Better #14

Kia ora friend,

What do reporters think of your social media?

Well, it’s hard to know if you don’t ask.

So to get an idea, I surveyed half a dozen current journalists about how they interact with public sector socials.  

Each was given 10 set questions and could answer as many of them as they liked. I ended up with answers from print, radio, TV, and online reporters who work for the country’s biggest news organisations.

Their answers are direct and generous (and sometimes hilariously grumpy and cynical).

But mainly they are just good, honest insights into what one harried profession thinks of another harried profession’s work.

Hope you find it useful.

Cheers,
Seamus Boyer 👋

Ok, so a few things to keep in mind before we start:

1. I have anonymised the answers (because I don’t want this to be awkward). But I’ve kept them in the person’s own words as much as possible.

2. Is it scientific? Absolutely not. But it certainly gives insight into a world that most public sector social advisors don’t have access to.

3. It’s worth noting that it’s skewed towards Wellington-based channels, as that’s where a lot of the people I asked live.

Now let’s get into it 👇

What social media platforms do you use for discovering public sector content?

“Facebook and Twitter … I mean X.”

“Facebook, X, LinkedIn (a little bit).”

“Honestly, almost none of them. I reluctantly follow certain government ministers on X as there is now a tendency to use this platform for announcements that previously might have warranted a press release. I am on LinkedIn mostly so I can scan who works where, but do not look for public sector content there.”

“LinkedIn and Twitter.”

“I very occasionally get stuff from the WCC Twitter/Facebook. Or comment from councillors.”

“Facebook, Twitter/X, but most of all Reddit.”

How often do you spend on social media each day?

“About an hour at work.”

“I'm checking various sites almost constantly throughout the day.”

“During the work day probably half an hour combined. I check councils Facebook pages at the start of the day to see if there’s anything I need to report on that I may have missed. I then go back periodically during the day to check if there are any updates. I also trawl on Twitter to see if there is anything people are saying that may be council-related.”

“Less than an hour. I do not believe it to be a very productive place for newsgathering.”

“I'm on Twitter and Facebook most of the day and keep an eye on it. I post maybe once a year.”

”Way too much but mainly on Reddit. My FB use has dropped massively in the past year or so, and I very rarely use Twitter/X. When I do it's usually just to search my own name.”

How many public sector accounts do you follow and on which platforms?

“I'm not certain, but it would be less than a handful.” 

“17 on Facebook. This is a mix of councils, govt departments, and elected officials. I follow Wellington City Council on Tiktok but that’s because I enjoy their content personally.”

“Six or so.”

“I only follow them on Twitter: the PM, MPs, plus city and regional councillors.” 

“I follow Wellington's councils on FB.”

Which are your favourites, and why?

“Wellington City Council is very good - responsive, kind of fun, willing to champion their mission. Reserve Bank is good for their efforts to explain things.”

“None, honestly.”

“NZ Police and Department of Conservation. I love that they don’t take themselves too seriously with a lot of their posts. They keep up to date with social media trends and put across important messaging while having fun.”

“I don't have any favourites. Though on a more personal level I guess the Wellington City Council and Wellington Water social media output is more useful to me than others. That said, I do not actively follow or monitor it.”

Do you ever publicly interact with public sector socials? Why/why not?

”No. I generally split my work and personal lives online and I don't express personal opinions in the public sphere if I am working. I also don't like other journalists seeing what I am enquiring about so would rather contact the organisation directly.”

”No, I'm wary of how people might interpret it.”

“Certainly not. I believe an organisation's social media output is directed toward the wider public and not journalists and/or the media at large. If I want to interact with a public sector organisation I would call or email them directly.”

“I will ‘like’ Facebook posts that are not controversial. I would never comment. I would never want to be seen to have an opinion in a public forum on something I write about.”

“Not really. Generally, if I want to interact I will go to them directly rather than on public social media.”

“No. In the past I have and have been rapped over the knuckles for it by a deputy editor. I think a lot of journos just lurk.” [NB: Apparently the deputy editor was me, but I honestly don’t recall this particular occasion 😅 - Seamus]

How often does public sector social content lead to a story idea or story?

“Actually quite often - I'm particularly keen to dig into weird/interesting quirks of government or moments from the past, which social media can be good at highlighting.”

”More often than not the social media posts that lead to stories (for me at least) are briefs. For example, a council may post that consultation is closing soon on a plan, and seeing that may encourage me to write something small to file. I get most of my stories directly through council agendas.”

“Relatively frequently.”

“Very rarely. I guess I may occasionally come across a tweet before seeing a press release. More generally, people talking about organisations on social media can easily lead to stories. But what people post is so often wrong that I tend to stay away from them mostly.”

“I have seen instances where social media content produced by a public sector agency has ended up being covered because of the poor taste or otherwise bad optics compared to ongoing issues. In a more ‘positive’ sense for a public sector agency, sometimes a particularly novel response or reaction to an event is covered because it may be entertaining - this tends to be fairly trivial but I suppose from an agency's perspective may engender goodwill.”

“Reasonably often - though not usually ‘positive’ stories. What I do sometimes find frustrating is when they share what could be quirky or interesting ‘positive’ news stories or features, instead of approaching a journo to write about it.”

What do you think of public sector social media that is more fun and entertaining?

“If it was genuinely fun and entertaining then audiences might find it that way too. This may have a bearing on whether journalists would pick it up. Of course it can be difficult for public organisations or corporations to be fun and entertaining while remaining risk averse.”

“I love it. Emojis, short videos, memes. Bring it on.”

“I personally don't care for it though I understand public sector organisations, like media companies, must go to where the audience is and social media users are seeking entertainment. I also think it poses risks as realistically the primary function of a great deal of public sector organisations is not to be ‘fun and entertaining’.”

“I wouldn't have an issue with it but if it came with extra cost to ratepayers or taxpayers, I imagine there would be a story on it!”

“I f…ing hate it. All too often this sector blocks and/or obfuscates when dealing with journos, and the clowning about on social media just p.sses us off. Yes, I know you think it's cute that Jeremy in HR has bought his dog to work again, but how about you respond to OIAs or put someone up for an interview on the stuff that actually affects the public?”

“There are pros and cons. It's good when it is able to explain things in a more engaging way, bad when it looks juvenile.”

Does a council or govt department's socials influence how you feel about the organisation? In what way?

“Yes, definitely. Social is part of the wider comms response, but in general I'm far more receptive to organisations which have comms teams that are open and helpful.”

”I like when a council or govt department has a casual tone. It makes me feel like the council has a ‘face’ rather than just being a government body. If a council’s social media reads like I’m being dictated to, I’m less inclined to feel positively about the organisation.”

“I'm trying not to sound entirely cynical and jaded but social content does not make me feel anything about a public sector agency except maybe, at times, annoyance.”

”I guess so. Everyone, including journalists, are guided to a degree by branding and connection. It could be difficult for a government organisation to create a personal connection without it feeling contrived.”

“It does but that's possibly because of my role. Mostly I don't believe the ‘positive’ stuff and it sh.ts me when they're trying to be funny.”

”I guess the WCC Twitter people can be quite funny but I have respect more for them rather than for WCC.”

What would you like to see more of on public sector social media?

“Video is good - front your experts, let them talk about what they do. AMAs are rare but effective too.”

“Content that aligns better with journalistic instincts for a story. Knowing what people are actually interested in, rather than managers just wanting to pass on messaging.”

”Honesty. It would be refreshing to see public sector organisations front issues through the mediums in which they engage with the public, rather than deploying reactive comms strategies such as writing entirely meaningless one-line statements signed off by seven people, quietly posting important but less-than-favourable reports in the backend of their websites, or obfuscating over issues to journalists until they can present a carefully-put response to the wider public. Of course, social media can be a fairly difficult environment - the public is hardly forgiving on there - so I understand any caution.”

“More fun and more opportunities for the public to engage with them directly. A suggestion for councils would be to do a roundup post after meetings to let people know what decisions were made. It doesn’t even have to be long, just bullet points. Next-level stuff would be for ‘live’ posts to be made as the different decisions are being made during the council meeting.”

What would you like to see less of?

”Boring messaging.”

“Looking generally at the WCC Facebook page right now, my strong preference is for practical information (residents free days at Te Papa, here's why there's a chopper above the Botanic Gardens) as opposed to content that's basically engagement trawling (‘What's your ideal Welly lunch break?’).” 

“Content that isn't platform-native.”

“Photos of their people, or general shout outs to their teams. I don't care - give me information, or at least pretend you don't have more comms people than our newsroom has journos.”

“Social media generally.”

Hope you enjoyed today’s edition, it’s been fun doing something different.

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See you in two weeks for more tips on how to get a little bit Better 👋