Anita

First of all we start by welcoming back James Stevens to Brussels. Having originally pioneered this blog back in the day, James has been in the Washington DC office for the past year and writing his own blog Bubble to Beltway. Here is his last post about the influence of interest groups in the legislative process and how more measurement is needed in Public Affairs – What I want is more data.

Which ties nicely with another colleague concerned with measurement from across the pond: Don Bartholomew, or MetricsMan, writes an excellent summary of the lessons learned in social media for 2011. Not strictly PA, but knowing what to measure in the digital realm is absolutely essential whatever the communications discipline, so definitely worth a read.

Steffen writes about reaching decision makers online, outlines ten key points that resonate with audiences when he presents on digital and PA to various audiences, and describes why campaigning more widely than the government relations comfort zone is important in a post entitled Campaigning to achieve PA goals, pay heed to the constituent consumer.

Outside the communications and public affairs arena, Michael Berendt gives his perspective on current affairs, specifically how Libya’s fate will have a major impact on Europe.

And of course I cannot sign off without welcoming FH Amsterdam to the blogging fold. They have been going for a couple of months now, writing about the digital and public affairs intersection. Definitely worth the Google translate!

Rosalyn

• 69% of MEPs use social networks (mainly Facebook) up from 33% in 2009
• 34% are on Twitter, up from 21%
• 29% write a personal blog, compared to 40% in 2009

So we’re witnessing a shift towards the snappy interaction of social networks, and a move away from the more content driven blog.

I’ll look at two things here: i) what might account for this trend; and ii) some ideas on what the trends mean in practice.

Why the shift away from blogging towards social networks and the like?

It’s not hard to see why Facebook and Twitter appear more enticing than blogging:

• They both have ready-made audiences which may likely include MEPs’ constituents. Why bother with blogging, which is more time-consuming and does not have a ready-made audience?
• In that vein, Twitter and Facebook may just seem easier to maintain, given that there isn’t much content to produce. At first glance, writing 140 characters definitely seems a breeze compared to a full-on blog post.
• Election frenzy is over. Back in 2009, MEPs running for re-election were presumably eager to do everything in their power to showcase themselves to their electorate. That incentive is obviously reduced beyond election time.
• The EP’s social media team has been extremely successful on Facebook (their blog is also successful, to be fair). Presumably a shining example to MEPs?
• Facebook is all the rage. 500 million and users and that. Everyone’s talking about Twitter too. So presumably a fair bit of bandwagon hopping has taken place.

What does it all mean?

This is the trickier question. What does all this mean in terms of MEPs’ communication with constituents and others?

On the surface, it seems like good news: MEPs are eagerly adopting tools that connect them to people at the click of a button and provide Europeans a channel to engage in the political process through dialogue with decision makers. Indeed, some MEPs like Marietje Schaake and Sophie in ’t Veld, or Commissioners like Neelie Kroes (no coincidence they’re all Dutch) are engaging in conversation and using Twitter to ask questions and learn, and presumably thus improve their ability to do their job.

However, in another sense, the figures are misleading. Another finding in the report shows that MEPs who blog and tweet think “expressing views directly” is more important than “engaging in dialogue” (by a margin of 60% and 30% in blogs and on Twitter respectively). Clearly, listening, learning and conversing play second fiddle, and you could ask: what’s the point of telling people stuff if you’re doing so in a Facebook feed or in 140 characters? Not much.

As for the drop in blogging, personally speaking I think it’s a shame, although understandable: I know from experience just how hard it is to maintain a blog. However, blogging is a fantastic medium to express views and opinions in more detail, and some MEPs reach large audiences through their blogs, like Dan Hannan and Holger Krahmer. Is the fall in blogging a trend? No, I suspect we’re in a consolidation phase, where the MEPs who appreciate the medium carry on and others who like the idea of blogging give it a go, but where fewer experiment because it’s in vogue.

Another thought is that blogging is a way to kick start conversations on Twitter or Facebook. Which begs the question: if MEPs are not blogging but are instead using Twitter and Facebook, yet many are not engaging in dialogue, what are they using the tools for? Probably to post press releases, or to state that they’ll speak an event and other such information.

In conclusion, although the findings indicate that a number of MEPs are using the channels to engage, we should take them with a slight pinch of salt. Having said that, the trend is for more MEPs to start using the tools “properly” and I have no doubt that the more they see others gaining from engagement, the greater the appropriate adoption rates will become.

Equally, I have no doubt that I’ve missed some observations, so – as ever – please feel free to add, expand, agree or disagree in the comments below. Thanks.

Steffen

Michael Adolph from FH started off with some of the inspiring work they do in Washington and highlighted that good quality content which shows real personal enthusiasm for the subject matter is most likely to resonate with audiences. He showcased a video for Johns Hopkins University’s Malaria Free Future campaign, which demonstrates how a fresh approach to traditional funding applications with creative visuals and a proactive online outreach can make a practical difference to malaria sufferers.

He was then followed by Samuel Coates from the UK Conservative Party. He gave very straightforward advice: don’t just believe the hype but find out who your audience is and reach out to them. Try to build a relationship rather than just following the latest social media trend and using those media channels like you would a foghorn.

Finally, we rounded off with another perspective, that of Ryan Heath who, as a member of Neelie Kroes’ social media team, has the opportunity to experience firsthand the way social media is shaping the government/citizen conversation.  Definitely the most eye opening quote of the day comes from our dynamic Australian who said that on Neelie Kroes’ website ‘a single average blog post gets as many views as all of her 2010 press releases combined’ – a clear sign that the more immediate and personal nature of a blog post resonates with audiences.

Yes a good time was had and it was great to see so many industry leaders there. We videoed the panel and have a few snippets from the audience coming soon so watch this space…

Rosalyn

Firstly staying in house; some of our regular contributors to Public Affairs 2.0 also have their own blogs, one of these is our Digital Strategist, Steffen Thejll-Moller.  He writes here about the struggle to implement digital in public affairs, remember: don’t blame it all on the old fogeys.

Liva Judic is based a little further afield in our Paris office and describes herself as a ‘social media addict’.  Her blog Merrybubbles is a regular upload of all things interesting and digi.  One of her great articles is about the digital divide around the world and how mobile technology is being innovatively implemented in unexpected places.

James Stevens, whilst technically no longer a Euroblogger, now offers a unique European perspective on the goings on in Washington DC. His article ‘Neither the US nor the EU wants to kill its citizens’ takes a look at the transatlantic relationship in reality, especially in light of regulatory convergence. Whilst in his most recent article examines the line between government relations and public affairs, and how we can learn from each other.

But of course blogs take many different formats and not just personal perspectives. The FH London office clearly translates in-depth briefings into accessible blog format. For example, see their outline of the recent UK government’s spending review.

So I hope you enjoy sampling a little taste of where else the digital discussion about public affairs and public relations is taking place.

Rosalyn

Today we launch the results of our European Parliament Digital Trends Survey – www.epdigitaltrends.eu It examines how Members of the European Parliament are using the internet to communicate with their voters as well as how the same MEPs use the internet to inform their daily legislative work. As such, we hope that the results are interesting both for MEPs and for Brussels public affairs practitioners.

In summary MEPs are using the internet to communicate to voters but are not yet for the most part using all the tools available. No doubt MEPs have come a long way since the last elections, but there is still a road to travel.

For public affairs practitioners we believe that our results support the view we espoused when we started this blog 2 years ago. Like all of us MEPs are going online for information to inform their decisions. To be effective, our public affairs strategies need to integrate digital communications into their toolbox of tactics. Digital can not replace traditional tools such as contact programmes and media relations it complements them, rendering our activities more effective.

On the microsite  www.epdigitaltrends.eu you will find the following:

• Our main results with supporting statistics
• An e-brochure
• A full report
• A library of downloads, including graphs and the raw data for you to make your own analysis and graphs
• Commentary from MEPs
• An opportunity for you to post your own thoughts
• The charities we supported in conducting the research
• The methodology we used – sample size etc.

In the coming days we shall be taking time to reflect on what the different parts of our results mean for public affairs practitioners in Brussels on this blog.

Thanks to all MEPs who participated and to the hardworking FH team who made it all possible (everyone in the office played some role but in particular I’d like to thank Mike, Reg, Veronique, Liliana, Julie, Carey, Aurelie, Tim, Michele, Jay, Clara and Rosie)

We look forward to your reactions to the results on the microsite and to having a debate on this blog about what our survey says about digital public affairs.

James

While possibly mistaken for the title of  John Grisham‘s next book (if only Brussels were so exciting), we eagerly await The Lobby’s contributions to the Brussels Blog-Bubble.

These are just a few we’ve found so far:

1. Graham Watson
2. Matthias Groote
3. Katrin Saks
4. Benoit Hamon
5. Eoin Ryan
6. Neena Gill
7. Arlene McCarthy
8. Peter Skinner
9. Jim Nicholson
10. Mary Honeyball
11. Andrew Duff
12. Daniel Caspary
13. Jules Maaten
14. Jeanine Hennis
15. Sophie in ‘t Veld
16. Daniel Cohn-Bendit
17. Åsa Westlund
18. Anna Hedh
19. Kathalijne Buitenweg
20. Helga Truepel
21. Colm Burke
22. Joost Lagendijk
23. Gunnar Hökmark
24. Dagmar Roth-Behrendt
25. Alexander Alvaro
26. Jorgo Chatzimarkakis
27. Richard Corbett
28. Ed McMillan-Scott
29. Rodi Kratsa
30. Vincent Peillon
31. Urszula Gacek
32. Jean luc Bennahmias
33. Catherine Trautmann
34. Bernadette Vergnaud

If you have come across any, please let us know. We shall update this list as we get new names.

Rosie

P.S. As we mentioned in a previous post, the utility of Twitter is still not clear to us. We do find Daily Show host John Stewart’s opinion about Twitter quite humorous: “They’re struggling because they confused new with good.”

One question caught my attention. A long-term Edinburgh resident and US citizen asked the panel what sources a person could read to inform themselves about the candidates without relying on the daily churn of media reports. Bill immediately recommended blogs, noting that many bloggers eschew the claimed objectivity of newspapers, but offer much more depth and often a historical knowledge. His list of blogs to read is:

• Talking Points Memo (liberal)
• Andrew Sullivan’s Daily Dish (Bill’s favourite, he says)
• Red State (conservative viewpoint)
• Instapundit

You can listen to Bill here as well.

Chief amongst those sharing their experience was perhaps Brussels’ foremost trade association blogger, Helen Dunnett. Helen is the eCommunications Manager (cool title) for the European Crop Protection Association. She writes the association’s blog, which is available on wordpress platform as well as on the blogactiv platform. Happily on the back of our discussions, Helen agreed to answer a few (ok, lots) questions about her experience to share with you all on this blog. Unsurprisingly, she has a lot of interesting insights so we’ve posted her response in full to all our questions.

Why did ECPA decide to start a blog?

The blogging site, pesticideinformation.eu, was launched in March 2008 as part of our new online communications strategy. We created this information portal, which is separate from ECPA’s public website, to bring together the different perspectives on pesticide legislation and use, be it press coverage, the latest reports or events or discussions in other blogs, into one place online. I’m the only one writing or recording blog entries right now and my blogs are intentionally unbiased because I’m not an expert on the subject, but I’m on the hunt for regular guest bloggers with reasoned and informed viewpoints to contribute to the debate. So any pesticide lovers or haters reading this, please feel free to contact me!

Another objective with pesticideinformation.eu is to bring the pesticide industry out from behind those factory walls and feel the ‘breeze’ of public opinion. It’s a way of showing them the conversation taking place online, direct from critics, the misinformed, opinion leaders or previously unknown allies, so it’s also an internal communication exercise. My industry is quietly proud of it products and their contribution to Europe’s sustainable food supply. I’d be overjoyed if they starting blogging too to explain in everyday language why they are happy to work for the industry, because they have an important and honest story to tell. That goal will take a bit more time and I am currently concentrating on recruiting non-industry content providers.

Not only is there a blog on topical issues, we also have incoming news feeds with unmonitored positive, neutral and negative pesticide news and comment. We have a Delicious plug-in so I can tag good quality news articles and blogs with simple key words as they get published. This is to help visitors read up on subjects connected to pesticides and make an informed opinion for themselves, rather than be unnecessary worried by yet another ‘pesticide porn’ story… you know the kind, cancerous pesticides found in wine, NGOs just forget to add that even after drinking 200 litres of wine in one go, it’s completely safe….. from pesticides residues anyway!

Who are you aiming to reach with your blog?

The site is aimed at key stakeholders involved in the reform of the European pesticide legislation, so journalists and bloggers, EU legislators including politicians, farmer groups, our critics, our supporters and the concerned general public, plus industry itself.

What advantages do you feel a blog gives you vs. other forms of communication with those audiences?

Blogging isn’t filtered like press releases. The blog is published and then picked up by RSS feeds and search engines, whereas press releases have to first arrive at the right email address, it has to interest the journalist within a nanosecond before he clicks on the delete button, you have that calling courtship with the journalist and the stress of if/when he’s going to publish something. In the meantime, journalists are researching their topics by going online and reading blogs and even quoting bloggers and adding blog links in their final article. How cool is that? All forms of communication are necessary but I think good quality blogs are a very useful tool in the mix.

Because I believe blogging isn’t taken seriously by the vast majority of people, right now I’m quietly doing what I want, without any interference. Don’t get me wrong, the concept was approved first by all the key people but I think the attitude was ‘we can’t ignore the web any longer so as long as someone is doing something in that area and it doesn’t cause me extra work, let’s do it’. I guess the day I get orders for my blog entries to be approved first will be an extremely frustrating day, but it will also show that there’s an increased respect and understanding of the power of blogging. So I have much more freedom to highlight issues than the normal communications people do. Another advantage is that any blog entry is an opinion, it doesn’t make it fact and it can be challenged. The amazing thing I’m seeing online is that the traditional voices of opinion leaders, journalists, and marketers are being questioned by individuals immediately, because they can. Either by using the comment function that all self-respecting newspapers and bloggers offer or by writing their own blog. If somebody important says something unacceptable, it’s not just a question of ranting about it to a friend in the pub or being a captive audience to the enraged taxi driver, they can get online and state their case to potentially millions. That’s really useful feedback, very quickly, like never before.

What reactions have you had to your blog so far?

If I have had any reaction (meaning I haven’t had much), it’s been 99% positive. I sent an email to the internal network of about 1000 people to introduce the blog about 4 weeks after it was launched, and I received practically no feedback from the Europeans and only positive support from the rest of the world. However when I’m walking around the office I can sometimes hear my blog videos being played, which is reassuring. Blogging and creating imperfect videos is changing the traditions of communication and will take time for my own colleagues to feel more at ease with it, but between you and me, I think they see the potential.

Before the launch those in the know were concerned that I’d get a deluge of comments and I’d be overwhelmed and wouldn’t be able to respond to them. I’ve had one comment so far and a couple of questions in two months. Also there was concern that I wasn’t prepared with carefully scripted messages to respond to comments, which I haven’t done, I just WANT comments please! But seriously I’m trying to build a conversation and a central point where someone can go to read up on the subject and get a balanced view, the site would lose all authenticity if I feed in ECPA messages.

How is your blog content different from your website, or the press release or news section or standard brochures you produce?

The entries are quick, relaxed pieces of information that traditionally I would have sent in an email to a handful of interested contacts, a ‘have you seen this?’ piece of information. Blog entries are responding to existing content or events ‘out there’ whereas the other communication materials are representing industry’s view and are creating news. Pesticideinformation.eu blog might comment and link to a press release issued by ECPA but only if I can also link to another release or report giving another view to balance the coverage. However my aim with other guest bloggers is for them to write short, relaxed opinion pieces.

What is the biggest challenge you’ve faced so far and how did you overcome it?

The first was to get internal support from colleagues who didn’t see how a blogging website could have any benefit to their work. However it was our member companies who all supported the need for web communications and supported the idea of being transparent and showing a combination of negative and positive information on pesticides mixed with a relaxed communication style. So resistance very quickly died down and I got on with it, knowing that I had to make it work to convince the silent non-supporters. The second biggest challenge was knowing what to write in the first blog entry. It was like your first ever kiss…you kinda’ got yourself into this awkward spot and now you just need to get it over with as quickly as possible. Post the first entry (no pun intended!) you realize it’s not so shocking or amazing… but you do feel life as you know it has changed forever .

What would be your recommendation for other similar trade associations or companies that are thinking of creating their own blog?

Stop thinking, sell the benefits to the boss and get one going. Why not start with BlogActiv.eu? It’s quick and easy to set up an account or ask BlogActiv to give you a training session. Second, have one person quietly writing the blogs for few months before you announce it to the world and your members. Then work on building a team of bloggers who write regular entries so it’s not just left to one person. Blog entries can be short and simple i.e. “I’ve just read a really good article on the wonders of new nappy technology by A Wipe”, add a couple of the key points from the nappy article and link to it. It can be that simple and inoffensive. Have a short but good blog title and register your blog with Technorati. You’ll start appearing in RSS feeds of all those people interested in your issues.

How much time and resources do you invest in the blog? (or ideally, how much would you like to…?)

I am being helped by online marketing agency, ZN, who are advising and guiding me through the process of developing an online strategy for pesticideinformation.eu. So together we spend time each week developing the site, adding new tools and planning next steps. Between us we probably spend in man hours 2 – 3 days a week. Ideally I would like personally to spend five days a week working on this project as it needs time and energy to grow the space we occupy online. But if you are talking about blog entries themselves, once I have come across something online that I think is worth giving a mention then an entry typically takes about 5 – 10 minutes to write and another couple of minutes to upload. I’m doing between 1 and 3 entries a week. We have also interviewed scientists and recorded press conferences which is great blog material but takes a lot more time. One hard lesson from this exercise is that I’m a terrible interviewer.

Can you give us an example of how your blog has resulted in a “real-life” outcome?

Gosh I’d love to say something that makes it all worthwhile, but after a couple of months in the game, I can only report minor victories… the site has been listed with key articles reporting on pesticide legislation on EurActiv as a resource for further information, above links to our opponents which is rare. We are getting visits from the Commission (source: Google Analytics), apparently the site has been quoted in the British press, I have possibly attracted my first guest blogger previously unknown to us, Fleishman Hillard has noticed the blog and thought it worthy of a blog entry and I still had a job when this was posted.

Your favorite blogs?

Apart from this one James, right?!…. CABI blogs – “Hand picked… and carefully sorted” it’s a science and research blog with entries written by a ‘handful of carefully sorted’ experts on a broad range of environmental issues. One of the bloggers adds an entry each week, so probably each person is doing one on a monthly basis. It’s written in everyday language, with a sense of humour which I need and it’s good quality information. Their blog is what I would like to aspire to for pesticideinformation.eu. I love the title of their blog and was trying to think of something equally clever for ECPA’s forthcoming blog.. but I could only think of “Safe, when used correctly” or “Read the label” or “As little as possible but as much as necessary” which don’t quite do it. So any good ideas, there’s a bottle of champagne chilling for the best one.

All other blogs I pick up via my iGoogle home page. I haven’t found a personal favourite blog that consistently holds my attention. I have a few RSS readers searching on keywords in blogs, but generally the ones I get forwarded by friends and colleagues by old fashioned email are the best.

What are your future plans for your online communications? Should we expect to see some ECPA twitter soon?

I first want to launch ECPA’s new public site. It’s currently undergoing a personality change, away from the brochure online concept to having a blog as the central feature and offer it to all colleagues and allies to use. We’ve already got a YouTube channel, a Netvibes dash board, Delicious tags, RSS feeds and an online poll running with the pesticide blog. We’re also advertising on Google. So twitter, I can see a huge potential for internal twittering with members but that might just be one step too far for them right now. I’m happy to introduce any web tool or social networking function that I believe could benefit our overall objectives, but if they don’t actually work then it’s just as easy to stop using them.