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Government social media should be a dynamic platform for meaningful interaction, not just a broadcasting tool.
Vanessa Grimm is the Executive Director of Strategic Communications and Engagement for the Department of Enterprise, Investment and Trade.
For this Featured Leader article, Comms Room sat with Vanessa Grimm to talk about career changes, emerging technologies that will impact the communications field, and how government agencies can use social media not just to broadcast information, but to encourage meaningful interaction.
Being a good journalist is about breaking down issues – often involving complex subjects with contrasting points of view – into concise and accurate stories that fairly reflect the who, what, when, where and why without bias or outside influence. In a world in which digital channels and paid content fractures the audience, trusted journalism and truthful story telling is more important than ever.
During my time as a journalist, I covered my share of natural disasters, terror attacks, industrial disputes, royal commissions, and state and federal elections. It was rewarding work, but eventually I felt it was time to be part of building something rather than simply reporting on it. The chance to become a part of a NSW Government department appealed to me because essentially your KPI is serving the public and delivering outcomes for communities.
My first foray into communications involved working on the WestConnex road and tunnel motorway, at the time a new and fairly controversial project in NSW. I was living in Sydney’s Inner West, which made the role a bit of a BBQ-stopper, but I loved working on a massive infrastructure project, talking to engineers or environmental experts and being involved in communicating progress to local communities.
I went on to work in various transport roles, including leading teams at Sydney Trains and elsewhere in the public service, before taking on my present role.
The Enterprise, Investment and Trade portfolio brings together NSW’s key arts, culture, hospitality, entertainment and visitor experience groups alongside leading economic development and investment attraction organisations.
My DEIT team covers the spectrum of media, stakeholder engagement, corporate and internal communications, marketing and digital, and government relations. Our communication strategies support the NSW Government and its priorities delivered through entities such as Create NSW, including Screen NSW and Sound NSW; Office of the 24-Hour Economy Commissioner; regulators in the Hospitality and Racing sector; Investment NSW; and the Office of the Chief Scientist and Engineer. Our portfolio also includes Destination NSW and the some of the state’s leading cultural institutions including the Sydney Opera House, Art Gallery of NSW, Museums of History NSW, Museum of Applied Arts and Sciences, the State Library and the Australian Museum.
There are two trends that we are focused on to drive our commitment to customers – accessibility and personalisation.
Across the public sector we have a responsibility to make sure our communications reach all relevant stakeholders and community members across the state, from the bush to the city and from all multi-cultural backgrounds. That applies especially for people who may need a little help in circumstances where traditional one-dimensional communications won’t cut it (accessibility). What is fundamental for engagement across all communications is that it must be compelling, unique and speak to the individual (personalisation).
The accessibility of our information, funding programs, news and policies is critical to ensuring that all the communities we serve across NSW are included and people of varying abilities have equal access and opportunity to participate in the full spectrum of activities and services we deliver.
To improve accessibility across our communication channels, we’re implementing training to ensure our teams are utilising accessibility tools within the Adobe and Microsoft suites effectively and training them on how to write alternative text for our more complicated visual elements.
We are also looking at our own screen reader software to really understand the experience that a user is having with our content.
People are time poor and flooded with information and offers, so personalisation is critical. It’s so important to have the right message for the right person at the right time. Offering our stakeholders a personalised multichannel experience that’s both unique and compelling, is incredibly important in order to cut through the noise.
Our plan is to offer a personalised customer experience, end to end, through all digital touch points (starting with website personalisation using tools like Adobe Target), to connect customers with the right DEIT teams via Salesforce CRM solutions and providing ongoing personalised communications through Salesforce Marketing Cloud.
The Department or DEIT was created in December 2021 and I had the privilege of designing and building the communications function from the ground up, bringing in a team of SME’s who collectively helped develop a culture of inclusion, kindness, delivery and collaboration.
I oversaw our first 100-day communication implementation strategy, during which we were still building the proverbial plane while flying it. I am fortunate to work alongside a strong team of leaders who focus on good governance and process, with an emphasis on the care and support of staff.
It’s a little random, but another major highlight was overseeing the development of a 10-part documentary with ITV and SBS during my time at Sydney Trains, which was called; “Inside Central Station – Australia’s Busiest Railway”. It was a massive stakeholder exercise over a year involving extensive briefings with public service executives, industry and government stakeholders, as well as contract negotiations with our legal team.
The best result was that it turned around public sentiment towards our staff, who were often at the receiving end of public abuse and anger about service delays. The series demonstrated factors going on behind the scenes that can contribute to delays, which are often outside the control of Sydney Trains.
Government social media should be a dynamic platform for meaningful interaction, not just a broadcasting tool.
For it to work, we need to cultivate a two-way dialogue with customers, community members, stakeholders and partners via owned social media accounts to foster engagement and build trust. It’s not enough just to publish content; owned accounts need to be answering questions, addressing concerns and engaging with relevant posts to amplify their presence.
The other simple rule is to ensure authentic, engaging and meaningful storytelling. Geotargeting or boosted campaigns aside, if the content doesn’t hit them during a 3-second scroll, we are wasting our time. We have learned that when it comes to the algorithms that control online content, quality trumps quantity in the race to engage with customers in the most effective and meaningful way possible.
