towards a un social media strategy

‘Our people are our voice’

A well-meaning suggestion from Joe Mitchell, while interning at the Dept for Public Information

Summer 2012

Towards a social media strategy for the United Nations

Joe Mitchell September 2012Not (yet) the views of anyone who works at the UN

OverviewResearch. Strategy. Plan. Next steps.


Research


Research: Where is everyone?

Joe Mitchell September 2012

Research: What languages can they read?

Language Literate population % of the world's literate population

Chinese (Mandarin) 794,947,565 14.68%

English 572,977,034 10.58%

Spanish 295,968,824 5.47%

Hindi/Urdu 230,560,488 4.26%

Arabic 229,444,922 4.24%

French 220,326,329 4.07%

Russian 194,503,049 3.59%

Portuguese 191,739,619 3.54%

Japanese 126,159,159 2.33%

Bengali 107,897,009 1.99%

German 93,969,555 1.74%

http://journal.lib.uoguelph.ca/index.php/perj/article/viewFile/826/1357


Research: What do they think of the UN?

http://www.pewglobal.org/2012/06/13/chapter-4-rating-countries-and-institutions/



Images © Jeremiah Owyang


Research: Towards a better evidence base

• Good strategies come from good data

• Data like this would be valued across the UN system

• Partner with other system bodies or commercial media companies?


Strategy


Strategy: What already exists?


Strategy: Modeling corporate social media

http://www.web-strategist.com/blog/2010/04/15/framework-and-matrix-the-five-ways-companies-organize-for-social-business/


Strategy: Vision and mission

Vision: Our people are our voice

Mission: to train, prepare and support UN staff to lead digital conversations in their areas of work.


Strategy: SMART goals

Objective Output for DPI (by 2014…)

Intermediate outcome (by 2015)

Long term outcome (by 2016)

Staff as voice

Training (0.5% across all depts) Mentoring (0.1%)

More digital staff (5% field staff, 10% HQ digital)

Better known staff (>100 with >5,000 followers)

Culture change (+10% ‘feel engaged’, ‘empowered’)

Public awareness (+10% ‘I know about the UN’)

Transparency (+25% independent accountability score)

Reduced number of corporate accounts (30%)

Training, template strategies for UNICs (all)

Better corporate accounts (number of languages, correct branding, UNICs to have individual strategies)


Strategy: SMART goals

Objective Output for DPI (by 2014)

Intermediate outcome (by 2015)

Long term outcome (by 2016)

Better internal communication

Education and training for senior leaders

(Presentations and training to all USGs, ASGs, D2s)

Increased use of social media for internal communication

(+1500% internal interaction)

Reduced email burden

(-25% emails)

Better informed staff

(+25% in, e.g., ‘I know what the UN system is doing’, ‘I know what my colleagues are working on’.)


Plan


Age

Plan: Data on staff use of social media

How many social media platforms do you use?


Which language do you mainly use for social media?

Plan: Data on staff use of social media

Would you be interested in receiving social media training?


Plan: Staff training and engagement plan

Individual incentives

Increase perception of benefits

Reduce the fear of social media

Individual capacity and knowledge

Establish how-to knowledge with all staff

Safe practice space?

Social factors

Create the idea that social media for work is the norm

Structural factors

Make sure there are no physical barriers to accessing social media platforms


Plan: Corporate accounts

Mini-vision: run smarter digital profiles where the people are (think languages, platforms)

• Audit

• Map and reorganise with the user and

UN resource in mind

• It is not necessary to be everywhere

• Clear and powerful branding



Twitter Facebook

Tumblr Blogs

Pinterest Storify etc

User base?

What do people use it for?

What overarching strategic goal does UN use of this platform meet?

What content should be shared here?

Who provides that content?

What is our SMART goal for this platform?

Ultimate responsibility


Google Spreadsheet(All UN staff, with training)

Social media mgmt tool (Small admin team)

Public platforms(One person per platform)


Management


Next steps


Next steps: immediately

1. Survey all UN staff

2. Initiate UN-system wide social media audit

3. Request help in building the evidence base for a robust strategy

4. Start discussion with everyone, on the UN goals for social media

5. Begin work with legal and procurement teams for platform negotiation

6. Share this draft strategy with DPI, UN, UN system colleagues for feedback


Next steps: within three months

1. Continue to publicise this draft and consult management and staff on strategic objectives

2. Rework this strategy as appropriate given the above, and the UN staff digital survey results

3. Work towards gaining approval from senior management (USG, beyond)

4. Initiate development of a training programme, guidelines, branding rules, kits, templates, etc for all staff


Next steps: within six months

1. Meet with members of the CoI to consult and seek feedback;

2. Seek SMART goals sign off from senior managers and their commitment to support staff to meet them;

3. Launch training programme, guidance documents etc

4. Seek partnerships with digital media companies and across UN system to research global user data (and seek resources to commission independent research)


Next steps: at one year

1. Monitor strategy implementation: publish annual progress report, include re-survey of UN staff

2. Identify what works and what doesn’t, iterate and change, check SMART goals still achievable and relevant

FIN

Questions / comments?

Joe Mitchell

All photos (CC) UNPhoto

Thanks to: New York DPI people as well as Silke von Brockhausen, Beatrice Frey, Karine Langlois, Roxana Samii and Justin Smith.

towards a un social media strategy

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