Social media case study – Convergence Partnership in Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly
Introduction
The role of the Convergence Partnership Office for Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly is to undertake communications and public relations for the ESF and European Regional Development Fund Convergence Programmes – and to provide links between and within the Programmes.
In Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly, the move from the Objective One programme to the Convergence programme triggered, in late 2008, a re-branding exercise with an associated new graphical language and new website.
This included a look at social media both as a mechanism for more outward looking electronic communication and as a channel to reach a new younger, more IT literate demographic.
How social media is used
In Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly Isles:
- Twitter is used for nudging people about events, pointing people to media releases, media coverage and new website content. We also point to wider events, beyond Convergence, that have or are likely to have an effect on delivery of EU funding in Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly.
- Flickr is used for sharing photos of Convergence investments, case studies, events and award winners, and we link new photo postings to our Twitter feed.
- Individual team members include the Convergence website, RSS feeds and Twitter as part of their own internet profile.
- Facebook and similar media are not being used as we felt they were too social and didn’t fit with our brand values for the communication of Convergence in Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly.
Explanation
We decided on a phased approach to the use of social media. The new website, launched late 2008, incorporated the tried and tested RSS (really simple syndication) feeds. We use three different ones, with different content. RSS is a web feed used to publish frequently updated works such as blogs, news headlines, website updates.
On taking advice we decided to try the relatively new Twitter, going live in June 2009.
We now also use Flickr (from April 2010) and share this that allows for social book-marking and the building of personal meta-data groups.
Although the Partnership Office does not use Facebook and similar social media, some partners and Convergence investments do, but with much more of a marketing focus.
Lessons learned
The Convergence Partnership Office moved into social media as a deliberate part of the brand and communication strategy – looking for new channels of digital communication.
Our approach has evolved with use and experience and we have stepped beyond our initial platform – but always guided by and adding value to the brand strategy and communication plan. We have also discovered new communities of interest related to Convergence – on Twitter, on Facebook, on blogs – all growing our understanding of how others see the programmes.
For us the biggest first step was one of language trying to be friendly, serious and motivational all at the same time.
Would we now go back to not using social media? Certainly not!
What will be next?
Certainly making what we do now work harder – linking and inter-linking the website to Twitter, Flickr, and the html Convergence newsletter.
The greater use of video; perhaps a blog and user generated content (UGC) perhaps initially focussed on an event.
More information
Visit us at: www.convergencecornwall.com
Follow us:
On Twitter – http://twitter.com/#!/convergencenews/
On Flickr – www.flickr.com/photos/convergencenews/
This case study was provided by Mark Yeoman from the Convergence Partnership Office.