Better #47

Ho ho ho,

Hands up if you’re tired and ready for a break 🙋

Fair enough - it’s been a bloody full-on year. Pressure feels higher than ever: rising audience expectations, and growing internal and political demands to do more with less (budget cut anyone?). Public servants are getting squeezed from every direction, and while we can’t fix the macro stuff, we can give ourselves a little bit of breathing room.

As I said on LinkedIn last week: your organisation does not need to post anything proactive over the next few weeks. No one will notice. And you’ll get a break from monitoring comments and fielding questions.

Consistency matters, but Christmas dinner away from your phone matters more.

So stop posting, turn comments off, and throw your phone into the sea.

Before we crack on with today’s edition, I’ve set new dates for my course, Social Media for the Public Sector. A record 34 people completed the training this year (including one team who brought me in for a custom, private version).

The NPS is 86, and 100% of participants said it was effective and good value. So if you’re looking for practical, energising training for 2026, check it out: www.seamus.nz/course

Merry Christmas 🎅
Seamus Boyer

The quality of public sector socials jumped again this year - there is less bad stuff and a lot more really, REALLY, good stuff being shared.

The floor has lifted, but more importantly, the ceiling has too. A bunch of this year’s work was genuinely excellent by any standard, not just “for government”.

Here are five posts that brought me joy in 2025.

I hope they bring you some, too.

👇

1. Sydney + pants = attention

No, we’re not talking about the whole Sydney Sweeney / American Eagle kerfuffle, but a wonderfully weird Instagram post from City of Sydney’s social team.

The question they naturally asked: how would the Sydney Harbour Bridge wear pants - vertically or horizontally?

Of course, it’s a simple play on the old “how would a dog wear pants?” image, and it’s suitably lo-fi in its execution.

But it’s also delightfully playful and very on brand in its affectionately, unapologetically super-local energy.

2. Underground in the deep south

This post from Invercargill City Council made me genuinely lol.

There’s something so unexpected in the delivery - an effective mismatch between classic infrastructure imagery and the first-person copy usually reserved for puppy or kitten gifting.

“Please think twice before gifting someone an underground city piping network” might just be my favourite line of the year.

Awesome work.

3. Six-sevvvvuhn

2025 was the year weirdo kids everywhere ruined two numbers for everyone.

The whole 6-7 thing has become a little annoying, but for the first few weeks it was also refreshingly bonkers and joyful - a weird little point of connection, and with no one as the butt of the joke.

I could have chosen almost any of Queensland Health’s status update posts for this list (they are that good), but this one landed just after I’d seen my nephews 6-7ing away like little maniacs in real life.

And, of course, the comments are where the game continues - with the more formal messaging and a lot of playful banter with the community.

Very well played.

4. Brainless numpties run amok

I’ve drawn attention to this post from Southland District Council a couple of times already this year - I think it’s incredible in so many ways.

For starters, the hook is unbeatable: “A message to whomever is responsible: I hope next time you are in desperate need of a public toilet there isn’t a scrap of toilet paper to wipe your butt.”

I mean, such an honest human response - so direct, angry, unapologetic, and vividly descriptive.

To then go on to call out “brainless numpties” responsible for the vandalism, and finish with “next time, show some damn respect” … what else could you ask for?

Some residents thought the post wasn’t appropriate. But those residents are boring.

I say chef’s kiss.

5. Impressive festive energy

Okay, maybe not strictly public sector - but suitably festive and season-appropriate, so I’ll allow it.

The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds have such a wonderful tone on social, including LinkedIn, where they happily lean into warmth and whimsy.

Every detail of this post is considered, generous, and joyful - from the excessively festive bird bauble to “Tiny Tim of the wetlands”.

And after clicking through it, I felt as festive as a blackbird.

Thank you, RSPB.

Ok, that’s it for today (and for 2025).

Thanks so much for tuning in and supporting me this year. When I started this newsletter, I thought maybe a couple of hundred people might subscribe - so nearly 750 of you is pretty wild.

I’m going to take a little break and aim to be back in mid- to late-January with the next edition.

In the meantime, have a wonderful Christmas and New Year. I’ll see you back bright-eyed and bushy-tailed in 2026 for more tips on how to get just a little bit Better 👋