I’m going to go out on a limb here and say that the average citizen feels like they don’t know what the hell is going on in Washington. I feel fairly confident in drawing this conclusion because every time, or nearly every time I talk to someone outside the Beltway they say something like thisRead… Read more »
As government leaders, we place a high priority on serving the public well, and rightfully so. But often our customers not only external to our organizations; our customers are often our colleagues in the next office, or in a nearby agency. These internal customers deserve our best customer service, too. What does really great internalRead… Read more »
Just a few years ago, infographics seemed to be the hottest type of content online. Lately, the shine has worn off as bad infographics inundated the internet. High-quality infographics still can rise up from the flood of drivel. Infographics are not inherently bad. When infographics are designed well they simplify complex information and can make boring topics interesting. Eye-catching visualsRead… Read more »
Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz has asked employees at his 7,300 stores in the U.S. to voluntarily write #RaceTogether on their coffee cups of their customers as a window to talking about inclusion with his baristas. While he should be commended for his corporate responsibility to initiate conversations with customers on race relations, his approach addressesRead… Read more »
We just completed the first step of our City strategic planning process for the next three years. Regardless of your status in the pecking order, if your organization has a strategic plan, someone is likely to ask you how you connect to it. This is a valid question. If your assignment obviously aligns with yourRead… Read more »
This week I met with Dale Carpenter, the National Park Service’s (NPS) Distance Learning (DL) Program Manager, to collect some thoughts about the current and future state of DL in government. Dale’s unique perspective includes experience from years of service in both the public and private sector. What does a day look like inRead… Read more »
All the email marketing advice you’ve read thus far in this series on improving your email strategy by Q2 means nothing if your messages never reach your audience. Deliverability refers to a message’s ability to arrive in intended recipients’ inboxes. It is an often-overlooked metric that has a large effect on your marketing efforts.
We begin with the assumption that government communication should be as good or better than private-sector communication, for three reasons: The public relies on the government as a trustworthy source of information Many are misinformed or under-informed about what the government does and the services it offers Trust in the government by the public isRead… Read more »
There is an old saying: “Those who know don’t tell, and those who tell, don’t know.” We don’t hear honest stories enough but if we did I think that could be a catalyst for real change. These are the things we should blog about more, not only because we need to vent and get supportRead… Read more »
When you start to plan a public outreach and education campaign, a sense of humor may not be the first tool you think to reach for. You may instead focus on hard facts, thinking that logic alone will be enough to persuade people. Without some pizzazz and personality, your public outreach campaigns risk being boring and forgettable.Read… Read more »