Author Archives: Dan Slee

Social media these days can be a pretty grim place at times. 

Stephen Fry a while back described the darkening of some people’s attitudes and the more sinister trolling as like seeing a turd released in once beautiful pool.

This week I was reminded what he meant when I read comments posted to Birmingham Live’s mosque attack coverage from a minority of people.

If you missed the news, five mosques were attacked overnight by someone armed with a hammer across Birmingham. Coming days after the murder of 49 Muslim workshippers in New Zealand this is a build of tension that wasn’t welcome by reasonable people.

The state of abusive comments in 2019

Marc Reeves, editor-in-chief at Reach Midlands who looks after Birmingham Live once remarked that you were never more than seven or eight comments away from a racist comment.

It’s a comment that may strike a chord with anyone who looks after a public sector Facebook page, too. I’ve seen posts on plans for a new mosque, the welcome of Syrian refugees or the return of the London schoolgirl ISIS recruit that I’d hate my children to see.

The need to admin your Facebook page at key times

There is a clear need and responsibility to keep a close eye on Facebook comments at key times. Social is social. People will talk to you. But just because they can doesn’t mean you should tolerate abuse to yourself or any sector of the population.

Birmingham Live assigned a member of staff to keeping an eye on moderating comments. At a time of thin resources it would have been easier to have not to and maybe even for a media company to encourage it to generate traffic.

But media companies just as the public sector have a heavy moral duty not to allow the abuse of anyone.

Hats off then to Birmingham Live’s politics and people editor Jane Haynes who tweeted this:

One colleague spent much of today moderating comments on social media channels. We felt it was important to let people share insights and messages of solidarity, but with that collective responsibility we also had to scan for and be alert to hate speech 🙁

— Jane Haynes (@JaneRockHouse) March 21, 2019

The need not to duck

There’s a temptation to duck out of posting about that refugee family who are being housed in the borough or about the mosque attack.

I seriously don’t think that anyone should. That’s giving in and I don’t think that will make for a better world to live in.

But I do think you need back-up to moderate the comments.

One of the great delights of travelling is being able to see at close hand what other people are doing.

American writer Henry Miller once wrote that travel was never a destination but a new way of seeing things.

This is spot on for this week’s trip to Belfast to speak at the Northern Ireland Public Sector Communications Forum. A room of excellent people doing some really good work.

As a former in-house public sector communicator, the work of Police Service Northern Ireland really stood out. Had I still been in-house I’d want my organisation to be communicating online as they are.

Let me count you the ways PSNI’s Fiona Williamson impressed the heck out of me.

They share the sweets

It galls me that we are still faced with comms teams who won’t devolve access to social channels. I’d long thought that the argument between the Lord of the Rings-style One Corporate Account That Rules Them All had been settled. Share the sweets, for heavens sake.

So, they have accounts based on the areas they serve rather than a one-size-fits all account. If you live in East Belfast you want East Belfast news not news from Ards or Newry.

We were low and loud over Holywood earlier. Helping our colleagues locate a vulnerable person. A positive ending we located them. Now reunited with their loved ones. #keepingpeoplesafe @mindyourhealthx @mhmatters Sgt W pic.twitter.com/mGHI8J4Vpj

— PSNI Air Support (@PSNIAirSupport) March 5, 2019

They have more than 30 Facebook and 20 Twitter accounts as well as YouTube and Instagram. They also have a single web page here where you can find the ones you want to follow.

They’ve made mistakes… and learned from them

Refreshingly, PSNI’s Fiona Williamson was honest about how they have got things wrong and the negative coverage that has attracted. But they’ve learned from it rather than shut down the operation.

One key early learning was to gather channels into a social media management tool to help co-ordinate responses and exercise a degree of control.

They pay attention to the Facebook comments in real time

Fiona spoke of a high-profile incident that generated more than 1,000 Facebook comments.

Having an officer work to monitor and delete comments where required is such a refreshing thing to see and hear. All to often incidents can bring out the worst in communities. The recent attacks on mosques in Birmingham, attracted some pretty vile comments on the Birmingham Live Facebook page, for example.

Unhelpful comments in policing terms I’m guessing can not only raise tension in a community but can also jeopardise an investigation.

This is probably the biggest single point of learning I took.

They have a good use of video for bigger incidents

The PSNI YouTube channel has a number of witness appeals and other pieces of content. Video footage clearly plays a role in what they do.

They resource social media just as much as the press office

This really caught my attention.

A decade on from the first UK public sector accounts and some teams still operate by tacking social media onto what their day job was a decade ago. Understandable. But I’d strongly question if this makes for a team that are set-up for 2019.

Resourcing digital comms as much as traditional is wonderful to hear.

I’m often saying that take inspiration from where you can.

Go look at Belfast.

Picture credit: Derek Flint /Flickr. 

 

You can learn a lot about what other people admire and what they are proud of.

As an experiment, I asked comms people in a Facebook group I’m admin of the two questions.

The answers were compelling, fascinating and illuminating.

Sometimes people aren’t always keen to shout about the things they do but are happy to applaud things they may see.

I think we should always be proud to celebrate the good work we do as comms people.

For a long time I’ve argued that PR is actually pretty bad at its own PR.

The first step on the road to tackling that is to stand tall and be proud of the things that we do.

If we can’t be proud how the heck do you think other people will respect what we do as a sector?

We should all be proud of making a difference in what we and what others do.

What are you proud of?

“Being involved with an animation which helps women and men going through the abortion process. Now adopted in four other countries including Ireland soon, which is a really big deal for me.” – Leanne Hughes.

“I was part of the team that launched the #CitizenGirl project for Girlguiding Scotland which is all about encouraging girls to learn about politics and use their voice now and in their futures. One year on, I still see lots of girls with their Citizen Girl badges on their uniforms and it gives me all the feels every time.” – Mairi Gordon.

“Asking myself if I am making a difference to communities I can serve, help or improve in the best way possible. If it is, then that work is what I am proudest of.” – David Grindlay. 

 “I think the thing I’m most proud of is the brand we’ve built over the last decade or more, its coherence, consistency, and creativity, and the genuine sense of pride and belonging, both at a place level, and an organisation level, that it has contributed to.” – Polly Czoik. 

“Social media-led rape prevention campaign for Thames Valley Police getting the message through worldwide, being mentioned by the Incredible Hulk – Mark Ruffalo –  and used by the Chicago Tribune to bash Donald Trump’s idiotic claim integrated armed forces is reason for rape.” – Victoria Caddy.

“When you get feedback at how your comms helped people or they enjoyed your joke on social media.” – Nartari Venning.

What do you most admire?

“Comms colleagues who retain a sense of humour and help each other surf the silliness with kindness, expertise and a sense of self. Also creativity. Always.” – Claire Robson.

“People based deep within council services who appreciate the value of taking the time to look into difficult enquiries that my team gets from time to time on social media.” – Nick Moore.

“Brands and organisations who get that narrative and human-interest are the key to engagement and place them at the heart of their strategies.” – Eimar Fitzpatrick.

“I admire the diligent colleagues scheduling posts, testing ads, fighting for sign off against all odds and answering social media messages at 11pm – because they care. Superstars with hearts of gold.” – Rachel King.

“The willingness of the people I work with to go the extra mile in all corners of the council, but especially the lovely comms people.” – Mary Willis.

Thank you to the members of the Public Sector Headspace Facebook group for contributing to this post.

Picture credit: Flickr / US National Archives.

 

It’s International Woman’s Day and a chance to celebrate the role that women play in all our lives.

It’s also becoming a chance for organisations to celebrate and also, frankly, try and change our ideas.

When it works best its planting a flag in the ground to say that women can do any job they want.

In 2019, the sad thing is that we still have a way to go to make everyone see this.

Me? I’m a feminist and I became a feminist when my daughter was born. Why the heck shouldn’t she have the same chance as someone else’s son?

Here are some pieces of content that caught my eye.

At their best, they show the organisation up in a better light.

South Yorkshire Fire and Rescue’s school visit video – YouTube

A video with a twist. Three women go into school. They ask the children to draw the job they’d like to do when they grow up. They ask them to guess what they are and then the big reveal.

At two minutes 20 seconds this is good YouTube length, there is a big reveal when jaws hit the flaw and they show IT staff as well as firefighter. The length is slightly long for Facebook.

Manchester Survivors Choir – Twitter

A post that simply photographs members who are all girls. By focusing on the members they show a pride in them. That there is a choir at all based on survivors of the Manchester attack just fills my heart.

If you include real people those real people and their friends and families will share the content.

We are blessed with many amazing women in our choir. Together we share our message of love and hope ❤️🐝#InternationalWomansDay2019 pic.twitter.com/HLS6ZRbgMo

— Manchester Survivors Choir (@SurvivorsChoir) March 8, 2019

Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue – Twitter

A quirky picture that shows a fire appliance not with a red nose but with a mock-up bra. Wry and witty it shows a sense of humour to put across the fact that women can be firefighters, too.

I also love the fact that it is shared by a senior firefighter on their own profile.

What a brilliant way to celebrate #InternationalWomansDay2019! @totnestimes @BBCSpotlight @KathrynBilling @sallenonfire @sarahwollaston #Totnes fire engine wears a bra! pic.twitter.com/B9nil43yYS

— AM Gerald Taylor (@GCGeraldTaylor) March 8, 2019

University of Padova – Instagram

An image of artwork that celebrates the first ever female University graduate in the world. If anyone female has been through University you are standing on her shoulders. What determination she must have needed.

An image works best on Instagram and this combination of artwork and text works. I’d love to see how they could include female graduates past and present in next year’s content.

#8marzo Oggi #Unipd festeggia con #Elena. Buona #FestadellaDonna! http://www.unipd.it/8marzodiffuso #8march Today Unipd celebrates with #Elena. Happy #Womansday! http://www.unipd.it/8marzodiffuso #ElenaPiscopia #Piscopia #WomeninHistory #internationalwomansday #festadonna #IWD2019 #BalanceforBetter

A post shared by Università di Padova (@unipd) on Mar 8, 2019 at 12:38am PST

khk

Journalist Vicki Turk – Twitter

There’s a serious danger that events such as International Woman’s Day can fall into box ticking. This tweet from the Wired editor Vicki Turk calls out such tokenism. This is a brilliant reminder that it is not what you say but what you do that makes good PR. If you wheel out your token women on this day you’re hugely missing the point.

To the tech companies trying to get me to cover you for International Women’s Day because you have this one exceptional woman on your team: I’m sure she’s amazing. Now come back to me when she’s *not* the exception.

— Vicki Turk (@VickiTurk) March 7, 2019

On a wider perspective, good content shouldn’t be a one-off. I dearly wish people generally would be more creative the whole year round.

Women are for life and not just International Woman’s Day.

So is creativity.

Full disclosure: I’ve trained South Yorkshire Fire and Rescue and Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue.

Picture credit: US National Archive / Flickr

I often use a slide which has a scientist with a slice of cake to make one the most important points of the day.

Why? Well, the scientist represents the data and numbers you needed to know.

The cake is a reminder you need to craft content that speaks with a human voice.

The point about the data is an important one. Social media is slowly changing and evolving. What worked 10 years ago does not work now.  Even 12-months ago the tricks have changed. Like a swimmer knowing when the tide is going out you need to know when its safe to act and how to act to stop yourself being swept out to sea on a blow-up lilo.

Algorithms govern what works and what doesn’t.

Knowing what those algorithms encourage and discourage is one of the important things you’ll do as a comms person.

A company called RivalIQ have crunched some interesting numbers in their 2019 Social Media Benchmark Report. This looks at 1.6 million Facebook posts, 06 million instagram updates and 2.4 million Twitter posts.

It looks at posts from 12 markets from sport clubs and fashion to alcohol to non-profit and higher education.

It looks at what content works best.

For the public sector, there are some broad principles that can be used as takeaways.

Engagement has fallen

Strikingly, the amount of engagement on social media has fallen. For Facebook, on average, each posts sees engagement from 0.09 per cent of followers. In other words, a fraction of those who like the page will comment, share or like.

For Instagram , the broad number is 1.6 per cent  and Twitter it is a measly 0.048 per cent.

Organic has taken a battering

For some years, commentators have been saying that organic reach will decline. In other words, what you post without being supported by cash will reach fewer people.

For many organisations, this is the only option.

So, what are the options?

I’m drawn, to several ideas. Firstly, that Facebook groups and their rich and broad reach are a gold plated option for comms people. The ability to search, identify and make friends with comms people is an absolute must. I’ve blogged about this before. Looking at these numbers, this approach is more and more important.

But also, the numbers in the RivalIQ report do give some broad pointers about what content is most effective at reaching people. They give some evidence to help shape your content.

I’ve gone through the numbers across 12 sectorsand re-crunched them to look at some broad lessons.

Video is the most effective Facebook content in 2019

• Video is the most engaging content on a Facebook page.

The RivalIQ survey across a range of sectors showed that video was the most effective way to create engaging content followed by photographs. The numbers for a posted link and a simple text status update are embarrassingly small.

Video 0.16 per cent engagement

Photographs 0.07 per cent engagement

Link 0.05 per cent engagement

Status update 0.02 per cent engagement

Photographs remain the most effective Instagram content in 2019

• Photographs are the most effective content.

For all Instagram has been pushing video, it is an engaging photograph that still works most effectively on the platform. A carousel of images which showcases multiple images in a post is narrowly second.

Photograph 1.47 per cent engagement rate

Carousel 1.45 per cent engagement

Video 0.94 per cent engagement

Video is the most effective Twitter content in 2019 and links are not

• Video is the most effective way of using video.

Video is six times more engaging than a link posted to Twitter, the crunched RivalIQ figures show. That’s a striking stat.

I’d heard that the Twitter algorithm now frowns on link posting and the stats really show this trend. To someone who remembers the early days of Twitter as a place of links and engagement that’s a little sad. But this isn’t about how I’d like Twitter to be it’s about what it is.

Video 0.24 per cent engagement rate

Status update 0.19 per cent engagement

Photographs 0.05 per cent engagement

Link 0.04 per cent engagement

This is a starting point

Of course, the simple thing would be to post video to Facebook and Twitter and piocs to Instagram. But the bright comms person may use these figures as a starting point.

Try things out.

Experiment.

Look at the data and see what works but stay human, okay?

Picture: Shutterstock used under licence.

How to shape effective content features in my Essential Skills for Effective Communicators in 2019. For upcoming dates  or to enquire about in-house training click here. I’m dan@danslee.co.uk. Shout if I can help. 

 

 

 

 

 

Some huge game-changing news has dropped. 

For the last few years I’ve been banging on about a few things.

Four years ago I said that video would become a really significant part of the landscape and it has.

Two years ago I said that we need to wake-up to Facebook groups and they’ve steadily become a vital tool.

There was always a fly in the ointment for Facebook groups and that was how to connect with them. 

That’s suddenly got really simple with the announcement from Facebook that pages will be able to join groups by default.

It reads:

This means that one of the chief concerns about connecting with groups has been taken away.  That’s the game-changing bit.

Old concerns about Facebook groups

For the last few years groups have been a rather pure place.

In order to join them you had to use your personal profile. Facebook’s terms and conditions insist you can only have one account. They’ve also been hot at clamping down on second or ‘fake’ accounts.

But the concerns for organisations boiled down to:

I don’t want to use my Facebook profile in a group so people know I work for X.

This is really understandable. One public sector social media manager told me that he got sworn at online between 9am and 5pm. He didn’t want to see it in his own timeline at 9pm once the kids were in bed.

The old workaround for Facebook groups

My best advice used to be to use your Facebook profile to private message the admin who are easily identifiable, introduce yourself and see if they could share some relevant content for you.

 

The more recent state of play

A few months ago Facebook announced a move that now looks like it paved the way to the current development. Pages could join groups if group admins changed their permissions.

Mind you, I still thought that knocking on the door of the admin was a best first step.

What this new change means

The new announcement that allowing pages to join groups by default will be rolled out is really significant.

It means that pages will be much freer to join groups. For open groups, this means you should be able to join straight away just like a person. For closed groups, you’ll have to apply and wait for the admin to let you in just like you would do if you were a person.

Of course, it’ll take time to roll out and the admin can change the setting to stop pages.

It means that the landscape of groups could change markedly as marketers and comms people explore them.

It doesn’t mean that you can charge in and nakedly flog stuff.

Being a human matters online.

It means that the digital footprint that you need to be aware of and can engage with has just ballooned.

But it does remove a big barrier that has stopped a few organisations properly connecting.

It means that pages that have no budget can still connect with people on Facebook if they go out and explore.

Some top tips

I’d still start off looking to connect with a group by private messaging the admin.  You’ll get a good sense of how welcome you’ll be.

And I’d speak human.

And I’d identify yourself with your name.

People are more reluctant to shout at a human being compared to a logo.

How use Facebook groups more effectively will feature in Essential Skills for Effective Communicators in 2019. For upcoming dates in Manchester, Birmingham and London or to enquire about in-house training click here.

 

 

 

 

 

 

What’s that cliche about a letter of complaint being great feedback? 

Well, a letter of praise can be, too.

One mother wrote to thank New Zealand Police for taking action against her new driver son who was driving too fast.

Spoiler: it has a twist.

There’s probably a seam of customer service thanks and messages that could be used to improve the organisation and act as better comms.

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.

At City Hall we’re supporting youth projects which bring young people together, and give them fun and safe activities to do over the summer. If you work with a youth organisation, click the link in our bio to use our free toolkit to inspire young Londoners to fulfil their potential.

A post shared by Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan (@mayorofldn) on Jul 26, 2018 at 9:32am PDT

 

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.

You can find out about the Essential Video Skills for Comms workshops I deliver. For upcoming dates in Aberdeen, Leeds, London and Manchester click here. Shout if I can help.

There’s been some excellent analysis of the annual Edelman Trust barometer.

Published every year for the last 20 years the global survey looks at who trusts who.

There’s a big pile of data and there’s a seperate UK set of numbers that you can look through.

There’s some useful UK takes, not least that traditional media has become more trusted and is seen as far more reliable than social media.  If you’re public sector you need to know that there’s been a Brexit-prompted collapse in trust in government in all aspects.

For me, the day-to-day single most useful slide can be found here. It rates who rates each source as credible.

Trust the regular employee and the person like yourself

In 2019, a regular employee on 57 per cent is substantially more trusted than the chief executive or the director.

A person like yourself is trusted by 58 per cent and who that is changes from topic to topic.

Use this slide. Use it every day. Have it on your wall. Use it as part of a process to help advise whop is best to feature in your content. It’ll make it easier.

If your an organisation that will talk to people through top down means then brother, you need to change.

It’s more helpful to have a real person talking about the issue than a politician or a chief executive.

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.

You can find out about the Essential Video Skills for Comms workshops I deliver. For upcoming dates in Aberdeen, Leeds, London and Manchester click here. Shout if I can help.

There was an interesting discussion on paid advertising on Twitter this week. 

It centred around the importance of paid content on social media. In other words, the post you’ve backed with some money so it can reach pinpointed people.

I absolutely get the importance of paid. It can cut through the noise to get to the 25-year-old from Stafford who loves brass bands and who would love to go to your brass band convention up the road in Uttoxeter. Paid is an art. I’ve been experimenting with it for a while on a few things.

The discussion was prompted by Stephen Waddington. A former President of the CIPR Stephen is someone I’ve got a lot of time for.

If you’re working in social media and not using paid for targeting and amplification, you’re almost certainly not optimising the potential or outcomes of your work. https://t.co/jxEDodO719

— Stephen Waddington (@wadds) February 7, 2019

He’s right. Knowing the when, where and how of paid is an important string to have to the bow.

But later in this thread…

I literally can’t believe that we’re still having this conversation.

If you’re a professional communicator using social media and your plans don’t include paid, you’re committing malpractice.

— Marshall Manson (@marshallmanson) February 7, 2019

Malpractice? Or not?

I simply don’t agree that you’re committing malpractice if you are a communicator not using paid.

I don’t know Marshall but I’ll dial back 50 per cent on the table banging just to be on the safe side. But it did make me stop and think.

My background is local government comms. This sector has taken a 40 per cent hit in budgets since the bankers burned down the economy. There is very often no money for paid.  That’s not because comms people are poor at demonstrating the value of their worth. It’s because there’s no money. Literally.

In my own head, this is where things get interesting. How do you reach people on social media when you’ve got no budget?

Sharing content in a time of no budget

Well, you can try and craft engaging content

You can do the tried and tested devolving access and accounts.

But if you don’t have people queueing up to like your page you’re in trouble.

For me, part of this is through knowing your way around Facebook groups.

A few weeks back I ran a workshop for NHS comms people to look closer at Facebook. Setting them the task to look for groups they found a patchwork of Mums and Babies groups. There was one with 300, one with 1,200, another with 2,300 and one with 100.

Those may not be big numbers compared to the wider population but they’re the right numbers if you’re after new Mums.

It’s also setting up access for Instagramers at picturesque locations you have can control access to.

In short, its being creative and working to connect with real people.