Digitalization causes changes in the entire society. Sooner or later, it brings understanding to every organization that it is time for a change. This understanding comes faster to the business sphere with its dynamic climate and more convenient preconditions to this shift. Businesses realize that if they don’t start their digital journey, they will go bankrupt.
Digitalization is the adoption or increase in use of digital or computer technology by an organization, industry, country.
Culturedigitally
At the same time, changes in the state sector needs more time, more effort to make a plan and take actions. Furthemore, authorities don’t have such a fear of losing customers as they, only they exclusive rights and obligations to fulfill certain needs of their citizens. We as citizens don’t have any other option of whom to contact if we need to get a specific document or information. There is usually only one public authority that is responsible for certain range of matters or a certain area. But for society’s even development and functioning the way towards total digitalization has to be chosen by all the players, both commercial and state.
Carrying experience from business and working at the public authorities, I see more and more how my experience from the commercial sphere can be applied in the state sector. Here I’d like to express my insights about the topic in a quick way. Later on I’d like to dig deeper into each of the aspects.
Devices and softwares
As digitalization implies the adaption of digital devices, an IT-department at a huge state organization has to rethink its work and resources. In the context of digitalization technical needs of the organizations are increasing all the time. Strategic activities included in the digitalization process can’t be performed with success without effecient IT capacity. High quality of devices and user-friendly softwares for document management and internal communications is number #1 thing to be provided.
Service-oriented approach
Service has for a long time been a concept that has strongly been associated with business. Service-oriented approach becomes a logical consequence of digitalization as the digital means of communication make it easier to connect with the audience and because of this technogical convenience the audience (citizens) expect from the public authorities better service, faster response and availability.
Also, the concept of brand is used more often in the discussion of the authorities, which I didn’t observe several years ago.
Social media for authorities
Being on social media is becoming urgent for public authorities. A good number of them is already out there and performs really well. The Migration Board of Sweden (Migrationsverket) is doing a good job at communicating in social media. Well-structured infographics, frequent updates, high engagement with other organisations, authorities, media players and good-looking graphic profile give them credit and deserve high evaluation of their work on social channels.
Due to bureaucracy, policies, rules, restrictions, involvement of various actors planning och fulfilling a digital strategy, including social media strategy can take more time in the state institutions than in the commercial companies. Nevertheless, the principles used in SMM for businesses can partly or fully be applied for social media of an authority, e.g.:
- Focusing on the audience and their needs
- Communicating the content that matters for the target group
- Reposting and retweeting other actors from the same or similar sphere
- Creating content in various formats: infographics, videos, texts, pictures of high-quality
Internal digital communications
Digital technologies provide new opportunities for effective interaction among the employees which takes less time and less distraction from the main work activities. An good intranat gives an opportunity for each employee to stay informed, to take part in the discussion, to create content, to react on news and interact with each other. And yes, it should be easy to use. Content as an essential part of the internal communications should not only inform: it should be engaging, educating and even entertaining. The principles of content marketing that sound very commercial, can also be used for internal communications at public authorities. Read about using content marketing for internal communications here.
Ekaterina Samoylina 
Leave a comment