Why is Your Library Suddenly Interested in a 90’s Cartoon?

It’s 4pm on a Tuesday afternoon at the City of Kwinana. I’m on my third double shot espresso and I’m scurrying to meet a press deadline. Time is not on my side and distractions are most unwelcome.

So when a colleague, the Manager of our community library, interrupts my frenzied typing to ask me about little monsters called Pokémon, and puts in a request for a Facebook post, you might expect I’d react poorly.

Not the case.

It didn't take long for the memes to roll in.

As a Public Relations practitioner, my job is to anticipate and respond to social trends and use them to the advantage of my employer and our publics.

So the explosion of new smartphone app Pokemon Go, with its focus on local landmarks, is a clear opportunity for local government, with our myriad facilities (think parks, artworks, community centres and the like) at constant need of a sustainable draw-card.

If you’ve been living under a rock for the past two weeks, there are countless articles explaining the Pokemon Go phenomenon.

For a Public Relations practitioner it presents a clear leverage opportunity, but also a degree of uncertainty. Jump too early and risk not fully considering the safety and reputational impacts. Jump too late and miss the small window of social relevancy. It’s a fine line made finer by the immediacy of social networks.

Something as simple as a Facebook Post can conjure dozens of questions:

Does the post align with the existing and desired audience?

Just because something is trendy, doesn’t mean it is audience appropriate.

How will micro audiences react?

While the majority may react positively, you must consider if a small segment will be adversely affected. Maybe local businesses are finding the Pokemon craze more a hindrance than a help.

When should I post?

Should I try and compete during high traffic windows, or post at quieter times when competition is lower? When is the audience for this not just active, but likely to interact?

How should I post?

What combination of text, image, video and links should be used?

Tools to the rescue

Social media management is both an art and a science - at the same type bursting with creativity and technicality. At the City of Kwinana we utilise a range of tools to ensure professional and effective outcomes.

• Sprout Social – Our weapon of choice for day-to-day monitoring, responding, scheduling and reporting.
• Bitly – For all of our link shortening needs (via a custom domain – kwin.city).
• Pablo – For easy image resizing.
• ShortStack – For when we want to run a contest or competition.
• Trello and Todoist - For task and project management.
• Zapier – For automation of every kind. The efficiency gains possible will surprise you! (check out IFTTT for a free, but still brilliant, alternative).
• Snip.ly – A nifty tool for more engaging links.

Tools are great support mechanisms however I could list all the websites in the world for the rest of this blog, but they mean nothing without the knowledge to back it up. Only a skilled digital copywriter who understands the industry at play, the audience being targeted, and any influencing environmental factors, will achieve great results.

The result?

73 likes, 55 comments, 33 shares and 12,000 views.

The post was made just before 5pm to catch those heading into the City Centre after work and school and a question was posed about what Pokemon had been spotted around the City. This resulted in an immediate and ongoing response from followers.

The key takeaway from this post? Communication is equal planning and responding. By being flexible with your comms you can avoid costly mistakes and take advantage of trending topics.

Oh and if you were still wondering, I did meet that original press deadline (from my intro) – but chose to omit the reason for the delay. We can’t have our journo friends thinking Pikachu comes first.

Til next time...
Rhys