Strategic Government Communication

Online video content is exploding – over 100 hours of content is uploaded every minute. Everyone wants (and expects) their video to “go viral” – but what exactly does that mean and how realistic is such a demand?

In this workshop, you’ll learn practical approaches and tips to developing content that engages your agency’s audiences and shares your messages, creating a personal connection that opens the door to further communication. Case studies will be presented to illustrate how video content was created, implemented, and promoted, demonstrating how in many cases, this content can serve double-duty across multiple distribution channels.

In this hands-on workshop, you will learn the tools you need to successfully launch a video campaign, or integrate video with your existing communication campaigns, including:

• Asking the right questions before you create an ongoing online video content strategy
• Exploring best practices for developing compelling, audience-engaging content
• Developing cost-effective video content for multiple distribution channels
• Addressing expectations regarding engaging with and sharing video content and “viral views”
• Creating a phased strategy for developing content and measuring success
• Best practices for setting up and maintaining a successful Youtube Channel for government agencies

WORKSHOP LEADER: Denise McKee, COO, ABOUTFACE MEDIA

Learn how to activate your mission through stakeholder action to increase the impact and outcomes your organization can deliver.

Through this hands-one workshop you’ll prepare a plan that leverages your mission through stakeholder action. You’ll evaluate and examine a communications strategy against the goals you want to achieve. Learn how to define indicators of success and measure results. You will be provided with real-world examples of how organizations are using digital communications to activate their missions will provide you with ideas, and tools to increase the impact of your mission, including how to:

• Know the impact you want your mission to deliver
• Set a plan the achieves outcomes
• Define the indicators that link your mission to stakeholder action
• Evaluate and match strategies to stakeholder action
• Create a system of measuring and sustaining results

WORKSHOP LEADER: Lilly Coniglio, Managing Partner, THE STRATEGIC ORGANIZATION

We connect to the world around us through stories; we create them, we share them, and we experience them. Every story is made up of messages (what’s being said), communication channels (where it’s being said) and content (how it’s being said). As digital communicators and content strategists, we are the storytellers; we strategize how to work with the messages, the communication channels and the content to effectively tell any story. Unfortunately, sometimes we only have pieces of the story…

Using a metaphor of quilting for the digital work being completed at the National Cancer Institute (NCI), this workshop will teach you the basics of storytelling and how to use your existing pieces of Web content to create new, stronger Web content that tells a clear, complete story. You will learn how to:

• Conduct a comprehensive content inventory and assessment (gathering the fabric)
• Understand and organize the current content (matching the pieces)
• Create new content from the current content in Web style (cutting, adding and stitching)
• Create a new sitemap from the new content (discovering the pattern of the quilt)

WORKSHOP LEADER: Kathy Ohlhaber, Senior Content Strategist, SAPIENT GOVERNMENT SERVICES

This executive workshop will show you how to how to successfully monitor your social media channels and how to tie them back to your mission goals.
We will discuss a variety of issues such as:

• Social media monitoring tools the federal government is currently using include HootSuite, SproutSocial, Radian6, Sysomos, among others
• Examining how listening is key before engagement and why
• Determining the types of channels that are used to monitor and metrics that are used to gather information
• How to analyze online discussions
• Determining next steps

WORKSHOP LEADER: Farell O'Neill, Vice President, RIVA SOLUTIONS, INC

Naveen Krishnamurthy, Chief Executive Officer, RIVA SOLUTIONS, INC

This fun and fast-paced forum is designed to provide you with a unique and fun opportunity to share your goals for
this training and get to know your fellow training attendees and their digital communications challenges.

Denise McKee, COO
AboutFace Media
Training Chairperson

Delivering bad news or communicating sensitive topics, if not done properly, can cause undue alarm or outright rejection. This session will give you a look into case studies where agencies needed to communicate negative issues to internal and external stakeholders. We will examine the lessons learned from the successes and missed opportunities of message strategies and tactics, including how to:

• Effectively communicate bad news to people who are negatively impacted
• Understand your audiences’ perspectives before deciding on message tactics
• Analyze your audience and anticipate their reactions to your message
• Involve key stakeholders, including adversaries as well as allies, in communication strategies

John Verrico, President
National Association of Government Communicators

Many organizations talk about outward facing customer service, but there is little conversation about internal customer service, the optimization of employees working together to support those who serve the external customer.

This forward-thinking session will discuss the dynamics of how reorganizations, consolidations, and a movement to shared services can impact your customer service model, including:

• Tools, tips, and strategies to implement that will help you achieve this
• Creating a comprehensive communication plan
• How to effectively transform into a more customer oriented and responsive organization

Eugene L. Setzer, AJG-0 Customer Service Advocate's Office
Federal Aviation Administration

Barry Prokop PMP SSMBB QFDGB, Vice President
Golden Key Group

This forward-thinking session will examine ways to push the boundaries of creativity that meet the demands of your
organization’s communications strategy and customer service goals, including how:

• Digital content can inform and entertain
• Government does not equal boring
• Responsiveness can take many forms

Hear the processes undertaken and challenges faced as the Census Bureau started out on the road towards delivering mobile services to citizens. You will be provided with insights about their experiences in determining objectives, designing apps, and adapting organizational processes to meet goals for data delivery through mobile platforms, including:

• Setting goals
• Developing concepts to meet objectives
• The development process
• Mobile web vs. mobile app

Alexandra Figueroa, Chief Deputy of Web and Social Media Branch
U.S. Census Bureau

With everyone facing increasing pressures of limited budgets, panelists from a variety of government agencies will share ideas and strategies that have helped them do more with less. Social tools, video and traditional ideas will be covered. Leave this session with a list of new ideas to integrate into your own communication plans to help you sift through the growing and changing tools available and determine which will drive mission success for your organization.

Moderator: Kathy Ohlhaber, Senior Associate Content Strategist
Sapient Government Services

Panelists: Naveen Krishnamurthy, CEO, Riva Solutions, Inc.

John Verrico, President, NAGC

One of the biggest hidden challenges government communicators face is “humanizing” your organization.
This session focuses on how you can make Facebook work for your organization, yet offers many other tactics you
can incorporate into your communication planning to complement other communication strategies, including how to:

• Realize the value of social media
• “Write right” for Facebook and Twitter
• Manage your social media
• Identify which tools are right for your organization

Marisa L. Ellison, MBA, Customer Relations Manager
Missouri Department of Transportation – Northeast District

This session will outline the key points that you need to keep in mind and those you may want to re-think as you create, adapt, and move with changing technology and the modern communications environment. You’ll be surprised to learn:

• Digital communication reflects your world – it isn’t really a new world
• There is more to digital communications than Twitter, Facebook, and i-This-or-That
• Think long term to set and achieve your communications goals and objectives
• Some public sector examples where modest budget has yielded significant communication wins

Mike Spear, Director of Communications
Genome Alberta

Need to dive deeper into specific topics? Want more details? Here’s your chance! Digest what you’ve learned and apply it to your own initiatives to get feedback and ideas for improvement and discuss what topics you want to hear covered tomorrow.

Denise McKee, COO
AboutFace Media
Training Chairperson

In this age of 24/7, multi-media, multi-platform communications, getting your message seen—and, more importantly, remembered—is a vital step toward engaging your audience.  The concept of “Digital Storytelling” is everywhere, but what goes into creating effective, efficient and engaging story-based video content?  And how can you be sure that content is reaching your audience?

In this session you will:

• Learn why story-based content can be a successful development strategy.
• Know the questions you should be asking before you start.
• Address expectations regarding engaging with and sharing video content and “viral views”.

Denise McKee, COO
AboutFace Media
Training Chairperson

As government agencies we continue to build connections between government, residents, and business owners
through the use of many different communications tools.By adding social media tools to your communications plan,
you can strengthen those connections, and improve customer service by engaging people in conversations. This
informative session will discuss strategies to help save you time and money, including:

• Integrating social media tools into your marketing plan
• Managing time, increasing efficiency – technology can help you
• Taking the Pulse- gauging your current efforts

Cindy Marzock, Communications Team
Cranberry Township, Pennsylvania

Over the past year, the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) has been developed and evaluated mobile health applications through a pilot program targeted to external audiences. The technology was new and innovative, but untested. Communicating about it required an approach to establish organizational buy-in and ensure that VA leaders were comfortable telling the VA Mobile Health story to media, advocacy groups and the general public. At the end of the session, attendees will be able to do the same, including how to:

• Successfully achieve buy-in among leaders
• Implement effective strategies and best practices for building Department-wide interest
• Utilize methods for avoiding or managing the pitfalls in communicating about a new and untested product
• Incorporate both traditional & non-traditional communications channels into an overall communications plan
• Understand ongoing efforts necessary to keep the program moving forward and maintain buy-in

Alan Greilsamer, Communications Strategist, Office of Informatics and Analytics, Veterans Health Administration
U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs

As communicators, we can make the mistake of separating out new and shiny channels, such as social media, and failing to make them a part of an integrated campaign approach. Independent Community Bankers of America (ICBA) has integrated up front the best channels for reaching their target market with detailed planning. This has allowed ICBA to easily and effectively change direction or tweak messaging if initial tactics fail to provide the desired result

You will leave this session with a detailed illustration of how you too can integrate these channels into your communication campaign, including how to:

• Integrate different components such as social media successfully
• Change your message and tools when dealing with different target markets

Andrea Knotts Bona, Vice President of Marketing,
Independent Community Bankers of America (ICBA)

In 2013, the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) successfully launched a video series—FHWA Works—with
no budget using only in-house resources. FHWA then used all its Social Media platforms to successfully cross-market the video series. In this session, you will learn successes and best practices to employ in your organization, including:

• Professional looking video production on a shoestring budget using off-the-shelf software and in-house talent
• Marketing videos using a multi-tiered Social Media approach including:
  • Facebook posts, Tweets, Website placement, Email announcements to stakeholders, Free federal network marketing
  • Tracking insights to gauge successes of marketing campaign

Tom White, Social Media/Web Content Coordinator, FEDERAL HIGHWAY ADMINISTRATION

In this interactive panel you will hear from three communication and marketing experts about:

Open data sparks a citywide conversation about schools grounded in shared data.
Accessible and understandable content and data visualizations empower all members of our community to participate.
Community organizations and nonprofits can build upon open data to create new tools for new audiences.

We will also open the floor for any specific questions or concerns you have about a specific tool, or in general regarding your own internal goals, objectives, or challenges faced on this topic.

Many government agencies have jumped in with both feet to develop social media policies and outreach strategies for
delivering information and improving networking with their partners and stakeholders. However, measuring the results
of these efforts has seriously lagged behind program implementation. This presentation will answer your most pressing questions when it comes to measuring and optimizing your outreach efforts, including how:

• To understand which specific data to collect
• Can analytics leverage my social media strategies beyond dissemination
• Best can I uncover the key drivers of our agencies information
• Can data assist critical decision making in my organization
• Can I develop an understandable metrics “dashboard” that will give a detailed, holistic view of our agencies social media performance to know what costs are involved

Max Lum, Senior Advisor, eCommunication
National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health

Learn how U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) combats child exploitation by crowdsourcing the ability to identify and locate fugitive child predators using social media and smartphone technology. In this session, you will see a demonstration of the smart phone app, learn about the development and hear about its success rate, including how to:

• Use social media to effectively engage the public
• Think outside the box and learn about creating your own innovative ways to deliver your message
• Hear about the app building process and see how your agency might leverage ICE’s lessons learned

Cori Bassett, Strategic Communication Director
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)

Before heading back to the office take this last opportunity to get your final questions answered in this lively discussion. Several of today’s speakers will share their tips, tricks and last bits of advice to take back to your office to help with your own government communications strategies.

We’ll recap the highlights of the past two days and ask you to share key insights and next steps with the group.

Denise Mckee, COO

AboutFace Media
Training Chairperson