Local government were early adopters of social media, partly through an enthusiasm to innovate, partly through the impact of cuts to budgets. The next big challenge for the sector is to develop a more strategic use of social media and fully embed it into customer services operations. This all new research project aims to help councils understand where they are on this journey, and where they need to go next.
by Stuart Banbery
The debate over whether social media has a part to play in local government frontline services has long since passed, with almost every UK council now running a number of social channels. What does differ however is the level of adoption and success surrounding these increasingly-important comms channels.
At one end of the spectrum are organisations that use their social channels to send out clear and simple content around news and initiatives. However, on the other end of the spectrum are organisations that are harnessing social media to engage meaningfully with communities, deliver services more efficiently and gather deep insights on what their residents care about.
What is becoming very apparent is that the gap between those leveraging these channels and driving clear and tangible impact for their organisation and residents, and those that are not, is growing year on year.
What does best practice look like? How can social data be used to make far-reaching business decisions? Where should resources be allocated this year? What does social media success look like in 2017? These are just some of the common questions coming out of local gov comms strategy meetings up and down the UK.
To help local authorities understand the degree of social media innovation in the sector, and paint a clear picture of changing trends across the wider digital communications landscape, SocialSignIn has partnered with comms2point0 to conduct a unique research project. The data will allow local government organisations to benchmark their progress and help senior comms leads shape policies, practices and make effective business decisions in their organisations.
We’ve put together a brief multiple-choice online survey that is open to all local government comms professionals. All data used will be in complete anonymity.
Those completing the survey will be emailed a free copy of the published report.
Click here to take part in this unique study
Stuart Banbery is Marketing Manager at SocialSignIn.
SocialSignIn are an official sponsor of the UnAwards Winners Masterclasses and will be sharing the high level results of this research at each of the three regional masterclasses. You can find out more about these events here. Demand for tickets will be high so don’t hang around.
Image via the US National Archives
