No, I don’t have a magic bullet to tell you what will happen in 2023 regarding communication in public administrations, so what I’m explaining here could happen, or it might not.
However, these are not reflections written at random, but rather based on my daily reading of a wide variety of sources. I’ve mentioned on more than one occasion that I subscribe to more than 300 blogs and information sources, which I summarize in a weekly newsletter that is already received by more than 1,600 people. You can subscribe to it here: https://marketingaldia.substack.com/ .
This is the best way I’ve found to stay up-to-date on everything happening in my field of communications, social media, and digital marketing.
In addition to these readings, we must also share experiences and information with people working in the field of communications and marketing, both in public administrations and in companies and other organizations; attend forums, events, and conferences; and experience and direct observation.
Therefore, there is no crystal ball behind the trends I present here for next year 2023, but there is a lot of work, and although they are focused on the public administration sector, most of them could be extrapolated to other sectors, including the development of personal brands.
Let’s now analyze each of these trends.
1. Less networks and more web
In recent years, we’ve seen how the communications strategy of most public administrations has focused solely on having a presence on social media.En los últimos años hemos visto cómo la estrategia de comunicación en la mayoría de las administraciones públicas se centraba únicamente en tener presencia en redes sociales.
In a very short time, we’ve gone from not believing in social media because “our users aren’t on them” to becoming fans of them, which has resulted in us neglecting other communication channel.
Neither too much nor too little, and we must not forget that the central core of any public administration’s communication remains its website.
No social media, no webinars, no videos. What’s truly important is having a good website and, from there, using the other tools, formats, and channels that help us spread the word about our content.
The website is our cornerstone, and it must contain the information that citizens need and require. But we shouldn’t stop there; these websites should also be accessible, up-to-date, and easy to use.
It’s dangerous to see how many administrations only communicate on social media, and at a time when we see even the existence of some of these social media platforms threatened, we could find all the work we’ve done disappearing, leaving us without channels to communicate and inform citizens.
You think that can’t happen? Well, keep reading.
2. The “usual” social networks have stopped working
This doesn’t mean that Facebook and Twitter will be shut down tomorrow, but it is true that they no longer function as they did before, and we see this especially in the case of Facebook.
This social network, which has provided us with such good times in public administrations, has long since ceased to have the reach we were accustomed to.
Manipulation scandals, privacy issues, ad saturation, and boredom with a social network that was born in 2004 and seems to have already given its all, have led to a decline in users, especially among the so-called “active” users—those who publish content. Because a social network is nothing without the people who publish it.
And then there’s Twitter. When people ask me what’s going to happen to Twitter, I honestly don’t know. What we’ve been experiencing since Elon Musk bought the company is truly insane and could make a multi-season Netflix series.
What is certain is that Twitter is at its worst point since its inception in 2006.
And what do we do then?
3. New social networks
Well, when one door closes, another opens, and the same thing happens with social media. There’s a whole world beyond Facebook and Twitter, and it’s already here.
We’re not just referring to new networks like Instagram or TikTok, but also to other emerging social networks like BeReal, which has become the most popular social network among young people. But to illustrate how quickly this is progressing, it’s worth noting that the political party Compromís opened its BeReal profile a few weeks ago.
If you want to know more about this social network, here is the article I wrote about it: https://amalialopezacera.com/bereal-10-claves-para-conocer-la-nueva-red-social-que-triunfa-entre-los-jovenes/
In the case of Twitter, we’re seeing how its instability has caused many users, as well as brands and companies, to flee to other platforms.
Mastodon, a decentralized social network, and Hive Social are the two platforms that have benefited most from Twitter’s turmoil.
And what can we do as a public administration? Well, for now, we need to stay tuned for all the latest developments and see what’s happening, because ultimately, as an administration, we’ll have to be where the citizens are.
And if citizens leave Facebook for another social network, then we’ll have to go to where they are, just as we once went to Facebook because that’s where they were.
4. Events will be hybrid or not at all
One of the biggest lessons we learned during the lockdown and the pandemic regarding public administration communication was seeing the reach of the events or activities we organized when they were held online.
Well, in many cases, we’ve gone from not believing in online events at all to now doing everything online only.
The key isn’t to opt for exclusively in-person events or exclusively online events; rather, success comes from choosing hybrid events—that is, organizing them in both formats.
An in-person event offers significant advantages and benefits for those who are able to attend, and the event itself becomes much more enriching. Therefore, if we add live or online broadcasting to this, Streaming so that it can reach a larger number of people and then remain as a documentary repository in video or audio format will undoubtedly be the perfect combination.
5. Podcasts as a new format
If there’s one format that’s taking off, it’s undoubtedly audio content generated through podcasts.
And no, it’s not just about on-demand radio; it’s much more. We’re talking about generating audio content on any topic or genre.
In 2021, more than 31,000 new podcasts were created in Spanish alone on the Ivoox platform, and platforms such as Sonora, Podimo, and Audible have also emerged where content is subject to a fee.
In other words, users are paying to listen to audio content. If this seems strange to you, consider that we already pay to listen to music on Spotify and watch series on HBO, Netflix, and Disney+.
Some of the keys to the success of podcasts are the generation of content on a wide variety of topics and the fact that a generation of young people has “discovered” a new format that goes beyond “old-fashioned” radio.
For public administrations, this is not a new format, as we can imagine how many municipalities once had municipal radio stations.
Now, creating a podcast is simple and inexpensive, and it can help us share public service information and the knowledge we have within public administrations.
6. Newsletters and newsletters
Although it may seem like we’re at a time when people are reading less and less, and that’s partly true, it’s also true that people do read, but only what interests them and in the right amount.
What we’re seeing is that the overabundance of information and content is causing people to be more selective, hence the rise of newsletters and bulletins.
In some professional fields, astronomical sums are paid for news summaries that are perhaps one or two pages long. Managers don’t want to be given 240 news stories from their sector or professional field, but rather a single sheet of paper summarizing the most important and notable pieces. Less has never been more.
I’ve experimented with this format myself. I mentioned above that I subscribe to more than 300 news sources that generate around 150 stories a day, which amounts to more than 1,000 a week. Well, the newsletter I send contains between 7 and 10 news items, which I read, summarized, and rewrote, including only the highlights.
In just one year, this newsletter has more than 1,600 subscribers.
And we can adopt this same approach in any administration, as we can create a newsletter to send information to citizens.
The key to this format’s success is the type of information delivered, and this is very important. It has to be of interest and use to citizens, and this, in most cases, doesn’t usually coincide with what interests the mayor and councilor, especially in an election year.
7. Video format and also in vertical format
For years, the video format has been gaining ground, and we’ve seen how YouTube has surpassed Google as a search engine for information.
That is, more people now search for information on YouTube than on Google. And now, go to YouTube and search for information about your administration.
The video format has not only become popular on this platform, but on some social networks it has even surpassed image-based posts. This success has come from Stories or ephemeral content, as well as TikTok and Instagram Reels.
Considerations to consider when creating this type of content include video length (the shorter the better); a preference for vertical over horizontal formats; and the inclusion of subtitles and trendy music.
The latest to join this trend has been YouTube with short vertical videos, known as “shorts.”
8. Beware of institutional publication
Institutional advertising is one of the least discussed topics affecting communications in public administrations, something that’s hard to understand when you consider that the public administration as a whole is the country’s largest advertiser.
In 2021, state, regional, and local public administrations launched 3,000 tenders for advertising campaigns and communication services worth more than €1.4 billion.
One of the problems with institutional advertising is its use as a political weapon, rather than serving the general interest, often failing to comply with public procurement regulations and those specific to institutional advertising contracts.
But this is about to change, as the European Union has taken action and is working on a draft of a “European Media Freedom Act.” The draft acknowledges that there are opaque distributions of institutional advertising and that it has been used to covertly subsidize certain media outlets that offer favorable opinions.
The new regulation requires state and regional governments to award institutional advertising through open procedures, more similar to subsidies, based on a series of criteria.
9. Professionalization
This is more than a trend for 2023, it will become a necessity.
Esto más que una tendencia para 2023 se va a convertir en una necesidad.
Communications management requires people who can handle it with the quality and professionalism required for a public service.
The increased complexity of social media operations, the development of multimedia content, and the current situation with new platforms, formats, and channels require a change in communication management and a higher level of professionalization.
10. Internal communication to change management
It’s something we’ve seen in recent years: when we’ve set out to solve the problems facing public administrations, such as talent management, innovation, and the implementation of e-government, we’ve seen that for all of them to be successful, we need a common ingredient: internal communication.
We’re talking about organizations made up of people and the issues that affect them, and whether we’re modifying, implementing, improving, changing, promoting, or developing something, we’ll need communication between those people.
Hence, it is necessary to have an internal communication strategy and planning, as well as people who can establish the channels, formats, and spaces for this to happen.
Internal communication is so important that we can never talk about good external communication without internal communication.
11. Metaverse yes but not in the metaverse yet
Last week, we learned how the European Union had spent 400,000 euros on a “party” in the metaverse attended by six people.
Yes, incredible but true, although it’s not something unusual or strange since we’ve seen fiascos of this type on other occasions. One of the most notorious was the Radar Covid app, which cost more than 4 million euros.
These cases are repeated for many reasons. Our political leaders sometimes get carried away by whatever is coolest at the moment, thus scoring points without taking into account that they’re playing with everyone’s money.
What we have now isn’t a metaverse, but rather we’re still in the early stages of a new technology, or Web 3, that’s just emerging. If you’d like to learn more about the metaverse, here’s this article. https://amalialopezacera.com/10-claves-para-entender-el-metaverso/.
Does this mean we should forget about everything related to the metaverse? No, on the contrary. Public administrations must be involved in the creation and configuration of this new technology that will be the future of our society.
And we must do this by creating groups of people (Interpol created one of these groups of police officers a few weeks ago) who dedicate part of their time to researching the metaverse: what it is, what it consists of, what progress is being made, attending conferences and events, contacting companies that train them, launching projects… in short, being the vanguard of what is to come.
At this point, we’re not just talking about the metaverse, but also other aspects such as blockchain and smart contracts and how they will affect public procurement; digital twins and holotransportation; big data and how it will influence the services we offer to citizens; and how DAOs will change the way our administrations are organized.
We certainly have a lot to do.
These are the most notable communication trends for our public administrations this year, 2023. I could add a few more, but they’re still in their infancy, and I think they still have some ground to cover in our country, although they’re already a trend in other countries.
I’m referring, for example, to the use of smart devices like Alexa or Siri speakers. In the United States, one in three internet searches is now done through these devices, which will have significant implications for the information our public administrations have available in this format.
It would be something similar to when we had to adapt our websites to be viewable on mobile phones.
We are facing a time of change in our society, not only in terms of communication, but also in other issues such as climate change and all that it will entail.
This scenario can create uncertainty and doubt about the daily management of communication within our administrations, but on the other hand, it presents an exciting challenge, as we can witness this process firsthand and contribute to its development.
Therefore, it is time to begin laying the foundations for a new model of communication with citizens from public administrations.
On the other hand, if you need help developing a communications plan for your city council or public administration, this guide may be helpful: “Guide to developing a communications plan for a public administration.“
And if you work in a public administration, whether in a city council, provincial council, ministry, or in the field of healthcare, education, or state security forces, and you want to develop your personal brand and generate new professional opportunities, this is your guide: Personal Branding in Public Administration.
If you’d also like to stay up-to-date on all the latest news in digital marketing, social media, and communications, you can subscribe to the weekly newsletter here: Digital Marketing, Social Media, and Communications Newsletter.
And finally, to showcase the work we do in public administrations, I have an interview program known as #30minutes. Here you can find all the information about #30minutes. If you haven’t seen the previous programs, you can watch them on my YouTube and Twitch channels. They’re also available as a podcast on Ivoox, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and Google Podcasts.
We can follow the conversation at:
- Twitch
- YouTube
- Tik Tok
- Telegram
- Ivoox
- Apple pódcast
- Spotify
- Google pódcast
- Novagob
- Facebook group “Social Networks and Public Administrations“
- Facebook group of “Bloggers of public administrations“
- Facebook group for “Journalists in Public Administrations“
