An interesting discussion broke out on Twitter about the elephant in the room.
I’d posted the Edelman Trust Barometer infographic about who trusts who.
In short, the person like yourself greatly outranks the chief executive.
It led to a discussion about the merits of having politicians fronting what you have to say. It’s a difficult situation and eight years in local government makes me appreciate the pressures that local government people are under.
But should we stop using politicians across the board?
No. Not at all. Each issue is different. But when real people are involved I’d say the data says the most effective way of getting things shared is when real people feature in it. Call it the Law of Newspapers Covering Festivals. A page of pics of real people enjoying themselves will reach a bigger audience than simply the a pic of the chairperson of the event. Why? Because people will often buy several copies of the paper if they are in it.
I’ve dug out this instagram clip from the Mayor of London’s office that feels like it straddles the gap well.
It’s the real people talking about their football club and how a grant will help. The Mayor of London Sadiq Khan is in the cutaways and has his logo.
How to choose the best spokesperson is one component of the Essential Skills for Effective Communicators in 2019. For upcoming dates in Manchester, Birmingham and London or to enquire about in-house training click here.
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Isn’t local newspapers doing this more and more these days. Including more and more pictures of people. Sells the newspaper and selling copies of the photos. The Bournemouth Echo once published a photo from a AFC Bournemouth match of a defender clearing the ball. In the background (in the stand) was me!! The wife bought a copy of the picture and framed it for my birthday. It now hangs on my wall. Extra income for the local paper in these times when all local newspapers are struggling,