Hello everyone and welcome back.
2024. Hold on to your hats. It will be a huge year in government and public sector communication.
Here in Australia, there has been a sharp increase in the number and capability of Federal, State and Local governments engaging in the content game. I know it’s the same all over the world. As voters take to their phones for hours on end every day, the staffing composition of Minister’s offices is tilting to look more like a small media operation with healthy allocations to content and communication skills. Elected officials know that the battle for votes is the same battle for time and attention on the small screens of our phones. It will be interesting to watch the innovation to see who gets it right and who gets it wrong.
There are at least 64 elections heading our way across the globe in 2024.
That, my friends, is a lot of content.
Do people prefer content made by Artificial Intelligence (AI)?
Now this is not something I thought I would be reporting on so early in 2024 but BuzzFeed’s Earnings Call had a frightening statistic. Or at least frightening to me.
“In Q3, audience traffic to our original AI content was more than 60% higher relative to our non-AI content. And both page views and time spent with our AI content grew versus Q2’’.
BuzzFeed CEO, Jonah Peretti.
Setting aside the dumpster fire that is BuzzFeed’s financials, it is still a significant platform with huge global audiences. The fact that their original AI content is lapping their non-AI content is both a surprise to me and a “Yikes’’ moment. As I said, “hold on to your hats’’. Things are about to get real.
And for those of you with an interest in BuzzFeed’s content strategy, which should be all of you, here is the link to the transcript for the rest of the call.
Never been to Davos. Have you?
Do I want to go to Davos? Maybe one day, but it looks cold, and I do like my January’s in Australia at the beach. But I always pay attention.
First, a big shout-out to the content team at the World Economic Forum. The program and the speakers are always impressive. The content is ungated. You can do the background reading and watch the show at your own place. It’s a gift. Thanks. So, carve out a bit of time people and go exploring. There is a lot to discover at the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting 2024.
This year’s theme was ‘Rebuilding Trust’. Interesting right? The global temperature has been taken and that’s where the good people at the World Economic Forum think we are.
The 54th Annual Meeting provided “a crucial space to focus on the fundamental principles driving trust including transparency, consistency and accountability’’. So, what does that mean for government communication? As it turns out, everything.
It reads like a line from the advice we give to our government clients for their content marketing strategies. Trust is a product of doing what you say you are going to do. A product of people understanding the problem or opportunity that your policy, program, service, or regulation is addressing. Content is the sherpa for that task. The need for content will continue to grow exponentially as voters seek those explanations and understanding from government faster.
It’s a big opportunity and will mean in-house capability in government departments and agencies must continue to grow and mature. It is no longer an outsourced service. Yes, there is a role for advisers, but content marketing is a muscle that needs to be exercised.
