing everything your residents and stakeholders need it to do.

citizen service, communications, emergency alerts, government services, notifications, outreach, technology, weather

Call to Action: Last Minute Sandy Preparation Tips for Government

By Jennifer Kaplan, Product Marketing Manager, GovDelivery

We’ve all heard the numbers. 8,000+ flights cancelled. Hundreds of thousands already evacuated. Mass transit shut downs up the Eastern Seaboard.* (stats from CNN) Up to 60 million people will be affected. Hurricane Sandy, now the largest storm ever recorded in the Atlantic, is here.

President Obama, addressing the public in a statement this morning, said, “Please listen to what your state and local government officials are saying.” Government communicators are already in the midst of getting preparation and evacuation information out to those who need it. We’ve also seen additional tips for the public on television, radio, through news websites and social media. Here are the top things your organization can do right now if your stakeholders are affected.

Expand Your Reach. The more stakeholders receive your message, the more likely it is that they will be safe and prepared.

Update Your Website. Right now is the moment where citizens are most engaged with government organization. Make sure it’s as easy as possible for citizens visiting your website and social media pages to find the sign-up area for your communications. The key to success is a prominent position. Keep it in the upper right or upper left of your page, but be careful not to blend it with other aspects of your website. For a temporary fix, highlight your sign-up area in yellow or orange.
Leverage the Media to Promote Communications. In his public address this morning, President Barack Obama directed citizens to Ready.gov to get up-to-date preparation and safety information on Hurricane Sandy. If your organization is briefing or being featured through any media outlets, be sure to promote your communications and the ways citizens can subscribe to get updates via email or text message. It’s also helpful to include the URLs to your resources in any media graphics.
Recommend Power Outage Alternatives. If citizens lose cable, broadcast signal and Internet, they can still receive tweets about the storm on their mobile phone — even if they don’t have a Twitter account. Have citizens subscribe to SMS Twitter alerts. Here’s a great article from the Washington Post on how to do this.

Get the Word Out Efficiently. Be sure to send messages through all your communication channels.

Get Preparation or Evacuation Information Out NOW. There is still time to recommend precautionary actions that can be taken by stakeholders. Urge those in recommended evacuation areas to leave. Send reminders to conserve cell and computer power. Ensure citizens have a list of necessary items — enough food, water, cash, medicine and flashlights — should they experience a power outage.
Don’t Have the Resources? Not sure what information to send out? Leverage existing, official content. FEMA and Ready.gov, in addition to the National Hurricane Center with the National Weather Service are asking government organizations to share content they’re already creating to spread the word. Instead of reinventing the wheel, your organization can share the information, tools and resources from these sites. Like and share FEMA’s Facebook page posts. Follow and re-tweet @ReadyDotGov tweets.
Continue to Send Updates Throughout the Week. Use email, SMS and social media and other channels to keep stakeholders updated. Be sure to use all means (especially SMS and Twitter) as some stakeholders may not have Internet.

Google has also developed a Crisis Map that provides real-time information about where the storm is moving. The interactive map shows Sandy’s trajectory of the entire country, plus the public can subscribe to additional alerts such as evacuation notices, storm warnings, shelter locations and traffic conditions.

Picking Up the Pieces. In the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy, continue to use digital channels to send updates to your stakeholders. Government organizations will need to work together to communicate relief and clean-up efforts, as well as provide additional resources available to the public. Keep an eye on FEMA, Ready.gov, and the National Weather Service for more information.

citizen service, communications, FEMA, Gov 2.0, government services, Hurricane Sandy, local government, National Weather Service, NWS, outreach, Ready.gov, responsiveness, severe weather, social media, Twitter

Shifting gears

September 19th, 2012 | Posted by GovDelivery in E-Government | Government 2.0 | Local Government | UK Government - (0 Comments)

By Dave Worsell, Director, Government Solutions, GovDelivery UK

Up and down the UK, local government project teams are developing channel shift strategies, implementing new citizen relationship management systems (CRMs) and developing new websites. The primary aim behind many of these projects is to promote customer self-service and reduce costs. These projects are costing local government millions of pounds, although, the return on this considerable investment more than makes it worthwhile. Doesn’t it?

While investing in a transactional website should undoubtedly be an essential part of your future strategy, could a slightly revised strategy deliver more immediate benefits?

Ask yourself these questions:

If unique website usage increased 35% on your current website, what impact would that have?
If you could communicate directly with 20% of local residents, what could you achieve?

The fundamental problem facing local government isn’t that websites don’t provide transactional services to help citizens self serve. The problem is actually quite simple. It is that not enough people use local government websites. It’s not that they can’t transact; it’s that they don’t transact.

If having spent at least £200k on your new website you discover no more residents are using it than your existing website what has that investment achieved? It will obviously give you a positive return in years to come but has it maximised the value of your investment? How quickly are the savings “cashable”?

Consider this. A KPI for the investment in a new transactional website must be website traffic. If your current website had 35% more usage, and residents returned more frequently directed to key pages, wouldn’t that reduce avoidable contact too? Your website might not be perfect, it might not be fully transactional but the information that residents need is there already and will reduce contact (incoming calls, face-to-face interactions, etc.) An immediate return for considerably less investment.

The real benefits of this strategy come later and the impact is considerable.

Increasing usage on your current website and building your audience ensures you make savings now. When your new, all-singing, all-dancing transactional website and integrated CRM solution launches, this extra traffic means your Return on Investment (ROI) will be 35% higher because more residents will use the new website from launch day one.

Assuming the ROI for your new website was £1million in the first year based on current levels of usage, increasing website usage before launch by 35% delivers an extra £350k in savings. ROI could be months rather than years and “cashable” savings start much sooner.

If you’re thinking of building a transactional website, don’t delay. The sooner you launch, the better. However, your engagement strategy needs to be in place now, long before your new website launches. You simply cannot count on the idea that if you “build it”, the masses will come. Invest in shift now and develop channels to maximise ROI. Whatever happens, make sure you do both soon.

citizen service, digital, digital government, engagement, government, government services, local government, outreach, technology, UK Government

Severe Weather and Social Media: How effective are you?

Social media affects our lives in many ways but perhaps none more significantly than when we deal with a crisis. Whether it’s a runaway fire, a buckled highway or a hurricane (Isaac, anyone?), it’s becoming increasingly clear that social tools are an essential component of communications in a time of shared need.

There are many examples where social tools have become the go-to channel for communicating during severe weather situations.

With regard to the most recent severe weather situation, the use of social media to communicate during Hurricane Isaac is a great example. A recent article on NextGov highlights how the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), the White House and the National Weather Service (NWS) all used Facebook and Twitter to spread the word about the storm as well as offer tips on how to prepare for the disaster.

On a local level, the City of Minneapolis has leveraged a number of digital communication tools, from emails to text messages and social media, to alert and respond to residents after a tornado caused major damage to the north side of the city this past spring. E-mail alerts were sent to city subscribers informing them of severe weather and warning non-locals to avoid the area to prevent interference with first responders. Continuous posts were made to the city’s social media channels, such as Facebook. In addition, since the city has a subscriber system that allows residents to identify their zip codes to receive specific update that focus on their precinct, the city was able to quickly tailor alerts to areas that needed information, including directly informing citizens in the affected areas about local rescue and relief efforts.

In another part of the country, Kitsap County, Wash., has turned to Twitter and other digital communication outlets to reach residents. In January, Seattle was faced with a major two-day ice storm that grounded planes and left many roads dangerous to travel. A Kitsap County official was stranded in the Sea-Tac airport, which had lost its Internet service. However, the official was able to use his smartphone to access digital communications tools, including social media, and was able to continue sending out timely messages about road closures and other pertinent information. Messages were sent simultaneously to subscribers who had indicated interest in topics such as road reports, inclement weather, front-page news and emergency management, thereby increasing the reach of the message. The salient messages also were posted to Facebook and Twitter, further magnifying the reach of the updates by further spreading to followers’ friends and social groups.

As a result of this proactive “pushing out” of the message, county officials reported that their call center—which generally receives up to 1,800 calls a day during inclement weather—recorded only 310 calls the first day, and 420 the second. After the storm subsided, the county reported a significant increase in both subscribers and social media followers.

The importance of using social media and digital communication tools resonated deeply with Steve Ressler, found of GovLoop and resident of Tampa, Fla. After a recent severe weather situation, Steve wrote a blog post about his experiences with a tornado that touched down near his home. {Link to He and his wife had spent a stormy day watching television at their home as rain poured outside. While they were watching local broadcasts, storm alerts scrolled across the bottom of the screen, but when the two popped in a DVD to watch a different program, they no longer saw those updates.

Instead, he and his wife’s first warning about the tornado in their area came from a text messaging system that the University of South Florida offers for emergency alerts. The couple and their pets took shelter in a bathroom inside the house, and Steve noted that they continued to track the tornado’s progress from there via Twitter. They also found out when the tornado had passed via Twitter. (Hillsborough County, where Tampa is located, offers both an e-mail and text-based emergency alert service for which subscribers can sign up.)

Finally, when a “hurricane-level” storm struck the Washington D.C. area, social media and other tools definitely proved their worth. A local news reporter collected information from citizens via both Facebook and Twitter, and then used that information to help report the story. Local Facebook posts from citizens announced their willingness to help others who had lost power during the event. The local power company also provided continuous updates on the process of restoring electricity to affected areas. And finally, a local couple reached out to an area news station via Twitter to say that they had lost power and were in trouble because the loss complicated a pre-existing medical issue. The station re-tweeted the information, and local Stafford County officials responded directly to the couple via Twitter to offer assistance.

It’s clear that the public has come to rely on digital communications, especially social media, to connect and share information. Government communicators should be prepared to leverage these tools to effectively communicate with stakeholders. Although it’s only one component of an effective emergency notification solution (ENS), social media is quickly becoming a critical channel to distribute information to the public.

In addition to the public’s growing tendency to gravitate toward social media in times of crisis, social media channels address some key challenges to effective communication, including enabling mass distribution of messages and, with the proliferation of mobile devices, facilitating communication without the need for power.

Reaching the public through fundamental digital communication tools, like email, and through newer channels, like text messages and social media, is now indispensable in managing times of crisis and in protecting citizens during severe weather and other dangerous situations.

If your government organization would like more advice on overcoming the key barriers to managing an effective ENS and tips for avoiding the pitfalls of putting a solution in place, download this recent white paper titled, “Breaking Down Barriers to Effective Emergency Notifications.”

communications, content, Gov 2.0, government, government services, social media

Citizen Engagement Tips for National Night Out

August 7th, 2012 | Posted by Jennifer Kaplan in Community Management/Engagement | Local Government | Social Media - (0 Comments)

Today, Tuesday, August 7, 2012 marks the 29^th annual National Night Out. National Night Out (NNO) is a unique group of crime and drug prevention events sponsored National Association of Town Watch (NATW). The campaign involves citizens, civic groups, businesses, law enforcement agencies, neighborhood organizations and local officials from all 50 states, US territories, Canadian cities and military bases worldwide.

Neighborhoods across the country will be holding block parties tonight as part of NNO, encouraging people to get to know their neighbors and work together to promote cooperative, police/community crime prevention efforts. Last year’s campaign involved more than 15,000 communities worldwide. In all, more than 37 million people participated in NNO events in 2012.

The City of Minneapolis, Minnesota outranked all U.S. cities in NNO participation in 2011 (in the 250,000+ population category). Nearly 1,200 events took place, with over 60,000 citizens attending. The city, whose participation rate has led the nation for cities of its size, expects another strong showing this year, with over 1,360 registered thus far in 2012. So how do they do it? They’ve shared their tips in hopes that other communities can use the same tactics in years to come!

Build Your Audience

From the crime prevention/community perspective, dwindling resources means increasing outreach to find neighborhood leaders, block captains, and business partners. The City of Minneapolis Police Department (MPD) combats these challenges by leveraging their digital communications lists. The city has been using email alerts to reach residents and business with information on a variety of subjects and topics since 1995. When asking for an email address, the MPD also inquires about the neighborhood in which the subscriber lives. “Being able to capture where the subscribers live or work, and where they aren’t, helps us know where we need to do our outreach,” says Luther Krueger, Crime Prevention Analyst at the MPD. This has been especially helpful for the National Night Out events, where the MPD can quickly identify and then engage areas where they need block leaders or additional participants.

Provide Resources and Make it Easy!

County, city or public safety websites should serve as a helpful resource for citizens who want to learn more about how they can be involved. The City of Minneapolis makes it quick and easy for residents and businesses to collect information, engage their community, and have a successful event. Here are just a few examples of the resources they offer:

Event ideas
Tips on how to meet your neighbors
Tips on how to ask businesses for a donation or sponsorship
List of all registered events in case people want to attend, but can’t host
Reminders to keep the lights on
National Night Out promotional flyer templates, in various languages

Incentivize Participation

In many cities and counties, there is a block permit fee to register a location for an outdoor event. The City of Minneapolis waives this fee for early registrants, reducing the need for costs and resources that could be used on the event itself. If communities share resources, the city essentially gives everyone the opportunity to have a free event. Many county and city websites also tout in-person visits during NNO by officials to provide giveaways or prizes for families, children, and other participants.

Leverage Social Media

NNO is a social event, and social media can be the most powerful promotional tool. Not only can NNO be promoted on a county or city’s Facebook and Twitter pages, but communities and neighborhoods can create their own pages to invite friends and followers. Page and account administrators can post information and updates about the event, and get feedback from attendees on everything from food and games to whether a theme should be involved. Don’t forget, city and county employees at every level can get the word out. In the City of Minneapolis, the City Council, Mayor, and Chief of Police all actively promote national night out on social media, in mailings, and at other events.

Remind Your Participants!

Many police departments plan NNO weeks, or even months, in advance. To ensure the date is highlighted on citizens’ calendars, be sure to send them a few friendly reminders. The City of Minneapolis sent various email alerts and social media posts reminding participants to register their event as well as directed them to check out all of the great resources on the website.

Get Out There!

The point of National Night Out is to unite communities and public safety for the purposes of crime prevention. Showing up and participating at local NNO events increases trust and transparency and allows officials to continue educating citizens about safety while providing essential crime prevention information. City employees should hit the streets; meet business owners and residents; and bring back details on successful events that can be leveraged by communities the following year.

Follow Up

Just because National Night Out ends on August 8^th,doesn’t mean community engagement should cease. NNO is an amazing opportunity to make relationships with participants who can be contacted to be crime prevention block leaders or community representatives throughout the rest of the year. Don’t miss out on the chance to build and solidify those connections. Krueger reminds us: “An organized community, partnering with police, solves problems more quickly, and with more sustainable crime reduction, than either partner acting without the other.”

For more information, or to find out how you can get involved, check out the National Night Out 2012 website.

citizen, city government, collaboration, communications, community, crime prevention, engagement, government, local government, Minneapolis, National Night Out, NNO, outreach, public safety, social media

311 Call Centers versus Email and Mobile: Why You Can’t Afford Not to Make the Shift

311 call centers serve as a crucial link between the government and the public, but their costs really eat away at city budgets. That’s why more and more cities are shifting their services from call centers to less expensive channels, such as websites, email or text messages. Most service requests can be addressed digitally, helping to prioritize 311 centers for information-only calls.

A 2009 article from Baltimore Sun noted how Baltimore saved hundreds of thousands of dollars by cutting down 311 calls to only urgent service requests between the hours of 10 p.m. and 6 a.m.: “Operators log about 1.1 million calls annually, but only about 52,000 – less than 5 percent – come overnight. As a result, each call costs about $10. And of those, 1,900 were urgent requests.” That’s a high volume of calls that weren’t necessary and greatly added up in annual costs.

In a recent article, Government Technology cites a Pew Charitable Trusts study that found the average cost of a single 311 call to be $3.39, though some cities ranged higher with Detroit coming in at $7.78 per call. These costs really add up when cities receive hundreds of thousands, or even millions, calls per year. So why isn’t government jumping to shift these communication costs to more reasonable and less expensive digital methods?

Many city governments hope that streamlining their current process will increase efficiency and solve most problems. It is also understandable that government prefers to maintain human contact throughout their services instead of automating certain citizen services. The good news is that government can achieve a balance of both methods, reduce costs and satisfy the needs of their customers. And that’s exactly what some cities have already been doing.

Baltimore is now offering various online and digital alternatives to 311 call centers. The city has provided a website where residents can submit requests at any time and also allows citizens to request services or report problems through the use of mobile apps.

New York is also leading the way in shifting to more cost-effective channels by harnessing the power of social media, with a particular focus on Twitter. Shifting traffic online cuts costs while meeting customer needs at an even higher rate due to the real-time nature of social media. New York also uses a 311 iPhone application, which is being “very well received.” A Destination CRM article notes how iPhone users have been downloading the app and have submitted over 3,000 reports within the first year, with issues ranging from damaged trees to more “quality-of-life conditions.” In May 2011, New York integrated 311 text messaging as one of its modes of communications, which has been used to respond to two hundred texts daily within its first year.

Shifting to digital alternatives can save governments significant dollars while still meeting citizen needs and allowing government to react to requests quickly. But governments need to make a proactive effort to inform the public of these digital alternatives. In fact, if governments can leverage a system where the public is proactively notified about issues that directly affect their lives, such as road closures, construction updates or park hours, local governments could make a huge impact on their 311 call center budgets. By providing information to the public, the number of informational phone calls would be greatly reduced and, in turn, reduce expenses. Being proactive also creates value for citizens in that they would have real-time, relevant information at their fingertips rather than taking the time to seek out information later.

Free image courtesy of FreeDigitalPhotos.net

In fact, after the above Government Technology article was published, Detroit made the decision to close their 311 call center, unable to justify the costs. They alerted residents to contact city departments directly by phone or email and to visit department websites for more information.

If you could shift 5% of your call center volume to other channels, how many calls per year would that be? Now multiply that number by the average cost of $5 per 311call. Think of the potential savings while being able to maintain citizen services and requests.

Has your local government considered shifting 311 call center operations to include digital alternatives? If you have thought about it but haven’t implemented digital alternatives for proactive communications, what is stopping you?

In the United Kingdom, shifting phone expenses to digital solutions is a huge initiative for local governments. Find out how channel shift can benefit your organization by downloading this white paper by Dr. Gerald Power.

311 costs, channel shift, citizen, citizen service, city, communication, community, data, digital, email, Gov 2.0, web 2.0

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