Communicating in a digital world

By: the Digital Communications Coordination Unit, Privy Council Office

Meeting people where they (already) are: online!

There is an age-old saying in communications: meet people where they are. Today, that means online. In Canada, 94% of people are internet users and 85% are social media users. The Government of Canada’s (GC) web presence, Canada.ca, receives almost 100 million visits each month, and official social media channels have a combined following surpassing 35 million; that reach and impact will likely accelerate in the years ahead.

Our digital channels are therefore most people’s primary interaction with the GC: for information and updates, to access services and resources, and to engage and provide feedback on a variety of initiatives.

But beyond where we meet people, the experience people have with our digital channels is intrinsically linked to trust, confidence, and the successful delivery of GC communications, programs, services, and initiatives. People’s expectations have been set by those who are doing digital well: media and entertainment industries, online retailers, and banks and other institutions that allow secure transactions.

The pandemic has only accelerated this shift toward digital services, which means the GC must continue to advance its efforts to deliver timely, clear, consistent, high-quality digital communications to keep pace with the expectations of those it serves.

Beyond technology, digital excellence is about collaboration, authenticity, user-centricity, interaction, and engagement.

Think digital from the start                     

As outlined in the context section of the Policy on Communications and Federal Identity, “Using new communications approaches that stem from the rise of digital technologies, balanced with using traditional methods, enables the Government of Canada to reach and engage with Canadians effectively and efficiently in the official language of their choice, regardless of where they reside.”

Digital communications are part of an ecosystem and should never be viewed as the only strategy, isolated from other, sometimes more traditional, communications activities. From announcements and promotions, to issues management, engagement, service delivery, and providing research and insights, there are so many ways that your digital channels can be used to support your organization’s priorities. Web and social media channels should be a key part of your communications planning, delivery, and measurement.

After an announcement is made, people may turn to the Web to get more information, to learn about eligibility or rules, or to apply for programs and services. They may search and land on Canada.ca or see posts promoting a new program on a social media channel or an ad on TV. It is imperative to make sure there is digital content that they can use, trust and recognize as the GC.

From here, digital communications teams can analyze feedback and metrics, not only to report on performance but also to inform and adjust content and messages, develop new themes and tactics, and provide insights to shape the next phases of the strategy.

It is important that digital communicators are engaged early when planning a strategy or initiative. They can bring forward ideas and opportunities to support objectives and contribute to better communications. The earlier you approach an objective through a digital lens, the more effective you will be.

Digital first means people first: tactics for Web and social media channels

Digital excellence is about people. It is not necessarily about using the latest technology or following trends. It means building and shaping your digital content for the way people will experience and consume it.

This means ensuring content is timely, clear, and easy to find, understand, and engage with. No one wants to spend a long time navigating through bureaucratic language.

Your website is where your users come to do something, find something specific, or apply for a program or service. Modern Web content needs to be designed to make people’s experience as easy as possible. User-centric web content should have the following criteria:

Check out blog.canada.ca from the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat’s Digital Transformation Office for a variety of informative, proven, and evidenced-based guidance, tips, and articles on improving your Web content.

Your social media is for engagement (not one-way communication). GC social media channels are key tools for engaging with people, delivering sustained campaigns, listening and responding to questions, and providing more specific advice, tools, and information about programs and services. Here are some key components for delivering an effective social media presence:

Collaboration: Building synergies will strengthen your digital content

High-quality content needs to be aligned and integrated. Collaboration is both the goal of and the lever to doing digital right. As previously noted, most people see the GC as one organization, “the government,” and the importance of collaboration, coordination, and alignment across domains and portfolios has been noted repeatedly over the years. The importance of collaborating became even clearer during the COVID-19 pandemic.

With COVID-19, people turned to GC digital channels regularly for timely updates and to access support measures, guidance, and requirements that were continuously evolving. Information spanned numerous departments and agencies working collaboratively.

This gave the GC a no-fail mission to move quickly from silos to a united government-wide approach. The result was unparalleled alignment across hundreds of social media channels and thousands of pages of Web content to make sure people could consistently and easily get what they needed. This helped to amplify the reach of our communications while providing consistent, reliable, and trusted content.

As we look forward, communicators will be able to build on this collaboration and capitalize on changes in culture and practices, and the many relationships, synergies, and workflows that were established during the pandemic to support better alignment, integration, and results. By working together as a community, we benefit from ideas, insights, expertise, tools, and contributions from across the GC. When we bolster our efforts and leverage the talents that exist throughout the organization, it helps us to better reach, engage with, and support Canadians in ways that resonate and reinforce the importance of our collective efforts. Better cohesion leads to a greater impact.

Measure, analyze, adjust: Use insights to inform your communications

Last, but certainly not least: decisions should be based on evidence. When planning your digital strategies, consult different sources to understand people’s needs, topics of interest, and the terminology they use. You can use insights that already exist from many areas of your organization, including public enquiries, program and service data, errors and feedback, Web insights such as top pages and search terms, media and public environment analyses, and results of previous digital campaigns. Referring to data during your planning phase will help you set objectives and plans with relevant and measurable key performance indicators. You may also carry out user-needs research to help design content and conduct usability testing on Web content with actual users during the development phases.

After content is published, regularly review Web and social media analytics, such as page visits, feedback, search terms, on-site search, call-centre enquiries, social media comments, and conversations. Public opinion research insights can also help you to identify and focus on the top information and services Canadians are seeking.

By analyzing insights regularly, you can identify trends and see what works (and what doesn’t!) on your channels. This evidence will help you tailor content based on audience needs and allow you to make timely adjustments to campaigns to reach the set objectives. This information can also help with planning for future campaigns.

Use evidence, measure, and adjust to create successful content and campaigns.

Get in touch!

Over the past year, we have had the privilege of supporting the GC’s digital communications community in breaking silos, creating spaces for collaboration and co-creation, and driving whole-of-government content and campaigns in order to provide those we serve with better digital experiences.

We are eager to learn from you, support you, and welcome you to our wider community in our collective, no-fail mission to advance digital excellence. If you have any questions or simply wish to connect, feel free to drop us a line at DCCU-UCCN@pco-bcp.gc.ca!

References

  1. WeAreSocial. (2021), Digital 2021: Canada.
  2. Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat. (2021), Crisis communications content design checklist.
  3. Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat. (2021), Co-design with approvers at the table.

Page details

Date modified: