Within minutes of the news that Verizon had acquired AOL for its digital ad platforms, a friend of a friend on Facebook joked: “They should have acquired a customer service company instead.” Her comment hit a basic truth: We live in the era of the empowered customer. It’s hard to overlook years of notoriously bad customer satisfaction ratings.
Public opinion matters. Facebook grew to 1.4 billion active users worldwide by remaining focused on giving users what they want. By empowering its users, Facebook put itself in the position to persuade nine traditional news outlets to test publishing as “instant articles” directly on Facebook. I didn’t notice anyone smirk when the ever-helpful Google announced its competing high-speed broadband and wireless services.
Genuine Connection Can Change the World
Vinay Chawla, Director of Digital Engagement for the U.S. State Department understands the potential for using social media as an influential tool for governing and diplomacy. He observes:
Interacting and engaging in the public realm has transformed. A government’s delivery isn’t always about the transfer of goods and services. In the 21st Century, it might principally be about being heard by the people in charge and what that really affords an ordinary citizen.
Digital Strategy Meets International Relations
Structuring a productive dialogue takes some creativity, but it’s worth it to avoid alienating people by crossing the line into propaganda. Here’s how the State Department handled it when President Obama instructed the Secretary of State to make a case for taking action on Syria to Congress and the American People:
It was 2013 and Vinay’s team convinced Secretary Kerry to engage the country in a conversation on Google Hangouts, rather than holding forth on the Sunday news shows. Here’s why and how it worked:
- It was objective. The Hangout consisted of three diverse sources to field incoming public questions and ask their own. One was a high school teacher who represented the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum and a new citizen group of high school teachers. The second, was humanitarian writer, Lara Setrakian, who runs a website called Syria Deeply. The third was Nicholas Kristof, an op-ed columnist for the New York Times.
- It was independent. The Administration agreed to Nicholas Kristof’s request that the Google Hangout be held on his personal Google+ page, not the State Department’s.
- It inspired traditional journalism. The New York Times tweeted the event to nine million followers, ran a video of it on its homepage, and wrote an article about it. So did the Associated Press and a few other traditional sources.
- It was supported by social media. When the State Department told Google about the event, the company put it on its Google.com home page as a video and invited RSVPs. Within 48 hours, the link had gotten 250,000 views.
In the end, it was a successful conversation on social media with moderated questions from the public. The State Department has over 300 social media accounts for all of its embassies and consulates. Its staff is learning to tell better stories using photos, video, audio, and enhanced texts.
Facebook Is Listening and Looking to Help
In 2013, Facebook tapped employee, Katie Harbath to run a global politics and government outreach team in Washington, DC. She recently addressed a full house of 60+ influencers, including representatives from nearly 20 embassies, at the 2nd Annual Digital Diplomacy Dialogue: Culture, Innovation & Development -- Beyond the Hashtags. The Diplomacy Matters Institute organized it, and Facebook was a major sponsor. She told the crowd:
The 2012 election was the first time we saw Facebook really being used by candidates and people wanting to talk with their friends and family about [political] issues. Last year, the third-biggest event on Facebook globally, behind only the World Cup and the Ebola crisis was Brazil’s election with 674 million interactions.