Impactful digital engagement?

I’ve blogged before on what impacts of digital engagement we should be measuring. For me -  with ongoing policy engagement in particular –  I’ve been especially interested in seeing if we could measure the impacts on both individual policies and the teams who develop them.

In response to commitments made in the BIS Digital Strategy, we’ve just published our first (and second) detailed case studies with more to come.  They both give a fairly evenly balanced view of what is possible through online engagement – and it’s interesting to see in the science and society example (which I have an added interest in given I’ve seen that site develop from the policy side)  that what may have worked before can’t always be guaranteed to keep on working.  But as we’ve been working on the case studies, and going back to other teams to assess where they’re at now, it’s great to see that there were real impacts, beyond the usual suspects of shares, likes, views etc. including:

• Tangible effects on the types of evidence collected during a review – with one team commenting on the high quality of responses and evidence obtained;
• Allied to that, real-time monitoring of responses proved useful in adapting thinking on an ongoing basis.  It was felt that – as responses came in within hours, as opposed to the months associated with traditional consultation processes – it was easier to get a feel for the themes that were emerging.   It didn’t happen in these particular reviews, but this is potentially valuable in terms of exploding myths before they become an issue;
• The digital approach seen as a more open and transparent approach to policy making;
• Digital approaches actively considered for the future by the teams themselves, and more widely by others around them.

There was also a noticeable tangible increase in teams’ digital skills, with impacts including:

• Teams taking on responsibility for monitoring and evaluation on an ongoing basis;
• A recognition of the value of listening and monitoring as a tool which could potentially inform approaches to briefing;
• One individual having a defined digital engagement objective
• Transferring those skills to new teams.

It wasn’t specifically mentioned, but in many ways the individuals involved in projects become ambassadors for digital – they may be asked to talk to other teams about their experiences, for example.

I’m very aware of the dangers of drawing many conclusions from  relatively isolated examples and there’s no guarantee that all teams using digital for a specific project will continue to do so.  But, all are promising signs that digital can be effectively incorporated into policy teams’ day-to-day activities.  Let’s see what our next batch of case studies bring – but in the meantime do let us know what you think.

Instagram Your Policy kicks off #SMWLDN for BIS

Well it’s arrived. A busy week of events for us in the digital team.  I’ll blog later in the week on the @bisdigital blog about how we get on with the various events, but I thought I’d give a little bit more detail on Instagram Your Policy which we’ve just launched.

We’re giving individuals around the Department two weeks to submit Instagrammed photos showing any aspect of their individual policy.  Given the range of policies that we cover, that could be anything from work with schools, universities and colleges; to consumers; to any of the world-class science that we support.   We’ll then use those pictures to populate our Pinterest boards.

Why Instagram and Pinterest?  Why not encourage people to use our digital day blog (we will do that as the week progresses) or have some kind of mass social media sign up?  Well, as I’ve said I liked the Instagram your city concept adopted by the organisers of Social Media Week, and I was interested to see how I could apply it.  I also thought that – for people who are already engaged in their personal lives, but choosing for whatever reason not toengage in a work context (there’s an emerging blog on that I think) – this could be a relatively easy way for people to begin thinking about how they could personally get involved in telling the BIS story.  It’s an experiment so we’ll see how it goes.  And if I was allowed to enter, I think I’d enter this postbox.

And talking of Pinterest the session on Flickr, Pinterest and YouTube was our first sellout – admittedly it’s quite a small session – again determined by available room size – but it’s a sellout all the same.

Altogether, we’ve got around 70 people signed up to the a range of events over the week (a good number signed up to multiple sessions), and others will see our publicity material via Yammer and internal screens.

So  on to today where we’ve got three events going on in our dedicated innovation space.  It also gives us room to showcase some of what we’ve been doing digitally within the Department – putting that together really highlighted how already we have a growing band of individual policy makers who have engaged in webchats, blogs, forums, and other social media platforms. We kick off officially at midday with our Tweet up, where you’ll hopefully see some of us tweeting using #BISsmw2012.  And later, we’ll even be welcoming guests from another department, and from ICAEW who we jointly ran a #businessinyou Twitter chat with last week.

A sneak peek: #smwldn@bisgovuk

We’re well into the planning stages for a week of activiites within the Department for Social Media Week London.  Although we’re not submitting this as an official event, the opportunity to tap into the excitement generated by a week of social media activity is too good to miss.

So, we’ve got a few ideas up our sleeves to generate a bit of a buzz for those who are new to social media, as well as to help old hands share their experiences and tips.  You can read more on my post on our digital team blog.

Consumer rights in a digital age

Reblogged from Clear message:

BIS has launched a consultation on the Consumer Bill of Rights. In essence it is about helping consumers to understand their rights when goods or services aren't up to scratch, and making sure businesses understand their responsibilities. There is also an interesting section about consumer rights around digital content.

It is fair to say I'm really proud to be a part of how this consultation is being presented online.

Read more… 247 more words

I've reblogged this post from Tim - the consultation he's discussing definitely isn't BIS's first foray into online consultation, but as Tim says it's the first tangible development to emerge from our social media surgeries.  The fact that the approach was initiated by policy colleagues is a real digital engagement win.  None of this means that we haven't been approached by policy colleagues before - just that this particular consultation's subjects and audiences really lend themselves to the approach being taken (and highlight the fact that sometimes it's ok to say no).  It's also reminiscent of the approach taken in a previous consumer consultation. Of course it's still early days and real success will be measured by how far the consultation reaches, and the quality of responses received.

Not as I do … or all of a Twitter

When I think about Twitter I think about my first steps into social media. For me it’s where I found my voice online,where I hopefully proved that at least one civil servant has a human face, where I’ve met some really interesting people, and where I go when I need advice, or need to find something out. But this isn’t meant to be a love letter to Twitter. More a plea to non digital colleagues to think beyond the obvious.

When I started writing this post, it was meant to be a slightly different take on the issues that my colleague Tim has since raised in his recent post, but it’s obviously now been slightly influenced by reading that post.

Twitter might be my own favourite social media platform, but it’s not the only one available, and as we know not right for every conceivable circumstance. But for many who approach our team it’s true that it’s the thing they think they need to do to tick all the right boxes. That might be because it’s social media flavour of the month, and thus the only tool they’ve really heard of.   I don’t necessarily agree that means Twitter should be completely relegated - it just means that it’s the team’s role to reinforce its place in the wider toolbox that’s available to us.  And if Twitter is what hooks people into social media in the first place, then that can act as a stepping stone with other things. It worked with me.  So, every cloud and all that.

So we’ll keep on exploring the options to reinforce the message that there’s more to life than Twitter. I’ve thought of writing a ”playlet” to demonstrate to future “clients” the difference between what they generally ask, and what they maybe should be asking.  That’ll add and reinforce the work we do around our social media surgeries and the digital days that other posts have focused on.  So Twitter doesn’t get relegated – other tools just join it in the Premier League as awareness of them increases.

Digital day on tour

Our first digital day back in May had a completely London presence. But we’re a multi site Department. When advertising that first day, it was clear that the drop-in style meant we wouldn’t really be able to link up over an extended period, so in our intranet ads we offered the possibility of separate events in other sites if there was an appetite

We were approached by a couple of individuals and teams who suggested that we deliver something in Sheffield – this tied in with requests for training that had already been trickling in. Obviously, we couldn’t ship ourselves wholesale there, and as it was only going to be me attending for an afternoon, I decided, in collaboration with learning & development colleagues (itself a useful linkage) to make this event a bit more structured over a four hour period. That way, we reasoned, we’d be be able to maximise my time there.

So this time, I added in two bite-size sessions introducing social media, and why it’s important for us in government. They were bookended by two social media surgeries lasting an hour and a half and an hour. Reps from each directorate based in Sheffield were responsible for sending round the invites – so more direct, and a bit more personalised, than the London version where we advertised on the intranet first. This was backed up by an ad on the weekly department-wide bulletin board sent to everyone’s inbox.

We didn’t involve the digital champion network as overtly as before, but a few did try and help us spread the word a little further.

Our ads stressed the same three themes as the previous event as before. They also asked people to sign up to the four sessions in advance (so more like the traditional GP surgery that most of us are used to as opposed to the walk-in variety).

The day itself saw some good interaction and almost all the people who came along had no previous experience with social media. There were some insightful questions of reliability and validity of evidence gained through social media, right through to perennial issues of how to build its use into existing work. I think I got a much better feel for some of the barriers and preconceptions that need to be addressed before digital can be fully embedded as well. But that’s combined with real enthusiasm to know and understand more. Again that knowledge is useful. As is the evidence that monitoring online conversations seems to be a genuine hook for people – that backed up some of what I’ve written previously about how different attitudinal groupings will approach digital engagement.

As with one of our more successful surgeries in London the most dynamic interaction of the day came when one of our digital champions was able to share his experiences in using Linked In with someone who would benefit more from using that network than any other.

I actually knew some of the people in Sheffield having interacted with them in my policy days, so that added a nice extra dimension.

So what do I take away from this particular experience:

• Don’t assume that silence necessarily equals lack of interest
• What seems simple and intuitive to you and your team isn’t to those with no social media experience (I knew this anyway from my experience as an IT tutor while at uni, but this event reinforced that for me)
• People can be genuinely concerned about giving themselves a higher profile through a tool like Yammer; that has obvious implications beyond organisational boundaries
• Structure works too
• I personally need to spend more time out of our London office – or at least deliver more regular distance surgeries
• Only arrange a digital day when other team members aren’t on leave!

 

Boo!

We have been offered a free three month trial of Audioboo’s pro account having used the free version since January this year.

I’ll be the first to admit that I’m not really a fan of podcasting or, suprisingly given the way I’ve devoured books in the past, even audiobooks in my personal life.  Give me something I can look at and see as well as hear, and I’ll be much happier. But, I was keen to let the voices of real people be heard from conferences, events etc.  There are definitely some “interesting” uses of Audioboo among my Twitter followers, so I was inspired more by the immediacy of their sharing than some of the actual content.   

That link to Twitter means that we don’t have to wait for videos to be edited and uploaded to YouTube, while the 3 minute limit on boos means that people can be encouraged to really focus on what they want to say.

I’m still really fond of the first boo I ever recorded, and some of the team’s more recent ones – for example the ones we recorded with sandwich students, an apprentice, and a union rep at Ellesmere Port let the voices of real people affected by decisions – not just the politicians or the corporate voice – be heard.

I also think that there’s something about hearing the buzz in the background that brings events to life even further, hopefully making the listener thinking that they’re right there in the middle of it.   I’d be interested to hear whether other people agree on that.

We seem to get recognition for doing these boos, though that doesn’t necessarily always translate into listens. 

So, what’s going to be different about the Pro Account?  Well, there seem to be a few new additions including:

• private boos & moderation
• multiple contributors
• extending recording time

The extended recording time (up to 30 minutes) obviously opens up new possibilities, but I would hate to lose the spontaneity that the 3 minute option gives us, and I can see us possibly experimenting with keeping the 3 minute option to take audio snapshots of events and announcements, and exploring more regular podcast-type options for the 30 minute option.   Given the range of policies that we cover, there’s a pretty wide choice of topics, but the trial will have to be more focussed over the summer months.

I’ve obviously spoken to Audioboo about the trial period but I’d love to hear from other organisations – not those just involved in broadcasting who are already strong users - what they feel they gain from the pro account, and hopefully pick up a few tips along the way to make sure that we fully integrate this into our channels in the most effective way.

Embedding digital thinking in the press office and beyond

This post was inspired by a blog about a government digital community event, this one focussing on the relationship between press office and digital teams. One of my colleagues attended, and we’ve been having some discussion within the team on the issue.

That blog contains an intriguing snippet of insight into how digital skills are going to become a core part of the GCN competences, so a new normal for the Government comms community. That last snippet is fascinating – I’ve always been impressed by those organisations where anyone in Comms is empowered to use digital tools, and it’s inevitable that this change will happen just due to wider changes within society, and because of the momentum that’s behind social media in Government. For me, though, real success and embedding will come when the wider civil service competences (which have recently been refreshed) also have a digital component and catch up with the social media guidelines.

It would be great if it did, but this change won’t necessarily happen overnight. But there’s much that individuals can do – I was lucky enough to have a quasi digital engagement objective when working for my previous team, and I know that at least one of our digital champions has something similar. As digital teams, we should be encouraging more of this, where it is appropriate to do so.

Back to the press office, though. I don’t really know how the BIS situation compares to that of other departments, but we think we’re lucky in that we already have a press office where many individuals build digital into their thinking – so encourage ministerial and guest blogging, themselves tweet on behalf of the department from events and visits, and recognise that online audiences may be more appropriate for certain audiences. (In a policy making role, that last message can sometimes be difficult to hear). Having our own digital news person in the team also helps build the relationship further.

Of course none of this means that we can be complacent – there’s work for those of us in digital teams to build confidence, capability and commitment to engaging online, helping build a situation where digital is fully embedded right from the outset, and not just seen as a bolt-on or nice to have. For many in and beyond the press office, it might not be a natural or comfortable development: so there’s a role for digital teams in managing that change. That’s something that hasn’t necessarily been explicitly expressed in our social media guidance and it will be interesting to see whether and how the GCN handles any change in emphasis with that sensitivity in mind.

I yam what I yam

When I was first invited to Yammer, shortly before I started my current job, I had an inkling that it could be useful – a sort of safe training ground for those who might not necessarily be comfortable branching out immediately into fully public social media platforms. As uptake spread like wildfire before Christmas, I was even more hopeful. Now though I see that’s not necessarily the case – nor should it be. Instead we have a situation that’s wonderfully described in a contribution to our digital day tumblr (if you’re interested it’s the post on sharing and serendipity).

I guess given the nature of my role – and my general online chattiness for want of a better phrase – it was inevitable that I’d be quite a heavy user. I also see it as the best way for me to keep an eye out for ways that I can spread the word about how our team can get involved in projects, and keep reminding people that we exist. It’s been a useful tool too for sharing info, in some cases breaking down hierarchies, and breaking down boundaries between both teams and locations. (So similar benefits to those accepted for public facing channels). The digital champions group Is one of the largest and has been the most effective recruiting tool that we have for that network.

I know some people have expressed concern that there is a relatively small active core of users, despite the number actually signed up to the system. But, I know from conversations that I’ve had that it even though many don’t actively participate, they’re watching the conversations with interest.  They may just not be comfortable or confident enough to participate themselves. There’s also a real issue for many of just how to build in the time – again having lived through policy roles I can totally appreciate how a day can pass by with no opportunity for participation. The only evidence I really need is the knowledge that I have been contacted many times by people who could only have heard of me through in any other ways

So should it be something that I get involved with at all? Other parts of the digital team, who were behind it’s introduction, took a light touch approach – so to the surprise of some people we don’t monitor usage stats, levels of engagement, or evaluate success in any systematic way. But because I’m a heavy user and because I use it to promote our expertise in social media there’s a presumption that we’re the team  to ask when Yammer training is required. If I was brutally honest I would tell people that it’s not part of my remit, and just to dive in and explore like I did. But I’ve been aware that sometimes a session on Yammer can lead to opportunities to explore other tools – but as demands for our time and expertise increase, that’s a luxury that I suspect I won’t be able to keep on affording.

So I’ll start saying no to requests for Yammer training as part of the day job (saying this here should be one way to make me stick to that!), but that doesn’t mean that I can’t be interested on the side in how its use develops.

Reflecting on #digitalday 2 – tangible differences?

I hinted at some of the impacts of our #digitalday shortly after it had finished. Now that a bit of time has passed, it’s been useful to reflect over what the actual benefits and outcomes of this day have been. So far, they include (not necessarily in order of importance):

• Connections with new teams and individuals across the Department;
• An increased profile for our team, and a greater awareness of what we do and why;
• Requests for dedicated training provision (and not just in London) – one in particular had me grinning just a bit, and I hope I’ll be able to blog about it;
• A chance to promote the social media guidelines: Yammer was a useful vehicle for some to voice their opnions about it;
• Exploding the myth, for one team, that engaging online was somehow grade-related;
• Some new recruits to various social media platforms;
• Our Tumblr, which we’ll hopefully continue, and build as an evidence base for others to recognise the value of engaging online;
• A chance to demonstrate that there’s more to social media than Twitter – that’s one opportunity that we need to keep taking;
• Development of my own skills as an advocate for social media.

I think the last one is equally, if not more, important as any of the others. I got opportunity after opportunity in and around the day to practice my approach at selling social media – from trying to explain it to people who were curious visitors, and were so unaware of what was involved that they didn’t know how to frame a question, to people who were more demanding based on their own knowledge in a personal sphere.

These are all still short term benefits, but I suspect and hope that those impacts will keep on coming.