Betsy Braziel Burkhart

Communication and Media Director

Contra Costa County

November 2, 2016

Nightmares...

Public Outreach Public Works connects with residents

where it’s often very tangible

Engineers tend to focus on doing the work, not telling people you’re doing the work

Great opportunities to broaden outreach in the media

So what is news? And why do they always focus on when things go wrong?

News has immediacy, impact and importance; out of the ordinary

It is not news that we showed up and did our jobs

It is news when we don’t

So does it always have to be bad? Great opportunities exist to enhance and

promote our reputation

Needs to pass the “who cares” test – would you care if something of similar magnitude happened in another department or program?

Did your project or program make a difference – did you do it quicker, safer, first, best?

Let’s take an example: Everyone’s winter headache: Sandbags…

Where to get them

Do you need them

What to bring when you pick them up

How to fill and place them

News Release? Brochure? Flyer?

Packaging…. Makes all the difference!

Sometimes, we’re just sharing information…

Sometimes, we’re nosing our way into someone else’s story

Newsjacking

“The art of injecting our story into or on top of coverage of other news.”

Someone else will; we just lose the chance to shape it. Once rumors are repeated enough, they’re presumed to be facts.

What happens when we don’t tell our own story?

Rules to Live by with Reporters Channel your inner Boy Scout

Help them do their jobs – yes, really

Consider the end result – and ask questions to find out what “the story” looks like to them

Be available

Establish and nurture relationships

Something we can’t ignore… It’s not just reporters who are providing news content

It’s anyone who comes into contact with us and has a cell phone

Of course pictures don’t lie….

Social Media

We Tweet,

We Facebook,

We Instagram

We YouTube,

We Periscope,

We Blog….

Because those citizen journalists are busy:

They Tweet,

They Facebook,

They Instagram

They YouTube,

They Periscope,

They Blog…

We need more “We” to do it…

Government agencies, big and small, are embracing Social Media tools as quickly as possible… which brings us to the

question of… WHY? •Because we can? •Because everyone else is? •Because our boss’s teenage daughter said we need to? •Because it’s more fun to create a FB page than to design and execute a carefully researched communication plan?

A Peek at the Future? Or Today… What Boston PD did … Set the new standard…

Social Media is the new normal

1990s – e-government evolves – telling our story involving digital communication

2000s – e-government becomes expected – save me a phone call, a drive to a county office, a stamp on a tax payment

Today – we need to communicate our message when and how people want to receive it, not just how we want to deliver it… and that means utilizing social media – but in a smart way and with a business purpose

Does our Department or does my project need a Facebook page or Twitter account?

The answer you don’t want: it depends

Understanding of Purpose

Policies and guidelines – do you have them?

Monitoring – unbelievably time consuming

Determining best uses and starting there

Making the Commitment to Do It Right

Preventive Medicine: be prepared Any significant program or project needs a

communication plan

Framework can and should be done long before anything actually hits the fan

Elements are basic

Your audience(s)

Your message(s)

Your best methods to get the message to the audience

Determine Your Audience(s) Media, yes… but they’re usually not your only

audience

Who else might need to be looped in?

Your fellow elected & appointed department heads

Your internal managers & supervisors

Stakeholder Groups

Contractors/Consultants Providing Service

Constituents – Taxpayers who pay our salaries and benefit from our services

Define Your Message(s) Just the facts…

Develop your key messages and own them

Bridge back and make sure no interview ends without you reinforcing those messages

Don’t feel compelled to fill time or space. Answer the question, but don’t offer more unless you are bridging back to your messages

Practice; say them aloud; say them to someone else; look at how they look in writing – these can have a life span longer than your road project or grant funded program

How will I get the word out? The method will vary depending upon the issue and messages – no one size fits all.

News Release or Media Advisory

Website Update

Interview with Key Reporter

News Conference

Social Media

Why do we care?

“Next to doing the right thing,

the most important thing is to

let people know

you are doing the right thing.”

-- John D. Rockefeller

Ways to Preserve your Sanity

Don’t wait until there’s a problem to figure out how to communicate if things go wrong

Make sure follow up is included in your plan

Always assume the person you’re sending information to is on his/her first day on the job

Ask for help…

When you return to your office: Questions to ask back home

Who handles public outreach for your department or

the City/County?

Who handles media outreach & do we have a policy?

Crisis communications – what’s the game plan? Is

there a game plan?

How do I reach the right person 24x7?

Have I set a Google Alert on my name and agency?

Which reporters cover my agency/department, and

how will I engage them?

Parting Shots and

Questions?

Betsy Braziel Burkhart, 925-313-1183

Betsy.Burkhart@contracostatv.org