Ever wondered what content gets the most views on public sector TikTok?
Then look no further because I’ve gone through the numbers for 12 public sector accounts and looked at more than 250 posts.
The surprising answer is that meme content performs best for public sector accounts.
Meme content often comes from editing in Capcut to take advantage of the tool’s templates that allow you to tailor a moment of pop culture with your own message.
Here’s the numbers.
However, meme content isn’t always the easiest to achieve. Ephemeral and flippant this plus into the audience but isn’t always recognised by senior people as being content befitting of the organisation.
On this, they are both right and wrong. To them, they are right. But often senior people just don’t like TikTok. The answer to that is that they’re not the audience. Yes, you can create something that is inappropriate using a meme. But more often than not it can land with a younger demographic.
What a meme looks like on TikTok
This clip from West Sussex Council shows the meme of Gary Barlow taking selfie video saying ‘This is my idea of a good day out.’ You can then add an image or footage. Here’ the background is a polling station.
What original content looks like on TikTok
In this clip, A& E staff deliver a warning message that A&E is nearing capacity. Original content can either have a piece to camera delivered like this, record ambient noise or have a voice over added.
What music looks like on TikTok
Music is where TikTok gets its reputation, of course. Universal struck a major deal with the platform to allow 15-second clips be used by creators. However, be warned. If you have a public sector account it would be advised if you converted to a business account. This way you’ll only be shown the tracks that have been licensed for commercial use.
This South Wales Police TikTok uses music to good effect.
In summary
TikTok will have a different audience from the rest of your channels. They will demand Tiktok-shaped vertical content that is entertaining, easily digested, grabs attention and doesn’t bore.
What was striking was that the reach of TikToks was greatly higher than the follower numbers. The research here looked at follower numbers and then looked at how many people had viewed. North Lanarkshire Council, for example, has less than 3,000 followers but produced video routinely that was clearing 60,000 views. That’s incredible and credit to them.
This shows that the cut through on TikTok can be much different to on other social channels. But no wonder. TikTok’s algorithm is about interests not friends and family. So, if you produce content that echoes other people’s interests then you’ll be seen by more people.
As part of the study I looked at Oxford City Council, North Lanarkshire Council, West Sussex Council, Metropolitan Police, South Wales Police, Dartmoor National Park Authority, Great Western Hospitals NHS Trust, Sandwell & West Birmingham NHS Trust, Peterborough City Council, London Ambulance Service and South Yorkshire Fire & Rescue.
Underlying trends can be hard to map which is why the Edelman Trust Barometer is such a useful document. Simply, it looks at who UK people trust and the answer can often be ‘not the public sector.’ In this blog post Nicola Todhunter sets out five key pieces of learning you absolutely need to reflect on.
Each year, the Edelman Trust Barometer delves into public attitudes towards the media, business, NGOs, and government. It’s an annual, global survey of 33,000+ people. It’s by no means perfect, and we shouldn’t take it as gospel. (It’s run by the world’s biggest PR firm, with some ethical quandaries and questions.)
But it remains a thought-provoking read. It offers a clear breakdown of detailed data. It’s full of insights that we can make practical use of (and a respected source to back us up when we need it).
Here are my five takeaways for public sector communicators from the 2025 Edelman Trust Barometer UK report.
Five takeaways
People are finding it harder to know who to trust
More than ever believe that leaders are intentionally misleading them. And most people still feel it’s hard to tell whether news is from a reputable source. This hasn’t changed since 2021.
People increasingly feel that the media is driven by attracting a large audience or pushing a particular ideology, rather than informing the public of things they need to know. Of course, in our polarised world, people often mean very different things by ‘what they need to know’.
In fact, people in the UK don’t have trust in any type of media. Feelings are merely ‘neutral’ towards search engines and traditional media. There’s significant distrust of social media and ‘owned media’ such as companies’ own websites, newsletters, etc.
We need to work with the traditional media to help them rebuild trust. We can offer unique opportunities to cover the things that matter to local people.
We can provide spokespeople that their audience will sit up and listen to. Scientists are far and away seen as the most trustworthy group, trusted by 76 per cent of people. I think it’s a fairly safe assumption to extend that to clinical professionals like nurses and doctors. No prizes for guessing that government leaders and journalists bring up the rear, trusted by only 34 per cent.
With a high turnover of reporters who are often under a lot of pressure, it can be tough to build relationships and help reporters fully understand what large, complex organisations and systems actually do. But we must keep trying – when it pays off, everybody wins.
And we need to ensure that people know they can turn to our channels for reliable information. That means using trusted voices like scientists and people who our audience can identify with. Everything we share must be accurate and clear.
Younger people are willing to try more extreme tactics to change things
The majority of young adults – 6 in 10 people aged 18-34 – approve of ‘hostile activism’. That’s things like attacking people online, threatening violence, or damaging property.
We’re likely to see the impact of this online and in person. Expect even more online hate targeted at organisational accounts. Online campaigns may spill over into vandalism of our sites. Forewarned is forearmed.
People feel angry and cynical, and it’s ‘us’ versus ‘them’
Most people – 70 per cent – feel a moderate or high level of grievance against businesses and the government.
Among this group, most people felt that that anything that benefits other groups who don’t share their politics must come at a direct cost to them. A large part of society is starting to see things as a ‘zero-sum game’.
We are going to need to make it clear to people how initiatives and changes will make things better for them specifically. We can’t rely on a warm and fuzzy understanding that ‘a rising tide lifts all boats’.
People’s high level of trust in their own organisation’s CEO has stood out in the last few Barometer surveys. And although it has decreased, it’s still up there
Internal communications are still a trusted and influential source of information. Don’t underestimate that. We need to make sure leaders understand this, and think carefully about how to use this influence. We cannot take people’s trust for granted.
The Edelman Barometer survey isn’t all doom and gloom
It also helps us to understand what is needed to try and reverse these trends. Two things stand out.
To regain trust, leaders need to show that they genuinely understand what people want and need. And they must show how they are taking real action to change things for the better.
Our communications need to reflect this. The words we use can sometimes put up walls. Instead, we can help leaders to understand the importance of talking to people in clear language, which they can understand and relate to. We must focus on showing, not just telling, and words which are backed up by actions.
In the ever shifting landscape that is 2025 what do we do with a thing like Facebook?
Well, there’s certainly been some bumps in the road of this mega-platform and yes, it’s time to tweak your approach to the platform.
But first, we have to acknowledge a lurch to the right for Mark Zuckerberg. The tech billionaire said everything that the new US President would have wanted him to say. Some friends have decided to exit the platform on the back of this. I respect their decision but is it too soon to pull the plug on your corporate page? Maybe, but that’s probably one for a watching brief.
I’ve decided to look at the data.
The numbers are there for Facebook
The platform in the UK remains a strong force. Almost two thirds of the UK population use Facebook and two thirds of them can be expected to use Facebook groups. These carved out areas away from the noisy Town Square can be relatively useful spaces depending on the admin.
For much of the public sector, Facebook is where big solid chunks of audience are. Stopping connecting here may prove problematic day-to-day but especially in an emergency.
But how should you use it?
Links are back… but only if you use a microscope
I’ve been banging a drum for a long time that banging out links from pages is an entirely busted flush. In early 2024 Facebook produced data that said that 0.0 per cent of people’s timelines are made up of links to pages.
From looking at Facebook data released in late 2024, links are back. But before you get too excited they have moved from zero to 1.0 per cent. This remains way down on the comparatively heady days of 2021 when 6.6 per cent of people’s timelines was made up of pages with links.
The data is here:
A third of Facebook is unconnected, so experiment
What’s really interesting is that Facebook has never been less about friends, family and brands you like. Those elements that made Facebook Facebook have become less important. We’re used to the idea that we may be friends with that lad from GCSE German but because we don’t interact we don’t see content from them. Now, our more close friends are being squeezed out further.
The origins of this move can be traced back several years. Facebook looked at what TikTok were doing and were somewhat envious. Basically, TikTok had moved away entirely from the friends and family algorithm and had embraced your interests. This explains why you see recipes in your timeline if you’ve been engaging with recipes. As a user, this has proved useful and other users have remarked that the algorithm tailors for them beautifully. Of course, being Meta they couldn’t outright admit they were stealing the idea. So, instead Facebook called it a ‘discovery engine.’
Looking at the data, a third of the platform is now unconnected to friends and family.
Content from friends is less than a fifth.
In my own timeline, I’ve seen friends complain that they’re getting a lot more irrelevant stuff appearing. Looking at my own timeline and I’m seeing this. So, as a result you’ll see as you scroll things maybe adjacent to your interests from pages and groups.
How can you make best use of this?
I’d maybe start experimenting with broader posts. So, if half term is coming up maybe there’s worth in piecing together a post for parents to keep their children occupied with a range of bulletpoints with things to do. You may only be trying to push a couple of things but if you pack out the post with other free things this may build the wider worth of the post. Would this stand a chance of landing in the timeline of someone remarking that there was nothing to do in Dudley at half term with children? Maybe. It’s something I’d experiment with. I’d also be using broader language. So, an event at a leisure centre in Dudley is likely to get less reach than a package of ‘ideas for parents to keep their children occupied in Dudley during half term’.
I don’t have the data for this but this is where I’d be experimenting.
Facebook groups are still a thing
Also, the data shows that Facebook groups are remarkably constant with around 15 per cent of people’s timelines. That’s not much change from the last three or four years so the strategy of sharing content in key groups still makes sense.
The news that fact checking is being abandoned on Facebook does not fill many sane people with confidence. Facts are sacred, opinion is free. Or as Winston Churchill once said, ‘United wishes and good will cannot overcome brute facts. Truth is incontrovertible.’
X, formerly Twitter, abandoned fact checking and look where that got them.
Under the alternative Meta plan, fact checking is being replaced with community notes, In this system, people write what they think of the fact underneath it. So, a piece about vaccines could theoretically play host to a vaccine denier’s opinions.
One route would be to post nothing controversial. But sometimes, that information is the most valuable to put out.
It’s likely this move will make Facebook even more toxic and embolden people with loud voices. For me, this means doubling down on supporting your staff and maintaining standards. Have that set of social media house rules. Communicate them and stick to them. Remind people they exist. Set the standards you want to see.
Plan ahead for flash points
One thing I’ve learned over the last few years is that organisations like the Royal British Legion counter misinformed snark brilliantly. So, they have a plan in place when the ‘they’re banning the Poppy’ nonsense starts. Spoiler alert: no, they are not. So if something is coming down the track, think through what the worst people can say is and think through how to respond. Come up with some form of words that can support you as well as having the social media house rules. It’s better to plan in peace time rather than when cars are on fire.
Here’s a picture that captures in time perfectly a newsroom that didn’t know what was coming.
Seven reporters in a district office of the Express & Star in West Bromwich taken around the time of the Millennium. You can see the desktop Apple machines, the tide of newspapers, letters and council agenda papers that filled gaps on desks. In the corner of the room, a portable TV with Ceefax keeps an eye on the cricket score.
It was the newsroom I worked in from 1998 to 2005.
I know all of those reporters in the picture. I loved working with all of them. From left to right in newspaper caption fashion, that’s Jo, Nina, Paul K looking straight at the camera, Anne with her back to the shot, chief reporter Ken there in the distance, the late Marion and then Paul F.
What did a good newsroom teach you?
You learned by osmosis. People rang in with stories so you overheard how others perfected their phone interview technique. ‘Getaway,’ Ken would exclaim down the phone at least three times a day to coax out more information.
Or you could bounce an idea off a colleague. Or you could pick their brains. Or they could cadge a phone number off you.
I’m not being sentimental in saying that people learned far more by being in a room with more senior colleagues.
Good times
When it was good, it was very, very good. When it was bad the Express & Star was an indescribably unpleasant place to work. The culture that emanated from parts of the Wolverhampton head office then was often vile.
But I much prefer to remember the good memories.
Dave, who sat next to Ken at the back of the office, would crack the same jokes over and over. ‘They’ll never sell any ice creams going at that speed,’ he’d say everytime a siren went past. ‘I’ll get this,’ when his phone rang. Bored after deadline, Dave would embellish stories, stir the pot or create rumour.
He should have been throttled but we put up with it because it was Dave.
See that clock on the wall?
That clock ruled my life. First edition deadline, the shedder – the schedule – Dudley edition, Wolverhampton edition, Sandwell edition, afternoon schedule and five other edition’s deadlines.
See that fax machine under the window on the left?
That was where press releases were sent. We didn’t have an email address or the internet. The Victorian management at Queen Street thought we’d just mess about if we had those. They also thought that the internet was a fad which just like CB radio would fade away.
What didn’t we know was coming?
Well, nine years after that picture was taken the print works at the back of the building closed. The newsroom limped on with fewer staff until that too closed.
I count myself very lucky to have worked in the finest office of the biggest selling regional newspaper when newspapers were a cornerstone.
Seeing this picture – thanks Paul Pickard – made me smile.
A few weeks back I looked at Facebook to see what content works best and now it’s the turn of Instagram.
Seeing as the algorithms are ever changing I took a look at a snapshop of public sector accounts across the UK.
What’s engagement?
That’s the likes and comments that are publicly displayed.
This is valued because it shows that users have responded to the content. This in turn means more people will see it and those who have clicked have told the algorithm: ‘more, please.’
Here’s the league table.
Instagram best content by engagement showing a carousel of images first with 0.96 percent engagement, Reels 0.73, a single image 0.72, artwork 0.31, traditional video 0.21 and toolkit content 0.07 per cent.
What’s changed?
The snapshot I took looked at 10 local government, NHS, fire & rescue and police accounts and 250 posts in total.
While the survey was limited in number it was striking how much less toolkit content there was on local channels compared to last year. What’s toolkit content? Nationally created assets shared to organisations across a wide area.
What the numbers mean
I looked at the account’s follower numbers then measured the comparative reach for engagement. So, if an account has 100 followers and one engagement that’s a one per cent engagement rate.
1st – The carousel of pictures is king of content
Just like on Facebook, the mini-collection of images is the best performing. This isn’t just one image, it’s a collection on a theme.
Manchester City Council are one organisation who are adept at this. They re-publish images from photographers with their permissiomn and credit the image. In effect local people can be taking pictures to celebrate the area and are shared by that area’s council.
It makes sense for a collection of images to prosper if you think about it. More pictures is more chance for the user to stop and peruse. There’s more chance of liking something, too.
2nd – Reels video
You have to admire the brassneck of Meta. They saw TikTok and its vertical video coming over the horizon and they took the idea and applied it to an existing platform.
So, Reels has prospered and half of all time spent on the ‘Gram is spent on videos like Reels.
Instagram was built on single images that celebrate. So, food, a landscape or fashion originally thrived on the platform.
The single image has fallen out of favour as the best performing but still remains as an option.
4th – artwork
Fourth in the list of most effective is artwork. This is an image with some element of design be that a logo or a call to action.
It’s a third as effective at gaining engagement compared to a carousel of images
5th – Traditional video
Some accounts still post traditional video.
This has become far less effective as an option. No surprises, really.
Much of the trad video viewed was repurposed video from elsewhere. As it came from elsewhere it didn’t use the techniques and tricks that people are used to with say, Reels.
6th – Toolkit content
Propping up the pile as least effective is toolkit content.
These are national campaigns sent out with a request to be re-posted locally. The theory behind it is sound. People are busy so give them something on a plate. However, the theory collides with users who don’t find it engaging.
Just 0.07 per cent of a follower number engage with it. Insincere, inauthentic and unpopular this ticks a box and nothing else. Sadly that box is marked ‘it doesn’t work.’
How that compares
Compatred to the Facebook analysis of engaging content there’s a lot of similarities. Carousels work well, Reels are second and the single image is third. However, there is a limit on the type of content seen. So, no GIFs or AI was seen just yet.
Look, I know you’re probably worried about AI but I want this to be a plain English run through of what Keir Starmer’s announcement means for you if you work in public sector comms.
You may have seen that the Prime Minister has made a significant policy announcement about AI and the future direction of the country.
Here, I’ll run through the basics of it and I’ll also run through what this means for you if you work in public sector comms. If ever my strapline ‘future comms made easy’ comes into play in my work its for this post.
What did the Prime Minister say?
In short, Keir Starmer says that the future of the UK will be shaped by how well we can be at the bow wave of Artificial Intelligence. That means encouraging innovation but it also means demanding the public sector use AI more effectively.
“AI is the defining opportunity of our generation. The battle for the jobs of tomorrow is happening today.” – Keir Starmer.
Why bother?
Two reasons. First, the economic argument is that using AI to its potential would add 1.5 per cent onto UK growth a year bringing an extra £47 billion into the economy ever year for 10 years. Secondly, security. By developing tools in the UK we are less exposed to the whims of hostile powers. I’m thinking China in this but I’m also thinking potentially of the USA.
That’s fine, what does this mean for the public sector?
If you think this is an announcement for boffins in lab coats, tech bros, data scientists and it won’t affect you you’d be wrong. Yes, it was partly aimed at people working in the AI space because their investment will help shape how fast the UK will travel. But it’s also something aimed at all of us and definitely something public sector communicators needs to pay attention to.
“It will make public services more human.” – Keir Starmer.
The move will allow people on the coalface of the public sector to speed-up processes they already have.
That’s things like:
Better pothole detection.
Better diagnosis.
Better at fighting tax avoidance,
Faster processes for planning applications.
Less time for social workers on paperwork.
So, there’s elements there for central government but also local government and NHS. Fire and rescue and police weren’t mentioned directly but I think you’d very easily come up with scenarios where AI could help or hinder people on the frontline.
All this, the announcement said, was about doing a better job and freeing up more time.
Comms, I’ve got a job for you understanding AI, explaining it and advocating for it
“Our plan for change also sets down a gauntlet for public services and the blunt truth is we’ve got to be much bolder. I’ve seen this fear myself as a leader of public services and this is entirely human so we have to change that mindset.” – Keir Starmer.
This will partly be the job of public sector communications.
The announcement recognises that fear is one of the reasons that change is not happening faster. It would be remiss of Government simply to clap their hands to make it go faster.
The scan, pilot and scale approach may be one thing to reassure people. This means that AI won’t be just chucked at everything.
So, if AI tools that can make pothole detection and repair faster then that needs to be understood by the comms team and also communicated to a sceptical public.
One observation from delivering training is that when people see the benefit they absolutely want more of it. Once, I was showing people in a training session an AI tool and an attendee spoke about how she was frightened of AI and wished it could be uninvented.
So, we ran a task from her to do list through ChatGPT. The task was to write a webpage giving advice on how to stay safe in extreme hot weather. Advice was for the reader but also vulnerable people such as neighbours or relatives. Within 30-seconds, the tool had come up with content and bullet point advice that was eighty per cent on the money. It needed some topping and tailing but the main points were there.
“This is amazing,” the once sceptical comms officer reacted, “We really should be using more of this.” They had turned 180 degrees in the spaceless than a minute once they saw it could help them with their job.
Move that out to the pothole example, how could you explain the benefits to residents? The good news is you don’t need to code to do this. You just need to bring your existing skill set. You may, for example, need to ask for the data on how faster this will make things. If the machine can do 10 repairs in a day instead of five then set that out.
It feels like AI-literacy has become very important
Talking to comms people in late 2024, there’s maybe a feeling that AI is for the geeks to understand. It probably won’t land on the team and there maybe people who can swerve learning about it.
I’m taking a punt here, but it feels like when the internet emerged there were people who opted out. I don’t think that will be a long term strategy for people who would like to work in the sector in the next five years.
What if people don’t understand AI?
To the credit of the announcement, this is recognised. UK Government through the Department of Science, Innovation and Technology will look at the skills gap and how best to fill it. I’d like to think that the skills gap in comms may also play a role in this.
What about AI and comms as a job?
There’s nothing in Keir Starmer’s announcement directly about public sector comms. But the benefits have been spoken about elsewhere. Using AI to better evaluate, for example. Or using AI tools to tailor and personalise content is certainly very achievable. Give it the main points and ask it to produce something to a different audience. The tools for this are here already.
This part is really down for all of us to explore.
What other practical things does the announcement herald?
There was a substantial number of references to places across the UK. Data centres in Liverpool and Northumberland, for example. But also AI Growth Zones. These will be areas where growth around the AI sector will be targeted. The first was announced at Culham in Oxfordshire where the UK Atomic Energy Authority currently is. More will follow. If you work in local government, your chief executive and Leader may be getting excited about this prospect.
What about open data?
There’s other parts of the announcement about a policy to make more data open to the public. Also, government will look at how the data will be collected in the first place. Will this have an impact on public sector comms? Well, comms may have to communicate it but overall this feels very high level.
What about comms people who are too tired or too scared for all this?
This is a huge challenge.
Teams never really recovered or paused from the worst of COVID. Many people are on their knees or burnt out. That’s understandable. Maybe they feel too long in their careers to pick up new skills. They are being asked to take a leap into the unknown with AI and it’s understandable to be worried. For a head of comms or manager this is going to be a real challenge.
Many teams are also well over 40 and are not savvy with AI tools. This on its own is not the immovable obstacle it could be. My 16-year-old daughter hates the idea of AI. So does my wife who is in her 50s. I can absolutely get that. I can only go back to the point about showing how AI can help you with your job before people start getting on board. Answer the ‘what’s in it for me?’ question and you have a chance.
The only advice I can offer is to make it as easy as possible. Hold the door open for everyone and if people want to go through the door and learn new things that’s a plus.
For my money, the line that AI on its own won’t necessarily take all jobs. But a comms person who is savvy to understand AI, communicate it and use it will replace those who can’t.
I've looked at the page's follower numbers and then measured the amount of engagement per post. Easy.
1st - The carousel of pictures is king as content
A spread of pictures gets the most engagement.
In many ways there's no surprise to this. Visually, its interesting. As I've said many times before it plugs into the old school journalism thing of getting more people to read the paper to recognise people they know. Only, this time those people have Facebook accounts to like and comment.
In the research, carousel images had 0.36 per cent engagement.
2nd - Reels are second
There's no surprise with this, but posting as a Reel performs strongly. With this you may be reaching people outside of your network.
This absolutely chimes with the intention of Facebook to make all video vertical. Why? Because that's how we hold a mobile phone in our hand.
3rd - A single picture that's not a library image, stock image or got text or design on it
Next up is the single image.
This is an image that is from the area. It could be a landscape shot of woodland, staff at work, a senior person doing something.
This content from Mersey and West Lancashire NHS does this beautifully as it tells the story of a dedicated member of staff.
4th - Video uploaded to the page
This is uploaded directly to the page as opposed to as a Reel. It's aimed at the people who like your page.
This example from Merseyside Police isn't intended to try and snag passing traffic who are looking to kill time. There are no gimicks here or sharp edits that would work on other content. It's a statement on an important matter.
Our old friend artwork. This can be an image which has gone through Canva or past a designer. This is the same as last yea. It reinforces the message that this content doesn't connect as well as other content.
There's no criticism of designers. It's just that their fine work is most effective in other areas.
These findings absolutely chime with social media reviews I carry out.
The greatest danger with communications is that the myth that it's happened. It may be useful at a meeting to say that's been posted but is it connecting? No.
Here's an example from another part of the world.
6th - stock images
We've all been there. We need a shot of an older person looking concerned being helped by someone. We don't have one of our own. So, we'll go for a stock image.
They are often insincere and don't really connect.
7th - Text
Straight forward text came at this point in the league table. Facebook used to be all about text in 2007 but technology has moved on.
8th - AI images
As I've mentioned, the two images encountered which are AI were both not marked as AI. This is a bad look for reasons which we've looked at. Don't. If you do use AI mark it as such.
9th - Toolkit
I have to say, this year I saw far less toolkit content. Toolkit is the centrally issued set of images with maybe national branding which is distributed to people across a region or country. The thinking behind it is sound. You're busy, so we've made something for you. But the numbers don't lie. People don't connect.
Here's an example from Australia.
10th - GIFs
This is perhaps surprising. A GIF is a brief animation. This can be an existing GIF or something that the organisation has made which can be pulled off the shelf. The fire and rescue service I looked at had several for incidents, for example.
It's bottom of the league.
So what?
Well, take these figures as indicative. Have a look at your own content and come up with numbers for yourself. This way, you'll be able to bat back content that won't work supported by data.
Give a Gallic shrug while you're at it and say the word 'algorithms.'
Well, it looks as though some more useful tools have finally been added to WhatsApp Channels.
WhatsApp Channels was launched as a way organisations could broadcast one way messages to subscribers.
There’s also no limit to subscribers which blows their previous offering WhatsApp for Business with its 256-subscriber limit out of the water.
Bigger accounts such as Real Madrid with 61 million subscribers have made the most of the platform.
Now, scrolling through my under-used WhatsApp Channel I’ve noticed they’ve added insights around reach, growth and followers.
You can see this here:
Compared to the insights available for Facebook and Instagram the Meta offering here is thin. While this is not spectacular this does move things in a more positive direction.
An elderly couple going shopping may be one of the greatest social videos I’ve ever seen.
The pair go with their son and use the JustPark app as a way to locate and pay for a parking space.
The video is shot POV by someone close to the family so the couple Michael & Teresa behave naturally for them.
The couple look in their late 60s and get into the car. There’s a minor squabble about the number of times Teresa took her driving test. She says two. Her husband Michael says four.
They drive along and Teresa struggles with the idea of using a stranger’s drive to park.
“That’s tresspass isn’t it?” she worriedly asks.
They park. It’s fine. She’s converted.
You can see it here:
It’s a beautiful film filled with warmth and humanity.
You can’t fail to like them both.
It’s also a fast edit that also has a voiceover intro from what is possibly Michael & Teresa’s son.
It’s human, it’s not AI generated and is filled with the rough edges of people’s relationships. There’s a feeling Teresa’s driving test has been discussed before. You are entering priviliged space.
So, could this be replicated?
Well, maybe Michael and Teresa can’t come to your [Insert service here] but what it does open the field up to is for people to capture an experience.
So, what does the family make of the trip to the leisure centre? Open with the excitement of getting into the car, the drive, the heading into the baths, the post-swim drink, the children’s feedback in the car on the way home, maybe.
All this needs the consent of participants, of course.
But spent a couple of minutes on options and there’s a whole vista of experiences.
A shopping trip to the town centre, testing a smoke alarm, putting out the recycling, or whatever.
I love that this captures the lived experience rather than the corporate message or the slick marketing that in comparison falls down flat.
A curious thing happened when I sat down and thought of public sector comms predictions for 2025.
Over the past few weeks, I’ve jotted down ideas for predictions for the next 12-months.
One thing emerged. Like Japanese soldiers on a Pacific island who don’t know the war is over comms people are at serious risk of being left behind in 2025.
A series of chasms are opening up. The good news is that with swift action over the course of the year they can be bridged. The bad news is that there are plenty of forces trying to stop you.
But first last year
So before I alarm you, how were my predictions for public sector comms in 2024?
They were 87.5 per cent accurate, 4.1 per cent were ‘hmmmm’ and 8.3 per cent I think I got wrong.
What was right
There was a need to retrench social media as algorithms changed.
X, formerly Twitter did get less relevant but didn’t fall over.
No, there wasn’t a Twitter replacement. Threads and BlueSky stayed niche.
Paid subscriptions on social media accounts did get more important.
Fascism did get more of a part of normal conversation with a lurch to the right in USA.
There was a need to communicate cuts and bankruptcy in the public sector.
The most effective comms was done by using the native platform not a social media management platform.
There was election turbulence.
There was more misinformation and disinformation.
There was more fake content created.
Comms did need to shape AI policy.
Many comms teams did struggle to accept the link is dead and found diminishing returns by persisting with this tactic.
Teams that didn’t educate the client to the changing comms landscape did struggle.
Nicola Bulley-style TikTok detectives played a massive role in the Southport riots with online speculation leading to riot and disorder.
A cataclysmic event did point the way to how social media performs in a crisis. Murders in Southport led to a summer of riots in English towns left behind by decline.
Local news did continue to be niche with jobs lost but the new trend of email news platforms slowly growing.
Human comms and story telling did cut through. Analysis showed that human stories cut through the best.
Building a network of AI knowledge was useful.
TikTok did become more important.
The wider internet did become more beset by AI-made rubbish.
A two speed AI adoption did happen with some comms teams experimenting and some ignoring it.
Hmmm…
Messaging apps like WhatsApp did become more important as a communications channel but the public sector didn’t use it well.
No…
Fire and rescue did hope for a once in a generation chance to establish a College of Fire & Rescue and modernise but that’s not really happened.
At the start of the year I argued for an AI advocate in your team to experiment as with social media. I’ve changed on this. That advocate needs to be an expert on process and government guidelines to steer the ship. Like Sherpa Tensing with a clipboard. A pioneer and adventurous but only on the trail marked out, thank you
Predictions for 2025
The media landscape continues to splinter. In the UK, there is already 60 million ways to consume media. Algorithms will continue to drive this. That’s an easy prediction but needs saying.
Algorithms will continue to edge out Friends and family as the driver of traffic on social channels. The trend of AI-generated selections for your timeline rather than your networks will continue. This is obvious. This describes the weather you’ll see.
Good content rather than quantity. If you are posting 10 times a day to tick a box don’t. Instead, tthink about posting two pieces of gold standard content instead. Those two gems will soar while the sub-standard churn will sink. Data will be your friend here. Keep the insights for the good and the bad so you can explain to the ugly what you are trying to do.
Make shaping an AI strategy for your organisation – and in turn comms – as number one strategic priority. Events will try and knock you of course. Fight it. If you set out how you will use AI and where you won’t you’ll stand a chance for future employment. I don’t wish to alarm you in saying this but I would like to flag up that this strategy is easily the best strategic thing you’ll do over the next decade.
BlueSky will continue to be niche. Until journalists and politicians relocate X will retain its outsized influence amongst these two demographics. But the platform may struggle to combat greater attention from bad actors. Comms people can absolutely gain value from creating their own networks there. It just won’t be Nu Twitter.
Hiring a journalist as a the organisation’s chief storyteller will be a smart move. Cutting through the landscape of bad AI and poor artwork those authentic human stories and faces will cut through. Who better at this than a reporter? But make it one who can shoot video and post online.
Recruiting an army of advocates to share your content in their communities will be one of the best tactical things you can do in 2025. Modelled on the successful Labour Party strategy those advocates will be from your community and happy to share their experience and your content in their networks. So, a Polish speaker who is a member of a Polish WhatsApp group or a mother-of-two who is in a community Facebook group can be valuable advocates. They will reach parts your corporate communications simply won’t reach.
Staff face perma-crisis fatigue so invest in them. We’ve had banking crisis, recession, war in Ukraine, refugee crisis, winter crisis, cuts, change of Government, devolution, Brexit and council mergers. The fact your team turn up for work is a minor miracle. What can you do to help this? Encourage time to switch off and step away and invest in them. Allow people to move on if you need to. People not platforms will help you communicate well.
Vertical video explosion. Meta hoped to have all video on its platform vertical by late 2024 but this will now seep to 2025. It’s also on LinkedIn. The weather set by Meta will be felt elsewhere. This will increase so stop messing around.
There will be an AI fluff up. Somebody somewhere in the public sector will use AI to communicate something and will drop an absolute clanger that will be harmful for trust in the entire sector. But it will remind us all to stick to the UK Government guidelines.
Quality regional news will continue to shift to email first newsletters. As people fall out of love with traffic-chasing regional news sites, more quality local journalism will be found in cities and will be email first. But this will not on its own arrest wider sector decline.
Mass readership local news will look even less like what local newspapers used to be. I’m not sticking my neck out on this but its worth making the point. Today’s reporters need things served differently. Look at the last 100 posts of a title you are trying to reach for more on this.
Argue for ad spend or fail to reach people. Without an army of advocates ad spend may be the only way to reach a community. This will get even more important.
If AI cartoons continue to be part of the media landscape then how do you tap into that? You’ve seen them. The pro-farmer AI image of protesting tractors. If that works on the wider internet how can you make it work for you? But mark it as AI, obvs.
AI swarms. You thought I’d forgotten about AI, didn’t you? AI swarms are groups of tools being used together in clever ways. As this technology starts to be used in 2025 its uses will become more apparent for public sector comms. But without the framework in place to use AI safely this is going to by-pass you by. It won’t be used widely in PR and comms. Yet. It will. See why I think sorting out an AI strategy is a good idea?
Risks, oh the risks
Risk of being trapped in a Microsoft-shaped AI landscape. IT are at risk of locking down creativity again. While Microsoft tools may be an easy win the bright comms person will press for a degree of creativity outside the sheep fold. That’s if AI is being adopted at all.
Risk of being trapped in a legacy tech landscape. More computing power is needed to produce video and use AI effectively. Teams with patched-up make do and mend tech will fall behind.
Risk of being trapped in a Gen X landscape increases. Many leaders in organisations are born before 1980 and their Gen X preferences can guide the organisation. Yet, Millennials can be aged 43, Gen Z can be 27 and Gen A can be 14 and often demand a faster pace to communications on digital channels. How does that materialise? We don’t use TikTok because the chief exec doesn’t like it.
Risk of not bringing the organisation along with you increases. While you may get the big picture you can only move as fast as your slowest chief executive. You need to manage up. Constantly. ‘Here’s why we’re evolving…’ should be the most common phrase in your Outlook Unwrapped in 2025.
Risk of being trapped in skills deficit increases. If you don’t have the skills in the team to identify the right channels, create the right content and know when to use just enough of AI safely you need to find them or develop them or be trapped going backwards.
Risk of being trapped with a middle aged comms team. If the average age of your team is 53.2 you have a problem. Without some new ideas and the perspective of youth your team risks not representing the audience you serve. Experience is valuable. Too much can be a care home.
Risk of being outsourced or replaced increases. If the team doesn’t have the skills, hasn’t got the tech or has no strategy those gaps which are bridgeable now – just – will become too big to traverse. Like a typing pool that won’t use computers. If that’s the case,
then bringing in an off-the-shelf AI-savvy comms team to replace them suddenly becomes a really attractive business model for someone. Heads of comms need to wake up to the risk of being replaced.
Welsh actor Richard Burton used to talk about seeing the arrogant strut of the miner down the street of his hometown as he grew up. They were the aristocracy of the working class, he recalled.
Once, heads of comms who could pull together A-Z guides or bring comms, marketing and PR under one roof had a similar strut. How we smile at those far off days.
