Public affairs and its digital future

By Dan Atkinson

It's true that parliament and its members are not often considered to be at the forefront of the "white heat of technology". However we are now in a digital age, with online video audiences on the rise and expected to double to 1.5 billion people by 2016. The average person spends 16 hours per month watching videos online, and this is being mirrored in the Houses of Parliament.

Digital channels are increasingly opening up for public affairs professionals to influence political stakeholders. YouTube is now one of the most visited sites on the parliamentary estate and research has shown that the first thing most political professionals do when they come to a new issue is Google it. 

Of course, face to face meetings remain the most effective way of getting your message to stakeholders, but as the digital channel offers new lines of communication if you are not taking advantage of it, it is likely that your competitors are.

Parliamentarians often act on information provided by their researchers, on an issue raised by their constituents - so don't just target the MP. Peers, researchers, other political employees and politically interested members of the public are also relevant.

The best way to engage with these disparate and time poor individuals is through engaging digital communications. A survey of those who have used video in email campaigns found that 82 per cent said it proved effective. Sixty per cent confirmed that video email improves conversations on their key issues.

While working in Parliament I remember dealing with postcard campaigns on a whole range of issues. To the uninitiated this involves constituents sending pre-printed postcards campaigning for or against something to their local MP.

The MP's researcher will then pile these postcards in the corner until they reach a critical mass and letters of response need to be written. These campaigns do little to engage the parliamentary office with the debate; little information is given and it is not always easy to find the campaign web addresses.

By contrast the benefit of an online campaign is that links can be embedded in the emails, tweets and Facebook posts taking the viewer to campaign videos at a click, providing up-to-date news and engaging content on the subject.
 
So, don’t get left behind thinking “I meet with the Minister regularly, why widen the campaign?” Often political narratives are driven by MPs acting on prompts from their politically interested constituents and information provided by researcher.

Similarly, don't fall into the trap of thinking "MPs are too old and grey to be affected by digital campaigns". A study by the PICT found MPs benefited from using tablets and the most visited external website on computers from within the parliamentary estate is none other than Facebook.

For more information on video, animation and infographics for public affairs campaigns by VoiceOver call 020 7517 2225 or visit www.politics.co.uk/voiceover