The five key challenges for public sector communicators in a post-pandemic Britain
We are not actually out of the Covid-woods yet – however we are now moving into a more stable period, where fluctuating crisis-style are not defining the agenda. But as we move into this new phase, there are a variety of considerations that must be taken seriously.
The Head of Communications at Lambeth Council offered a neat summary of the current feeling recently when he said: “When can we get back to talking about the bins again?”
While we are all longing for ‘normality’ to return, the public sector as a whole must ensure that it doesn’t turn its back on some of the more positive developments and learnings that the last two years have provided.
Here are the five key challenges as we see them:
Building on the trust people have in local councils and public services and the increased audience council have as a result; maintaining increased engagement levels, (as private sector marketers have championed – getting the “right message to the right people at the right time”); linked to this, understanding your audience and give them the opportunity to self-select the information that they want to hear (ideally, through creating a ‘preference centre’); Prioritising internal comms, given the shift to wfh and hybrid working; collaboration with partners and communities who can help amplify and provide third-party endorsement; and finally, moving from authority-led comms to community-led comms – particularly, leveraging and applying insight about what motivates residents.
Sadie Burgess, Marketing Manager, e-shot
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e-shot™ is a secure digital communication platform trusted by government organisations to deliver email and SMS at scale. e-shot specialise in working with local government communicators, supporting them with the unique challenges they face and proud partner of LGcomms.