One of the main themes of this year's Gold Mouse Report is that congressional online communications are dominated by one-way messaging that focuses more on the information that offices want constituents to know, rather than providing content that constituents want from their Members of Congress.
Unfortunately, self-promotional practices don't provide much value. Instead, congressional websites and social media should concentrate on being helpful sources of information for constituents and stakeholders. According to our research and others, citizens respond more to help than hype. The idea is to serve and, in doing so, to develop lasting online relationships.1
To accomplish this, offices must return to the principles of strategic communication, presented below as questions to ask yourself. By thoughtfully addressing these five fundamental questions (instead of asking, "How can we get our message out?"), offices can develop a comprehensive communications strategy, and thus, more effective communications with constituents.
Principles for Strategic Communication
1. Who is your audience?
Online audiences include those whom the office wishes to proactively attract, as well as those who will seek information. Those who seek congressional websites include constituents, the general public, reporters, subject matter experts on the Member's or committee's key issues, members of interest groups, students, and educators. To attract specific audiences, an office must define who it wants to target, consider what will interest them, and determine what will keep them returning.
2. What content does your audience want and need?
A congressional website must be an online conduit for the same high-quality information and services the office provides offline. The content that CMF looks for in our evaluations is detailed in the report sections entitled, "Characteristics of Effective Member Websites" and "Characteristics of Effective Committee Websites."
3. How does your audience want to interact with you?
Fostering online interactivity can help a committee or Member office keep their audiences informed; create ongoing relationships that foster loyalty; further the committee's or Member's goals and legislative priorities; and foster a more robust democracy. It can also be a drain on already-stretched staff resources. The key is to manage expectations by being clear about what resources the office can devote and what processes it will use to respond. It should also develop guidelines for interactions so those who communicate understand what to expect in return.
4. How can you make your content easy for your audience to use?
The ease with which visitors can access and use websites can significantly affect its success. Usability is a critical factor for any website, but it is particularly important for a government website because they must be easy for all people to use, regardless of ability, mobility, or device. Elements of usability that are especially important are accessibility to people with disabilities, readability, timeliness, organization, navigation, and appearance.
5. How can you make your content more interesting and valuable to your audience?
After a committee or Member office has done the hard work of creating a rich, robust and helpful experience for visitors and followers, they can focus on how to make it even better through innovations. The best are products of strategic thinking about features, information, and tools that will enhance a user's experience. Offices must be cautious about features that appear "cutting edge" without actually enhancing the content visitors want and need.
1 Baer, Jay. Youtility: Why Smart Marketing is about Help not Hype: Penguin, 2013. "If you create marketing that people genuinely want, you can dispense with the 'shock,' 'awe,' and 'viral' and focus on solving problems, answering questions, and creating long-lasting customer relationships by doing so."
