Better #61

Hey there,

I’ve got a great little Q&A for you today… 🤩

But first, a very quick update on the new AI workshop for comms teams that Hayden Maskell and I are developing. We’ve now completed the framework and content, and will be testing it with 1x govt department and 1x city council in early September.

Then we’ll make some final adjustments and offer it up to y’all.

Working name is Skip Slop & Slap: “AI fills the feed. It doesn’t stop people scrolling past your content. Skip Slop & Slap is a workshop for public-sector comms teams sick of sounding like everyone else. In half a day, we put AI back in its place and the creativity back in your hands.”

It’s grounded in research, practical, inspiring and - most importantly - FUN. If this sounds like something your team needs, reply and I’ll put you on the early-interest list.

P.S. Awesome August is in full swing over on my LinkedIn.

P.P.S. I’ve just analysed how every Australian state performs on social media across seven key areas and five key measures - rating its government, premier, health, police, transport, tourism, and capital city council pages. I will publish the full report on my website very soon.

Cheers,
Seamus Boyer 👋

Something a little different today - a mini case study as much as an interview.

Laura Mills is Communication and Engagement Manager at Grey District Council on the West Coast of New Zealand’s South Island.

I met Laura when she was on my course (which she said lovely things about BTW), and afterwards she seemed to take all the learning and put it into practice all at once. An ex-journo like me, Laura has embraced social media with energy and enthusiasm, happy to try stuff, see what happens, and adjust.

The results have been spectacular. Every major metric has risen sharply, and Grey District now has the fastest-growing council social media presence in New Zealand - increasing its followers in 12 months by 4,500 to 15,000 - which is 1k more than the population of the district.

It’s not surprising. Posts showcase local people, places, and history - sometimes just snippets of daily life. They start conversations and lean into difficult topics, favour connection over perfection, and make the channels feel more like a pub or living room than stuffy council chambers.

And all of this from a team of two people, who also have a million other things to look after each day - as only local government can demand.

Anyway, here’s a quickfire Q&A with Laura.

I hope it inspires you to get stuck in.

👇👇👇

Firstly, Laura, for people who don’t know the area, tell us a little about Grey District - its population, geography and character - and your communications team.

We are in the central West Coast, population 14,043. Our main centre, Greymouth, is the main service town for the region. The comms team is just me and my colleague Megan Bourke.

The Coast has a unique character which I think comes through on our socials.

When you took over the council’s social channels, what did they look and feel like? What did you want to change?

They were full of posts about broken water pipes. The main Facebook page was not only boring, but gave a terrible impression of the district.

What were the first changes you made, and why did you start there?

It was Long Term Plan time when I started, so the first thing was to get more engaging posts up, in plain English. We tried video too, and started answering questions online. Then in time, we started migrating water breaks solely to our website.

I spend a lot of time talking to the engineering teams in particular – so much of our good content starts with the crews in the field.

How did you get internal backing for the new approach?

My manager wanted change before I even started. In time we took a presentation to staff explaining how social media works. It is still uncomfortable for some people, but they see the benefits.

What results have you seen?

I started logging stats three or four months into the job (thanks Seamus for suggesting this) – Facebook followers are up about 3,000 in a year. We are now working hard on TikTok and LinkedIn, which are seeing decent growth. Instagram is not there yet.

You’ve embraced video and humour. How do you make content entertaining and local without it feeling like a council trying too hard? Is it as much fun as it looks?

We have so much fun! Staff are nervous about appearing – it’s a small town – so we brought in an actress, named her ‘Nana’, and off we went. She gets stopped in the street now and asked if people are allowed to flush wet wipes down their toilet.

We also unashamedly copy other councils, if an idea has worked for them.

Was there a particular post or video that made you think: “Okay, this is working”?

The biggest risk we took was redoing the undies/togs ice cream commercial. We used it to explain the difference between State Highways and council roads. Complete with a man wearing just togs, it got over 100,000 views in a week. Now, when people get confused about roads, we tell them “undies/togs”.

One of our biggest, simplest posts was a man who picks up rubbish in his own time (snapped by our roading manager, who happened to be driving past) – that got over 1,000 likes.

Why did you launch TikTok, how long have you been posting there, and what have you learned?

We could see other councils doing it, and having success. I have teenagers and I know it’s where they get their information. We started about a year ago. We use it for gentle civics education – for example, videos of race cars on our council aerodrome. Now our followers know we own and manage the aerodrome, without us spelling it out.

Three times while out filming, we have been ‘mobbed’ by younger teenagers wanting to appear on our TikTok. We get them to phone a parent there and then! I always think it must be like The Wizard of Oz when they pull back the curtain, and find two middle-aged women running the account [laughs].

How steep was the TikTok learning curve?

We are still learning! Across all channels, trend hopping does not work as well for us – what works is Coast content.

People love having their say on your Facebook page, and you spend a lot of time answering questions and joining conversations - often very simply and directly. What’s your approach?

I always think if people have an issue, I would rather know about it. Rather than lecturing, I suggest a different point of view. Or sometimes, we just acknowledge we could have done something differently.

Some of our most fun posts have played on regional rivalries – Grey versus Westport and Hokitika. The comments are great fun.

Have you noticed any change in the tone or sentiment of the comments?

You said during training [as part of my course] that in time, people would correct comments from others – and they are. We often step back. We have seen a real shift. This also spills into pages we don’t run.

We have tried hard to show people the work the council does, and humanise the council.

You’re a tiny team. How do you find ideas, involve staff and produce all this content alongside everything else?

I spent decades in a newsroom, so I’m used to turning content around quickly. A lot is organic – I saw huge charter boats in town the other day, figured there was a good bluefin tuna weather window, then ran down to the boat ramp at the crack of dawn.

We also split things – my colleague Megan did elections content, and did work with our sports centre, for example.

Our superpower is knowing our region, and local content. I am in awe of the clever accounts with memes, which is not our forte.

Social media never really stops. How do you switch off - and make sure the pace is sustainable?  

I’m not sure I ever do … this is what energises me! I love getting out, meeting people, and telling their stories.

We have had a lot of success telling the stories of community groups we give grants to. It’s great seeing the community recognise the work these groups do.

What have you tried that hasn’t worked, or that you would approach differently now?

When rates invoices are due, some ratepayers can be struggling. We have to alter our tone at times. We’ve definitely had one or two posts spectacularly misfire.

What would you say to someone at another small council who believes they don’t have the time, budget or permission to do social media well?

It can be rough around the edges – we do all filming using our phones, a $100 mic, and either CapCut or Canva to edit. People just want to see their place, and hear their stories.

Even a picture of a beautiful sunrise or rainbow on the way to work can go well – as long as you can tell it is your town. Once it stops raining (!), we will do a lovely daffodil post with the team who plants the bulbs.

What's next?

We’re still working on growing TikTok and LinkedIn. After that, Instagram, which is very average.

We are about to start a large recycling campaign and I have so many ideas!

Quick 6 with Laura Mills…

1. Strategy or tactics?
Tactics.

2. Favourite platform?

Personally, Reddit. Professionally, TikTok.

3. Least favourite platform?
Not feeling the Insta love currently.

4. One public sector account to follow?
Queensland Health on Facebook.
 
5. One non-public sector account to follow?
Aunt Bri on TikTok. Just ‘cause she’s fab.

6. Something you wish you’d known earlier in your career?
If you want to take a photo of someone, tell them you are doing it … if you ask, they have an out. Be confident and take control.

That’s it for today.

Hope you’re inspired to tell more stories and try more stuff!

And let me know if you’ve enjoyed this more quickfire approach, because I’m happy to rustle up some more.

Have a lovely week, and see you soon 👋