Social media are becoming increasingly important tools for communicating and interacting with European citizens. Many Commission Representations are present in social media in order to bring the EU closer to its citizens by engaging with them where they are and in a language they understand. We asked Antonia Mochan, Head of Media of The European Commission Representation in the UK, to tell us about their use of social media.
Why and when did you start using social media and how do they fit in your communication strategy?
I started blogging as soon as I began working for the European Commission Representation in London in June 2008. During my Eisenhower Fellowship I kept a blog and found it a really worthwhile experience. So, I discussed blogging with my head of representation who was very keen on it. The main advantage of a blog is that it is a quick and easy way to get to people when the press doesn’t reflect the true situation. For example, if someone reads in a newspaper that the EU wants to ban cake sales, they might want to check if that’s true, google it and come across my blog which gives them the real story (no, the EU isn’t going to ban cake sales).
It was my head of representation (a different one by this time) who suggested I check out Twitter, and I must admit I instantly fell for it. It’s very quick, your message is short and simple (something we’re not always good at here) and it’s a great source of intelligence about the UK and EU political scenes.
The strategy for the use of social media is to engage directly with people, particularly those who have an interest in the EU, such as language, history or citizenship teachers, or university students, in a situation where they might not always get the whole picture from the media.
Which social media platforms do you use and what for?
I blog at euonym.wordpress.com, tweet at @euonymblog (in my own capacity) and @EUlondonrep (for activities of the Representation as a whole), and manage a Facebook page for the European Commission in the UK. We also put videos and pictures on Dailymotion and Flickr respectively.
Who is involved in your social media activities?
Primarily me and a member of my team, though others in the office are beginning to show an interest.
How do you monitor conversations happening in social media?
Twitter is very good for that, as other people highlight conversations going on that I might miss. I use an iPhone application called Byline to read my RSS feeds, which include many key EU and UK blogs and online media. Due to the relationships built by my use of social media, I often get bloggers contacting me to let me know that a particular issue is being discussed.
I haven’t used the Commission’s blog monitoring tool yet. Nik in my team monitors the web daily and other members of the team leave comments on news articles and blogs if we feel it is worthwhile.
How do social media fit in the Commission’s news cycle?
Difficult to say. Really, social media aren’t primarily about news. They are about what people talk about, which might sometimes be news, but might also be other things. One should think of social media as a reception rather than a meeting. It’s worth going to, you make some good contacts, you often get a lot done, but sometimes you talk about tennis or where you are going for your holidays.
Do social media help you “go local” and if so, how?
Absolutely, that’s the primary reason I started using them. Through Twitter I have made contacts with a number of journalists, UK bloggers, NGOs, party activists, etc. that I would have never reached in the same way through more traditional channels.
Does your social media presence have an impact on other Representation’s activities?
Slowly but surely other parts of the Representation are realising that for certain activities social media are one of the best ways of getting out the message.
How has your audience responded to your social media activities?
Well, I think. One of the reasons why I write the blog and tweet in my own capacity rather than as an institution is to humanise what is seen here as a faceless and remote institution. I think I am achieving that, albeit in a fairly limited way at the moment.
What have you learned from using social media?
That the UK is not a hotbed of euroscepticism. There are a lot of people out there who like and support the idea of European unity, and social media are a great way of finding them. I also learned that the human touch can go a long way.
What are your social media plans for the future?
We are working on a website about what the EU does for the average Brit that will incorporate our social media presence. We are also considering a revamp of our culture and education website to make it much more community-oriented by using more social media. We have to move from being an online bookshelf to being an online meeting place.
What would you advise other Commission Representations who are thinking of using social media?
Do it! And do it on the networks where your audience is. You’ll probably get a lot out of it. And find the people in your team who are open to it – if you force it and do it half-heartedly, it’s better not to bother.
Posted by Alenka
