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It's Time for Government to Take a Fresh Look at Social Media Strategy
Meta has started charging Facebook Pages to post links, and LinkedIn still penalizes links, with organization pages hit hardest. What the platform changes mean for government communicators: the four options worth putting on the table, how to make social work with no budget, and why the channels you own matter more than ever.
What to Do When the Comments Section Becomes the Story
Sometimes the post isn't the problem — the response is. When your comments section spirals, here's how to regain control without making it worse.
Writing Holding Statements That Buy You Time Without Making Things Worse
A practical guide to writing holding statements with five templates you can adapt — because the first statement sets the tone for everything that follows.
The Briefing Your Newly Elected Officials Actually Need
New officials take office in January carrying campaign instincts and no idea how government communication works, and you get to clean up after their first bad post. Four things to brief them on before the swearing-in.
December Is the Best Month for the Stories You Keep Sitting On
Local newsrooms are thinnest in December and residents are paying the most attention, which makes the explainers and people stories you keep sitting on suddenly publishable. Build the five-week calendar now, and keep your release discipline.
Public Records in the AI Era
Your team's AI use is creating records right now, and sooner or later a records request will come for them. What may count as a record, the policy questions leadership has not answered yet, and an AI-use policy checklist you can adapt.
Five Conversations to Have Before January
Before the new year resets everything, here are five conversations government communicators should have with leadership — now, while there's still time to act.
The One-Page Year in Review
December is the one time of year leadership and residents actually want to hear what communications did all year. The one-page format that shows your work — what changed, numbers you can defend, what you fixed, and what is next year's problem.
What AI Already Says About Your Organization
Residents are asking chatbots about your organization before they ever visit your website — and the answers may be stale, wrong, or pulled from a three-year-old news story. A five-prompt audit you can run this week, plus the fixes that matter most.
When You're the One Who Needs a Backup Plan
Solo communicators carry the entire operation on their shoulders. What happens when you're the one who gets sick, burned out, or needs to be away — and how to build a plan before you need it.