Many councils have been engaging with Social Media at a corporate level for several years and have recognised its growing importance in communicating with residents and visitors.
Some are just using Twitter to promote news releases, events and updates, such as severe weather warnings, others are much more engaged.
But when it comes to councillors, it seems that it’s just a handful of them in every council that are actively participating, using Facebook and Twitter daily, there are still far too many who are frankly, too terrified to tweet.
What’s holding them back?
Mostly it’s fear of the unknown, not knowing what to say or saying the wrong thing and damaging their reputation. That’s not surprising when a “stupid tweet” becomes headline news that leads to disciplinary action and potential prosecution.
So your councillors need to know that there are guidelines and protocols in place that will give them the security they need to get involved.
Some may also need practical, “hands on” support to help them set up accounts and enthuse them with ideas that will help them really engage with their communities
How can we help?
We start at the heart of communications, so firstly we work with your Communications Team, helping them devise their strategy and social media protocol. Knowing that this is in place will increase confidence and give you the guidelines that are needed to protect and enhance your reputation.
We can then run a Social Media Awareness Seminar for your Elected Members, designed to educate, enlighten and enthuse them, so they feel able to take part.
Finally we give them the “hands on” help that they require in our Practical Social Media Skills session. This will empower them with the tools that they need to really get involved.