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Commsroom is thrilled to announce that USA 2023 Social Media Professional of the Year Warren Kagarise, Digital Engagement Manager, King County, WA (USA), will be speaking virtually at our 6th Annual Social Media for Gov NZ Summit. The event will take place from 20-22 August 2024, at the InterContinental, Wellington.
In a recent quickfire interview, Warren shared some exciting insights ahead of the summit.
What do you see as the main public sector digital comms trends in 2024?
In digital engagement, and specifically social media, 2024 is a year of realignment. The platforms where public sector organisations invested in the past — such as Facebook and Twitter, now X — have lost ground to TikTok, Instagram, and even LinkedIn. In the U.S. and globally, the rise of short-form video has changed the game, and it’s exciting to see so many government agencies embrace the format. And the influence of the creator economy and artificial intelligence is starting to ripple through the public sector, with communicators exploring ways to incorporate creators and AI into content, engagement, and customer service.
Can you give us an overview of the main challenges and opportunities you encounter?
Keeping pace with current social media best practices is both a big challenge and a big opportunity. Over the past few years, I’ve become more strategic about where to spend time trying to build audiences and engage with residents. If a platform or medium no longer works for us, then it’s OK to say goodbye and try something else. In my role, I want to set colleagues up for success on social media and ensure we’re reaching the right audience while being good stewards of public resources. With all the churn in the social media sector over the last couple of years, I’ve also doubled down on email and text as more reliable ways to communicate with the people we serve. Sometimes what’s old is new again.
Why are you excited to speak and share your insights at the 6th annual social media for Gov NZ this August?
The chance to learn from other public sector communities is something I enjoy. Regardless of where we call home or the community we serve, we can gain so much knowledge from our peers. I hope to share some lessons learned from 10 years of leading social media strategy for public agencies (including the time I dressed up as Sasquatch for a social campaign).
Warren Kagarise will be speaking virtually on Audience Engagement: Effectively engaging with diverse audiences across various digital platforms and be a virtual panellist on Examining social media strategies and key focus areas .
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