A blog about government-to-citizen digital communication and engagement, Government 2.0, GovDelivery, and other e-government issues
Header

How to Gain Subscribers During Special Events

May 22nd, 2013 | Posted by Mary Yang for GovDelivery in Community Management/Engagement | Events | GovDelivery | Government 2.0 | Usability - (0 Comments)

Many government organizations and agency departments plan and promote special events or seasonal occasions that relate to the constituency they serve and support. Highlighting these events through communications and digital content provides a fun and timely way to interact with the public, and can even serve as a platform for gaining subscribers and engaging citizens long-term.

earthThe Environmental Protection Agency replaced its normal home page with specially designed interactive presentations to commemorate Earth Day. The overlay, which included a stunning photo of Earth from space, was a visually pleasing way to inform the public about Earth Day and related events the EPA was sponsoring. The special home page provided slide shows, links to events for volunteers, and an invitation to send in photos from home.

While the EPA’s Earth Day home page is a great example of tailoring digital content to inform and educate stakeholders on issues that impact an organization’s mission, the organization missed a prime opportunity to offer an easy opt-in for email alerts. An out-of-the-ordinary web element like a special home page or highlighted overlay is one of the best ways government communicators can spark interest from a visitor and subsequently call attention to the proactive digital communications offered by the organization. Techniques such as these can even double or triple sign-ups to subscriber lists.

A sign-up form or link is easy to add on to a specially designed event home page and offers a convenient call-to-action for visitors attracted by special event information. This approach leverages the additional traffic that might result from a special event and also maximizes the long-term impact of the short-term custom content by offering ongoing email updates to visitors with specific interests.

On special days or events such as Earth Day, agencies like the EPA can turn new visitors looking for event-specific information into stakeholders by asking them to subscribe. Be sure to offer updates on a variety of topics, and consider a category of updates for subscribers interested in special events or holiday-related information in particular. Taking advantage of times of peak interest in your department or agency’s website can result in big wins in subscriber numbers and stakeholder engagement.

Has your department tied subscription sign-up opportunities into promotions for special events going on in the community? Share your tips on turning one-time special event visitors into lifetime stakeholders in the comments.

, , , , , , , , , , ,

GovDelivery Awarded G-Cloud III Framework Contract

May 15th, 2013 | Posted by GovDelivery in Cloud Computing | GovDelivery | Software as a Service (SaaS) | Tech | UK Government - (0 Comments)

g-cloud

By Kathy Kyle, Digital Communications Consultant at GovDelivery

GovDelivery was recently awarded a G-Cloud III framework contract for its Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) cloud-based solutions, making it easier for government to reach more people.

G-Cloud III is important as it continues to enable UK public sector departments and organisations to easily access centrally negotiated deals and transact online. Government is investing in Information and Communication Technology (ICT) infrastructure to achieve economies of scale, deliver flexible and responsive systems, deliver faster business benefits and reduce costs, and enhance customer service outcomes. And the G-Cloud helps them procure these technologies more quickly and efficiently.

Since GovDelivery has always developed cloud-based solutions, we have more than a decade of experience helping government organizations transform their communications. We currently support over 55 UK clients at the central and local government levels, managing proactive digital communications for GOV.UK, FCO, MOJ, DSA, Met Office, Parliament, VOSA, HA, FSA, MHRA and more. Our local government clients are using GovDelivery solutions to achieve cost savings through channel shift, driving residents to cheaper online channels where appropriate, and reducing avoidable contact. Local authority clients like Central Bedfordshire, Southampton and Suffolk rave about reaching 20 to 30% of their target population, increasing online traffic to high-values services by 35%, and generating immediate, cashable savings. One client estimates an annual cost savings of £100,000 by reducing phone call volume alone.

The common denominator for these clients? They all recognise the importance of reaching their stakeholders, and they understand that with proactive digital communications, they can transform online visits to transactions that demonstrate a return on their digital investment. GovDelivery clients achieve channel shift and cost savings through a single platform that links their existing communication channels to email, text messaging, RSS and social media (and soon, voice messages). Suffolk County Council achieved cost savings and accolades (2011 UK Digital Excellence award winner post-GovDelivery implementation) for their proactive messaging and on-demand alerts. Our clients at Central Bedfordshire realised significant cost savings after implementing GovDelivery; they report estimated reductions of up to 100 phone calls per day and continuously improve services by measuring results. Watch their video testimonial and learn about Central Bedfordshire’s comprehensive channel shift programme.

Summer is quickly approaching, and this is an ideal time to implement GovDelivery. With three months of highly publicised events and activities across UK boroughs, counties and cities, past experience dictates that our clients will generate large subscriber numbers and with proper cross-promotion, also increase subscribers across other high-value services.

Those who promote their GovDelivery service all summer will reap the benefits of increased subscribers across multiple services. By the time the leaves change and autumn rolls in, inclement weather will be the main driver for GovDelivery subscriptions. West Sussex County Council experienced an increase of nearly 1500 subscribers on one cold, blizzard-like Sunday afternoon due to weather and referrals from other local authorities and Met Office subscription links.

img_whitepaper (2)For central government, it is always ideal to promote online services, share emergency travel alerts, or launch a public safety campaign. The Foreign Commonwealth Office (FCO) recently launched its travel alerts on GOV.UK using GovDelivery, and we are working together to keep UK travellers informed and safe when travelling abroad.

For local authorities, this means opportunities to leverage community events to cross-promote services and a chance to connect with referrers in the GovDelivery network. Local councils that would normally send alerts and updates about cultural events and library services will take advantage of the busy summer event season to feature and promote high-value service areas like rubbish and bin management, school term dates, highways and road works, inclement weather alerts, or even sign residents up for online portals.

As a quick and efficient cost-cutting measure, local authorities might also consider GovDelivery’s Transactional Messaging Service (TMS), new to the G-Cloud III framework, which allows organizations to send fully automated, targeted, one-to-one messages to citizens about council tax statements, benefits information, registration, and key notices. Our clients are achieving efficiencies both through postal savings and channel shift by driving their audience to online channels to complete electronic transactions with government.

With constrained budgets, dwindling resources and pressure to generate cost savings, GovDelivery is key to driving proactive messaging, achieving channel shift savings, and ensuring government achieves customer service goals. We are the engine that drives over 1.7 million UK residents to the relevant online activities that make their offline lives easier.

Contact us to learn how you can procure our services though G-Cloud III to dramatically increase your reach and impact in your respective community.

 

Kathy Kyle
Digital Communications Consultant
kathy.kyle@govdelivery.com or @bonominiyogini

, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Raise Your Hand If You Want to Make a Difference

May 13th, 2013 | Posted by Anne Doucot for GovDelivery in Community Management/Engagement | Compelling Content | Current Affairs | Events | GovDelivery | Local Government | Tech - (0 Comments)

National Day of Civic HackingWith National Day of Civic Hacking right around the corner (June 1st and 2nd), cities all around the nation are gathering in preparation to collaborate. Citizens, civic activists, entrepreneurs and engineers alike will be joining in the festivities of sorts. If you’re like me, and you’d like to contribute to your community, but aren’t quite sure where to begin, this is a great place to start. This event provides citizens like you and I the opportunity to help create a new and better path for our community through good ol’ brainstorming.

Example topics include EPA Safe Drinking Water App Challenge, Farmers Market Directory and The Census American Community Challenge, to name a few. To find out what topics or agenda your local Civic Hacking event will include, click here.

A civic hacker is defined as “…anybody – who is willing to collaborate with others to create, build, and invent open source solutions using publicly-released data, code and technology to solve challenges relevant to our neighborhoods…” But don’t feel that you have to be a techie to participate (I for one, am not); the event is about finding solutions on improving the community together.

There are many locations already set up throughout the U.S. If you don’t see a location close by, you still have the opportunity to set one up in your neighborhood. The event has already morphed into a few different theme options that you can choose from, such as “RHoK-in-a-Box” (or Random Hacks of Kindness), “Brigade Meet-Up”, and “Block Party”. Or you can create your own theme.

To give you a better idea of what to expect, here are some of event goals:

  • Demonstrate a commitment to the principles of transparency, participation, and collaboration.
  • Exercise a government’s interest in using open data and technology, in partnership with others, to address your local community’s felt needs.
  • Liberate open data that can inform better problem solving in every community.
  • Continue to collectively map a national innovation ecosystem and create new access points to that system.
  • Engage citizens in cities with little technology infrastructure to contribute to changing their community through open source, open data, entrepreneurship and code development.
  • Promote Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) education by encouraging students to utilize open technology for solutions to real challenges.
  • Encourage large scale partnership and mutual understanding.

group huddleNational Day of Civic Hacking is about joining forces. On June 1st and 2nd, fellow neighbors, local government organizations and private sector companies will address local problems and challenges to find solutions for everyday problems in our community. You don’t have to be a programmer or a city planner – just a citizen with an idea or two on how to improve your community.

For those of you in the Twin Cities, a group of talented and civic-minded programmers have already set up a local civic hacking event. GovDelivery is excited to support these community-building and citizen engagement efforts, and we hope to see you there.

For national information, check out the National Day of Civic Hacking’s website or follow National Day of Civic Hacking on Twitter.

Let me know if you attend the event (or create your own) and what your thoughts are on the experience.

Happy Hacking!

, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Top 10 (Easy) Ways to Make Your Emails Work for Mobile

May 6th, 2013 | Posted by Mike Bernard for GovDelivery in Compelling Content | Email Communication | GovDelivery | Mobile | Tech - (1 Comments)

mobileI don’t need to convince you that we are in the midst of a massive shift in the way we access information. The days of desktop dominance have given way to mobile devices. This is especially true for email. With each passing month, more and more people are accessing their email on their phones and tablets. If your emails are not designed to accommodate smaller screen sizes, your readers will become frustrated with your emails and discontinue reading.

In a previous post, I talked about how to create a mobile friendly website using Responsive Design. But, what about email? What can be done about my newsletters, alerts and notices?

Responsive Design for email is not going to be the solution for everyone. First, to use Responsive Design for email, you have know how to code. You have to write CSS code that will scale and re-arrange your emails to fit on mobile devices. This is a specialized skill set that not everyone has. What if you don’t know how to write CSS? How can you make your emails look better without getting a masters degree in computer science?

Second, Responsive Design for email will only display properly on iPhones, with the built-in Apple mail client. Responsive Design currently won’t work with email apps like Gmail or Yahoo Mail. For people viewing their email on a mobile device, which pulls the content from a hosted mail server like Exchange or Lotus Notes, Responsive Design elements will not work.

So what can you do? Although more people are reading their emails on mobile devices, Responsive Design is not currently a great solution.

To get around this issue, and make things easier for you, I suggest optimizing your emails for mobile using solid scalable design principles. Scalable design uses a single column layout and grid system for alignment and proportion. If you don’t know how to set this up, or your system doesn’t allow for this, it’s easy to design your emails, in any email provider, by using some simple tricks.

So, here are my top 10 (easy) tips for making your emails work on mobile devices:

Try to keep in mind how you use your own phone or tablet to look at email. If you think through the steps you take, the fingers you use and the way your device works, it will go a long way in making your emails look good.

1) Single Column
When you put together your emails, a single column is going to work the best. Classic web design prescribes keeping as much as possible “above the fold” to catch a person’s eye. The result was web pages that got wider and wider so that more information could be at the top of the page. With mobile, wide is bad, because most mobile devices are not as large as your 24” monitor. For mobile devices, skinny and vertical is better. It’s much easier to read and scroll up and down than it is to go right and left (or worse, to zoom in and out).

2) Width
Speaking of skinny and vertical, you should reduce the width of your emails to allow for the smaller screens of mobile phones. I would suggest you keep your email width to 450px and definitely less than 600px. This will allow your email to fit nicely on most devices.

3) Text Size
Now that you have a skinny, single column email, you will need to compensate for the smaller dimensions by increasing the size of the font. I suggest you go with 14-16px for body copy and 20-26px for headers. The larger font will allow people to read your content without having to squint (or as I mentioned, the dreaded zoom in and out).

4) Shorten Content
Remember way back in point 1 when I said it’s easier to scroll up and down on a mobile device? Well there are limits. If people have to scroll for 17 minutes to get to the bottom of your email, your email is way too long. Try writing shorter, teaser summaries to your stories and then link to the full story on a landing page or your Responsively Designed website. This helps people get right to the content they want and will drive up your engagement rate. It will also help improve search engine optimization (or SEO) of your site and keep your readers happy by getting them exactly what they are interested in.

5) Buttons
While you are linking to those landing pages, get rid of simple text links and go with touch-friendly buttons instead. For most people it takes pin-point accuracy to actually click on linked text and many times we hit the wrong things if we are a little clumsy or have large fingers. Replacing those links with clickable buttons will help solve that problem; 50x50px to 75x75px should be enough to get the job done.

6) Alt Tags
When using buttons as links, make sure you are putting alt tags in place for people who have images turned off. Also, make sure the alt tags make sense to people viewing your message. Instead of the outline of your button with “mobile_button_2.png” in place of the image, why not try an alt tag that displays something like, “Click here to go to the full article. Please allow images from Central City to improve your reading experience.”

7) White Space
Even though you are using buttons for your links, remember to place ample white space between text, paragraphs, images, buttons, etc. This will help make your emails easier to read and provide more forgiveness so people don’t click the wrong thing.

8) Thumbs
The majority of people use their right hand, more specifically their right thumb to scroll and click on things. Even lefties like me scroll through emails on their phone using their right hand. So, placing your buttons on the right hand side, or in the center, of your emails will make it easier for people to click while using one hand.

9) Subject Lines
Keep your email subject lines short and sweet. Subject lines that are too long will get truncated with smaller screen sizes. I suggest 60 characters or less.

10) Test, Test, Test
Just like a pool, it pays to test the waters before diving right in. Send a test email to several different email clients and look at them on several different devices of varying sizes. You will be amazed at how different one email can look. Try to find a design that looks good for all devices and email clients. If you can get that right, you can be confident that people will have a positive experience interacting with your emails.

There you have it. 10 simple tips for making your emails look great on mobile devices without using Responsive Design. If I’ve missed any you can think of, put them in the comments section below. For more great tips, check out our new white paper, “Integrating Email in Government Communications.”

, , , , , , , , , , , ,

Email Finds New Life in Integrated Campaigns

May 3rd, 2013 | Posted by Mary Yang for GovDelivery in Analytics/Data | Cloud Computing | Email Communication | Integration | Mobile | Software as a Service (SaaS) | UK Government | Usability - (0 Comments)

There’s a school of thought that says email is outdated – that people are moving to social media channels (Facebook, Twitter) and mobile text messaging. Many think the generation entering the workforce today sees email as an ‘old-fashioned’ communication medium. phone-mobile email

So, should forward-looking government agencies focus their digital communication strategies on social media and mobile messaging rather than email?

Research suggests the opposite.

Reports of email’s death are greatly exaggerated

Research by Nielsen suggests that heavy social media users use more, not less, email. Even for the socially savvy “Gen Y” demographic, email is an essential part of life.

Email is a powerful communication channel for governments. It’s cost-effective and increasingly pervasive. And as more people have phones with email capabilities, it’s a very fast and efficient way to reach many citizens wherever they are.

In fact, combining email with other digital communications increases the reach of government agencies across all channels. Many agencies use email as part of integrated outreach and interaction strategies:

  • Letting citizens subscribe for email updates to current road conditions, new video postings, meeting announcements or new website resources.
  • Using email for emergency communications in conjunction with Twitter, text messages and other real-time channels.
  • Combining email with social media – such as emailing a daily digest of Twitter updates to citizens who subscribe.

In the white paper “Integrating Email in Government Communications,” industry analyst and blogger Liz Azyan profiles how the Driving Standards Agency in the U.K. uses email as an integral part of driving engagement along multiple digital channels.

For example, the agency sends email updates to subscribers about new videos it releases on YouTube. As a result, they have seen a 163% increase in video views, and their new video releases quickly become among the most popular on the YouTube Motoring channel.

Download the paper to read more about specific strategies and best practices for integrating email in digital government communications.

, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Trends Show Support for More Digital Services

April 17th, 2013 | Posted by Mary Yang for GovDelivery in Community Management/Engagement | Current Affairs | Federal Government | GovDelivery | Uncategorized - (1 Comments)

uspsWhen the transcontinental telegraph line was completed in 1861, the Pony Express stopped sending riders galloping across the United States to deliver important messages. Change marched on. Mail transport by the railway gave way to the highways and then the airways. Of course, the internet has ushered in the digital age, and again the communications field is experiencing the impact. It should come as no surprise to anyone that a decline in mail volume prompted the United States Postal Service (USPS) to consider stopping Saturday mail delivery, with the plan only being scrapped due to a Congressional mandate that’s been around since the 1980s.

Still, it’s clear that with online bill paying, e-mail, and other electronic communications, businesses have reduced the volume of traditional print mail created and distributed. This trend of decreasing dependence on traditional mail service supports polls showing strong public support for eliminating Saturday mail delivery to help the USPS meet its financial challenges.

In a CBS News poll, 71 percent of respondents favored the delivery cuts, and in a USPS poll, 80 percent expressed support. Both polls show broad support across all age and income groups and all regions of the country. Even Democrats and Republicans are aligned on this issue with 75 percent of Republicans and 67 percent of Democrats favoring the end of Saturday mail delivery, according to the CBS poll.

It might seem surprising that senior citizens support the mail delivery cut. But the fact is they too are using digital communications in increasing numbers. According to the Pew Internet and American Life Project, 87 percent of senior citizens use e-mail and search engines. The fastest growth for social network site usage is among users age 74 and older. Also, more older adults than ever before are watching video, listening to music, and using classified ads online. A Nielsen study  found that the favorite online activities of people 65-plus are sending and receiving e-mail, viewing maps, checking the weather and paying bills.

Other trends also indicate the importance of the public sector adopting digital methods to meet the needs of constituents. For example, searching for health information online was once most popular among older adults but now is the third most popular activity for all internet users 18 and older. The Nielsen study found key internet activities are becoming more popular across all age groups. These include:web communication

  • Emailing
  • Using search engines
  • Seeking health information
  • Getting news
  • Buying products
  • Making travel reservations or purchases
  • Doing online banking

Increased online activity and clear broad support for mail delivery cuts further support the need for the public sector to start broadly adopting digital methods of communicating with the public. But I also know that this is the “easy” answer. The Postal Service’s budgetary and service situation much more complex, which means the answer isn’t necessarily going to be as simple as “going digital.”

To this end, there are some highly innovative and invested stakeholders, entrepreneurs, and government employees working together to bring a solution to the table. The upcoming PostalVision 2020/3.0 conference in Washington, DC, currently in its third year, hopes to do just that. GovDelivery CEO and co-Founder, Scott Burns, will be speaking at the conference as well, lending his expertise on government-to-citizen digital communication efforts.

What are your thoughts on using digital communications to provide information to the public? I’d love to hear your thoughts on how the public sector can deliver better services in an increasingly digital world.

, , , ,

Trends Point to Opportunities for Government Efficiencies

April 15th, 2013 | Posted by Mary Yang for GovDelivery in Analytics/Data | Community Management/Engagement | Compelling Content | Current Affairs | GovDelivery | Mobile | UK Government | Uncategorized | Usability - (0 Comments)

Customer service, collaboration, and mobile communications top the list of trends important to UK government in 2013, according to results of a GovDelivery survey of nearly 100 individuals.

The respondents – individuals within the UK government — identified the top trends from a list of hot topics, such as big data/open data, cybersecurity, budgets, technology and cloud computing. They were asked to identify the most important trends affecting the public sector at large and their specific jobs.

Respondents were asked to look at the trends through three filters:
•    Trends taking center stage in 2013 (affecting their agencies and others)
•    Trends directly affecting their own work
•    Trends that their organizations are already addressing

The three trends ranked at the top of all three categories were those with the greatest impact on government productivity and effectiveness:
•    Citizen/customer service
•    Collaboration with other agencies and with citizens
•    Mobility and bring your own device (BYOD)

The top trends are related. For example, an initiative to provide citizens with the ability to subscribe to email and text messaging updates might address the three objectives of improving customer service, supporting mobility, and improving collaboration.

As a whitepaper on the survey notes, embracing digital government initiatives will be a key to improving efficiencies. By improving collaboration, digital services can help departments work more efficiently. And by streamlining communications and services for citizens, digital tools can help departments meet their objectives of improving customer service even during constrained budgets.

Following is a brief summary of each top trend presented in the white paper about the survey that is available for download.

Customer Service is the Top Priority

Customer service was the top trend identified for UK government as well as the top trend that departments were already addressing. More than two-thirds of the respondents said they were currently addressing customer service.

Digital technologies are playing a major part in how government departments are addressing customer service. The Government Digital Strategy published by the Cabinet Office calls for government organizations to embrace digital services to constituents.

About half of respondents said their departments use social media to communicate with citizens, which leaves room for improvement.

Given the focus on digital government, expect to see the increasing adoption of social media, email, web and other digital channels to improve communications with constituents, such as:
•    Expanding awareness of and participation in services
•    Raising the profile of community development projects
•    Communicating public safety alerts
•    Cross-promoting programs and topics across departments and channels
•    Allowing customers to subscribe to updates using the channels of their choice (text messaging, email, RSS feeds, etc.)

Collaboration is the New Imperative

Collaboration is needed with other government entities, between departments and levels, and with citizens. The emphasis on collaboration is due in part to resource constraints, as collaboration should improve efficiency.

The Government Digital Strategy suggests using digital tools and techniques to engage with and consult the public by creating plans to listen to and understand conversations in social media, using the insight gained to inform the policy-making process and to collaborate more effectively with partners.

As the white paper notes, there is a difference between passive listening and active collaboration. As the government seeks to solicit citizen input on policies and services, they will need to expand their use of digital channels, including:
•    Interacting on existing social media communities already widely used by customers
•    Using dedicated online communities for stakeholders
•    Creating other digital channels with citizens to streamline information exchanges and knowledge sharing

Mobile Government

Given the increased use of mobile devices and applications by the public, it’s not surprising that mobile government is the third most important trend affecting UK government.

Within government, employees are increasingly using mobile devices to access government sites and applications. Externally, more citizens are accessing government services and information using mobile devices.

Of survey respondents, 42 percent said a more mobile government would affect their jobs, yet only 32 percent said their departments were addressing the issue.

In 2013, expect that UK government organizations will find new ways to interact with citizens over digital channels, including Twitter, text messaging, and mobile-accessible websites. Government departments will look for ways to integrate transactional messaging and services over digital channels.

Download the white paper for more details and analysis.

, , , , , , , , , ,

Would You Like Fries With That?

April 3rd, 2013 | Posted by Anna Stroncek for GovDelivery in Community Management/Engagement | GovDelivery | Uncategorized | Usability - (1 Comments)

Believe it or not, government organizations can learn a thing or two from McDonald’s. While on the surface the two hold very little in common with one another, similarity can be found in their mission to get the word out and to serve and satisfy their customers.

For many organizations, getting customers to engage with or buy their product is the key goal. While this may not appear to have anything to do with government, there are lessons to be learned. For a government organization to find success in their communications efforts, valuable connections need to be made. A connection is made when a citizen engages with a resource or piece of information that is of interest to them.

mcdonalds

 

 

Cue McDonalds.

 

 

“Would you like fries with that?” is a phrase we are all too familiar with. Behind these five familiar words lies the most famous cross-selling technique around. Because a customer is already in the buying mode (placing their burger order), the simple addition of a complementary product (those delicious, golden fries) is an easy add-on; not only can the customer afford the additional purchase, but they’re reminded how they want the additional treat, thus increasing the total value of the sale. This simplistic strategy finds success by sparking an idea in the customer’s head with those famous five words.

As GovDelivery’s CEO and co-Founder, Scott Burns, points out during GovDelivery’s Washington D.C. webcast, these up-selling and cross-selling moments are where government organizations can dramatically change the effectiveness of their communications.

Another way to connect with citizens is by collaborating with other government agencies. By simply suggesting that a citizen sign up to receive information from another government organization, another valuable connection is made- for the citizen as well as the other organization. By cross-promoting your organization’s various resources such as newsletters, websites and forums across your digital communication outlets, you place a new opportunity right in front of your citizen, making it easier and more appealing for them to take action.

Scott Burns uses the Social Security Administration (SSA) as an example to demonstrate the idea of up-selling in government. SSA created a baby names Web page on their website listing the most popular baby names from previous years, knowing how popular this topic is among new families. In his presentation, Scott notes that though this topic isn’t nearly as important to the SSA with regard to mission goals and objectives, as having citizens go online to apply and monitor their Social Security benefits, the organization still understands how much of a draw the baby names information can be. So, while visiting the baby names Web page, citizens are given the option to sign up to receive other SSA alerts that are more impactful.

Thus, government’s opportunity to cross-sell or “to offer the fries with the burger”.

By placing options to sign up for other newsletters, links to other digital communication channels and links to higher value activities on the baby names Web page itself, SSA now leverages the baby names page to effectively and efficiently cross-promote their other topics.

High value and low value activities will vary from organization to organization. However, the key is to determine what they are for your organization. From there, finding topics to help your organization cross-promote is fairly simple.

To hear Scott Burns’ full discussion on the transformative power of communications, check out the video by clicking here.

, , , , ,

Getting Your Message Heard: When Communication is a Matter of Life or Death

March 27th, 2013 | Posted by Anne Doucot for GovDelivery in Cloud Computing | Community Management/Engagement | Current Affairs | Email Communication | GovDelivery | Government Success Stories | Local Government | Social Media | Software as a Service (SaaS) | State Government | Usability - (0 Comments)

Imagine for a moment that you are in an area that is about to be hit by a hurricane. What would you want to know to prepare? Do you know where the safest place will be? How will you contact other family members if separated? These getting your message heardquestions are extremely important when faced with a disaster. And if you work in the public sector, another important question is: What good is your message if your audience isn’t getting it?

As a government employee, you may have critical information that could potentially save lives before or during an urgent situation, but if your message doesn’t actually get to your intended recipients, the message is useless.

The town of Ocean City, Maryland, quickly realized the importance of this question during the aftermath of Hurricane Irene in 2011. Overall, the storm caused 47 deaths and over $15 billion worth of damage. Despite the myriad of communications being sent out by town staff, Ocean City residents felt they hadn’t received adequate or timely information about the storm.

Ocean City officials listened to their citizens and stakeholders and took action. They began by discussing their current communications system. The town already had a system in place that pushed out email alerts; however, administrators felt that a more flexible system was necessary. They wanted the ability to send messages, especially emergency alerts, via multiple channels, including text messages or SMS. They knew there was a phone alertsmuch more efficient and effective way to communicate emergency and other high priority information to residents.

In July 2012, Ocean City selected and implemented a multichannel, integrated digital communication platform: GovDelivery Digital Communication Management (DCM). Residents are now able to sign up for a wide variety of topics such as Jobs, Council updates and City Wide Alerts.

The system not only allows Ocean City to send out email and text messages, but it has also helped the town dramatically increase its reach.

In the wake of Hurricane Sandy, Ocean City was significantly more prepared, using the system to get the word out about preparation, storm updates and recovery efforts.

“In times of emergencies, it’s critical for the town to have a system in place that allows us to quickly reach out to our residents and stakeholders with information that they need to keep themselves and their properties safe or secure. With Hurricane Sandy, I was glad to know that we were using the same system that FEMA was using to get the word out about the storm,” said Joe Theobald, Emergency Services Director, Ocean City, MD.

Despite Hurricane Sandy’s devastation, Ocean City residents reported being “extremely satisfied” with officials’ communication throughout the storm. To read the full success story, click here.

If you’d like to know more on how to guide the public in preparing for emergency situations, click here to get the FREE E-BOOK, Leveraging Digital Communications in Emergencies.

, , , , , , , , , ,

Futurism and Government

March 25th, 2013 | Posted by Mary Yang for GovDelivery in Community Management/Engagement | Compelling Content | Current Affairs | GovDelivery | Government 2.0 - (0 Comments)

I know what you’re probably thinking, “What is futurism?” And then your next question is likely, “And what’s that got to do with government?” I’ve been reading a recently published book, Think Like a Futurist: Know What Changes, What Doesn’t, and What’s Next by Cecily Sommers, that explains futurism as the practice of engaging in “new thinking in order to connect today’s pressures with tomorrow’s realities.”

So what’s this got to do with government? Well, it turns out, quite a bit. Government Technology covered a conference where Brian David Johnson, Intel’s director of future casting and resident futurist gave the keynote. The article noted that Johnson stated how “crucial [it will be] for government agencies to think well into the future when planning technology implementations.” Moreover, he is quoted as saying, “…government agencies must prepare for the future of tech by having a vision, and contemplating what humans will be like down the road.”

Especially now, in a time with unprecedented budgetary constraints (re: sequestration), extensive technological advances and broad demographic changes, this kind of forward-looking thinking can help anchor and prepare government organizations to take on tumultuous times.

Sommers_3D book shot.jpg

(www.cecilysommers.com)

And that’s exactly what Cecily Sommers’ book Think Like a Futurist can help you do, whether you’re a government technologist or communications specialist or administrator. In the book, she discusses the “Four Forces of Change” – resources, technology, demographics, and governance – and how understanding each force helps you “get a big-picture perspective on any challenge you may face. Understand how they work together to drive change, and you will be able not only to avert crises but also to uncover ideas and opportunities…along the way.”

Does this sound too pie-in-the-sky? After reading the book, there are some deeply compelling examples of how futurism applies to the broader call for innovation in government through technology. For instance, she writes about a Bangladeshi man, Iqbal, who brings the mobile phone movement to Bangladesh’s most poor and rural citizens after he realizes how critical communications technology is to increasing productivity “by helping people coordinate their work and resources.” For the rural and poor citizens in Bangladesh, this was a profound advancement in their quality of life and the country’s economic growth. Iqbal didn’t invent the cell phone, but he had the vision to use this technology in a new way to improve the quality of life for thousands of people in his home country. Cecily notes that Iqbal understood that mobile phone technology was here to stay. And he understood the demographics of his country. Those two pieces of knowledge inspired his vision.

This is just one example from the book, which I encourage you to read, but why not hear from Cecily yourself? She will be speaking at our next two Digital Communications Tour stops (Oakland and Denver). We’ll also be giving away her book (quantities are limited) and attendees will have a chance to ask Cecily questions after her keynote.

Come find out how you can think like a futurist. Register for the Oakland stop or the Denver stop today.

, , , , , ,