Maximizing Video for External Government Communications

Using Video for External Government Communications to Connect to the Community

Recent disruptions in our community have reminded us how important external government communications are for building unity and keeping constituencies informed. At home and across the globe, communities have experienced challenges that require fast and ongoing support from government, so it is crucial that our communications instill confidence and trust.

Citizen demand for timely public sector messages has led to a significant increase in the use of video. Livestreaming and video on demand have both been used by government communications to share important information with the community at large. Eliminating the need to drip feed information down through internal departments, video allows government teams to deliver a consistent message directly to citizens, particularly in situations that require frequent updates.

For the NSW (New South Wales) Department of Education in Australia, video played an increasingly critical role in their communications strategy in 2020. Using video to livestream important messages to 2,200 schools and the wider school community to keep them up to date, the department was able to deliver information to all staff, parents, and students quickly and accurately.

And for schools across NSW, the “Schools Video” initiative has made video a central component of how they tell their own stories and those of their students. Leveraging user-generated content created by students and staff, schools across the state can tell authentic stories and share experiences by creating video content and distributing it via their website, social, and internal channels.

Other government agencies are using video to create greater transparency for official activities, with many local, state, and federal departments livestreaming meetings, posting video on their social media channels, and relying on it for community outreach.

With the future of government focused on putting constituents first and delivering services that are easily accessible across all the platforms in common use, now is the time for public sector agencies to embrace video as a cornerstone of effective communications with the people they serve.