7 Tips to Improve Your Local Government Communications Strategy

We all get wrapped up in the day-to-day minutiae of our jobs. It’s hard to find the mental bandwidth needed to write with a resident-focused mindset when you’re trying to juggle board meetings with data analysis with finding information for your boss… all while your kid screams from the other room.

But that doesn’t mean we should let resident communications fall to the end of our to-do list. After all, we chose to be public servants for a reason: to serve our community. And we can’t do that successfully if we aren’t communicating effectively.

There are a few things to remember when it comes to crafting an effective local government communication strategy. In particular, you want to use resident-focused writing.

So, how do you do that? Let’s find out.

Resident-Focused Writing as a Local Government Communications Strategy

Resident-focused writing increases your organization’s reach. The more people you’re able to connect with, the better able you are to understand and meet a community’s needs.

The techniques listed below offer some guidance on connecting with your community’s residents through the written word.

Avoid (or Define) Jargon

You’re listening to a City Council meeting and hear the following words:

• General Fund
• Annexation
• Business Improvement District

What do each of these words have in common?

Nothing! Well, besides the fact that they’re probably meaningless to your average resident (and maybe even your local government co-workers listening in from other departments).

When you can avoid using jargon, you should. Doing so immediately makes the information you share more meaningful to residents, and probably your Board as well.

Of course, it’s impossible to entirely avoid using jargon. It would be very difficult to discuss local government budgeting without referencing the General Fund.

But that doesn’t mean you should place the onus of defining these technical terms on your residents. They’re busy, too.

So what do you do?

One option is to include a glossary of key terms somewhere in your report. Alternatively, you can create and place a one-pager on your website to serve as a quick reference for viewers as they navigate through pages. Be sure to print out this one-pager for in-person meetings.

Additionally, you can check out the Federal Government’s plain language guide (as well as certain state governments, like Washington and Oregon) to help you write more clearly.

Highlight Key Take-Aways

Everyone’s been in a situation where they had to sift through a bunch of irrelevant details to find the information they were looking for.

(I’m looking at you, recipe bloggers.)

People like to skim for information. Nobody wants to spend five minutes trying to find out the current property tax rate or when the new bus stop is going up.

So when you’re working on your local government communications strategy, put your big take-aways front-and-center. These should be the first things you highlight.

And when you’re using these takeaways?

• Use bullets.
• Or numbered lists.
• And even tables.

Residents, elected officials, and fellow government administrators will thank you for not making them read through numerous pages to find the information they need.

Provide Examples

Most of the time, you won’t be able to avoid having some level of technicality in your reports. You’re trying to make data-driven decisions and need to be able to provide support for the different options available to your elected officials.

But that doesn’t mean you can’t also put things into context.

For example, which of the following is more meaningful?

1. The property tax rate is 55.17 cents per $100 of assessed value.

OR

2. For the median house value of $233,927, a property tax bill will be about $1,291 per year.

The first example is essentially meaningless for your average resident. Does this mean they have to pay 55 cents a year? That doesn’t make sense… but then how much do they owe?

The second option clearly states what an estimated property tax bill would be for a house valued at $233,927.

Providing information in this way immediately establishes context and allows residents to estimate whether their bill would be higher or lower than the example given.

Much easier to understand!

Use Inclusive Language

Using inclusive language is perhaps one of the most important things to take into consideration when you’re using resident-focused writing as part of your local government communications strategy.

One of the easiest ways you can do this is to stop using the word “citizen.”

Why?

Because about 10.5 million to 12 million residents of the United States are not currently considered citizens, despite making significant economic and social contributions to their communities.

By using the word resident instead of using citizen, you make about 3% of your population feel more included in your local government organization.

Similarly, using LGTBQ+ inclusive language is a way to uphold basic human rights and demonstrate that your organization is committed to promoting the health, prosperity, and well-being of all community members.

Hire a Translator

Alright, so I’m going to get a little hypocritical here, but bear with me. My budget’s tight as a new freelancer and I can’t afford to translate my work.

But you should.

It’s part of being inclusive to all of your residents.

Do a bit of research and figure out what the common languages in your community are. This may include Spanish, Chinese, Arabic, or Burmese, just to name a few.

And it goes without saying that if you’re planning a public event, you should seek to have an interpreter available as well.

Don’t forget to advertise your public engagement events in the languages for which you plan on providing interpretation.

How else are residents who don’t read English going to know there’s interpretation available (or even know what the event is in the first place)?

Capitalize on Multiple Communication Outlets

One of the (few) good things the pandemic brought us was the ability to do work virtually. Holding virtual events makes meetings more accessible to some, especially working parents or community members who don’t have reliable transportation

Of course, virtual meetings aren’t the be-all-end-all since many Americans don’t have access to a computer or internet.

As such, part of a good local government communication strategy is diversifying your communication outlets. This might mean you use any of the following (and more!) to get your message out:

• Fliers
• Social media
• Newsletters
• Local newspapers
• Posters
• Virtual and in-person events
• Tabling

The more communication channels you use, the more likely you are to reach a wide array of people. This means that rather than hearing the same five voices over and over again, you can hear from new people.

Put another way, diversifying your communication outlets diversifies the feedback you receive.

Make Your Intentions Clear

The last thing you want to do is lose the trust of the people you’re serving. Many people are already distrustful of government entities. As an ethical public administrator, there’s no excuse to give people more reason to distrust you.

That means you need to make it very clear what the ultimate goal of your communication is. Without transparency, residents will draw their own conclusions about your intentions.

And you need to know what your intended outcomes are before you even start planning your communication because this will determine the overall strategy you use.

Some key questions to ask yourself while developing your local government communications strategy are listed below:

• Are you trying to simply share information?
• Are you requesting feedback?
• If requesting feedback, who will synthesize this information?
• How will you report back to residents how you used their feedback?

It pays to do your homework in advance. Doing so reduces the likelihood that you’ll choose a strategy that won’t actually support the intent of your communication.

Once you’ve gotten clear on your intentions, you can consider how the different communication channels listed in the previous point can help you achieve your desired impact.

Wrap-Up

Using resident-focused writing is a great way to take your local government communications strategy to the next level.

Focusing on things like avoiding jargon, providing examples, and using inclusive language facilitates more voices getting involved in local government.

And when you make it easier for residents to understand the programs, projects, and initiatives you’re working on, you amplify the impact your work has on the community.

It’s a win-win for everyone involved, so why not get started right away?