Our content is getting better, our strategy is not

I have a very love/hate relationship with government social media.

On the one hand, things are clearly getting better. I have been impressed with what I have seen in my last two rounds of government social media research and analysis.

Some of that improvement came during last year’s NZ local government elections. As I’ve said before, the 2025 elections were the first time so many councils threw themselves into skits, memes, trends, influencers, characters, and plenty of humour.

It was lovely to see, especially when compared with (or balanced alongside) the usual serious ‘Take A Stand’ messaging.

Central government is also upping its game - at least in parts. It is still seriously lagging overall, but there are more green shoots, including from some unlikely places.

The creative capability is clearly there, and organisational permission appears to be growing too.

But has that produced better comms or content strategy? Unfortunately, I’m far from convinced.

Here are four reasons why.

1. The good work is too sporadic

It’s perhaps a hard truth, but many of the good examples we celebrate are extremely rare or random one-offs.

They appear during campaigns, awareness days, and annual events, or as reactions to trends. They rarely appear consistently as part of a strategic narrative or deliberate long-term engagement approach.

Teams often tell me they do fun content on their channels. They do, it’s just that it might be one post in every 50 or 100.

That doesn’t create a consistent channel experience or give people much reason to follow.

No one would follow a creator or influencer who posted one banger out of every 100 posts.

2. The creativity is spent on peripheral subjects

This happens all the time, and it is infuriating.

I see amazing creative energy poured into promoting an awareness day or some niche event or initiative that, in the long run, simply doesn’t matter very much to most of the community or audience, or even the organisation itself.

Meanwhile, major services and important organisational priorities are communicated through the same old formulaic updates.

It may be easier to do something bold and interesting when the subject doesn’t matter very much (less scrutiny, less risk, less chance of backlash).

But it makes little strategic sense to pour what limited time and energy we have into content that turns no major dials for the organisation.

3. The posts are overwhelmingly reactive

Most government comms and content exists because something has happened.

There has been an announcement, an event, a closure, a service change, a consultation, a disruption or mistake.

That leaves few ongoing themes and little narrative throughline to hold the channel experience together over time. Proactive content outside formal campaigns remains surprisingly rare.

I often mention the ‘Playground Test’.

To try it, scroll back through your posts on any platform and find the last time you posted about a playground (or any popular core service you provide) just because.

By “just because”, I don’t mean randomly or without purpose. I mean the post wasn’t prompted by new equipment, a closure, vandalism, maintenance work, or some other event. You posted because playgrounds are awesome, residents love them, and they are part of the public value your organisation creates.

It is strategically useful to remind people your services exist, encourage people to use them, and show some of the good their rates or taxes make possible.

Most organisations fail the Playground Test miserably.

4. It is difficult to see any wider goal

Beyond informing residents or citizens about news and updates - what are the channels trying to achieve?

Consider the best-case scenario: that someone miraculously sees and interacts with every single one of your posts across an entire year.

What is their major takeaway?

Do they better understand the value your organisation creates? Do they have greater confidence in it? Do they know what it stands for, where it is heading, or why its major priorities matter? Do they feel any greater connection to your organisation - or feel that it understands them? Would they notice or care if the channel disappeared?

Or do they simply know, in extraordinary detail, what your organisation has been up to?

If that’s the cumulative effect, then the channel is functioning as a kind of organisational activity log, which is an extremely limited use of social media.

It’s time to step up our strategy

The good news is that we have the capability - in droves. We’re also seeing more public sector organisations willing to try new things.

Creative posts around niche campaigns and events can be a good starting point. For risk-averse organisations, they can provide a relatively safe way to dip a toe into the modern online environment.

But a few excellent posts don’t make a strategically effective channel.

If we want to consistently earn attention, show value, and build trust, we need to decide what deserves sustained attention. We need to consistently apply our best ideas to the subjects that matter most, publish proactively, and build themes and provide experiences that accumulate over time.

Government teams are increasingly capable of excellent creative work, the next step is directing that capability towards sustained strategic priorities.

Occasional good ideas are great, but a strategy they are not. The individual pieces have to add up to something a hell of a lot more.