Citizens’ and communicators’ engagement faced with technological innovations : challenges and opportunities

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Challenges & opportunities
6 digital Trends for Professional Public
Communicators to Watch in 2022
Susanne Weber
Federal Chancellery
Toulouse, 17 February 2022

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1. More video, please
• Video viewing will account for 82% of all inernet traffic in 2022 (Streaming Media).
• As virtual and augmented reality become a reality, video is becoming the
predominant form of communication for public communicators and citizens alike.
• Action Step: The use of video by all types of organizations to communicate news
and information will accelerate in 2022 and beyond. As you develop a written
piece of communication (a news release, an article, a letter), is there a way of
communicating that same information through video? Invest in videographers,
editors and producers to accelerate the use of video.
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2. Invest in digital content to earn attention
• According to a study, about 80% of citizens get their news digitally — from a digital
news site, through a search engine, social media or a podcast (Pew Research
Center).
• Because of COVID, public institutions have figured out the value of digital
communication and marketing and are getting smarter about how we use digital
content in awareness and lead generation. Blogs are becoming replaced by
podcasts. Virtual events are not going away anytime soon (despite pandemic Zoom
fatigue…).
• Action Step: In an all-digital world, it will be more important than ever for
communicators to invest in the development of high-quality, authentic and
relevant content that engages their respective audiences. One size fits all
communications continues to fail (-> personalized messaging/content).
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3. The rediscovery of newsletters
• The real action is in newsletters.
• Example: The New York Times has nore than 70 newsletters. Readers opened more
than 3.6 billion newsletter emails in 2020 — a 150% increase over 2019 (DigiDay).
• The power of newsletters to reach specific audiences or to boost the influence of
their writers results in an avalanche of launches.
• Action Step: This trend is likely to continue going into 2022. Public communicators
may want to consider offering a newsletter to engage citizens and stakeholders.
The future for all organizations is owning your owned media — and building a
system to consistently develop and distribute high quality content that meets the
information needs of the relevant target groups.
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Newsletter for „Regional and Local EU Councillors“ in Austria
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4. A continued focus on security and IT skills
• Potential security holes caused by weaknesses in remote networks have not gone
unnoticed or untested by cybercriminals. Investing in security must be a top
priority for communicators. Solving this problem will require IT specialists.
• Example: Social media experts are becoming increasingly specialized in fields like
data analysis, user research, programming.
• Action step: Public institutions have to address the IT skills gap and look beyond
recruitment and invest in training employees (training programmes for new hires
or reskill existing employees). Developing partnerships with academic institutions
at all levels could be an important step.
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5. Cyberbullying, online hate speech is on the rise
• Cyberbullying and online hate speech have increased during the pandemic. 17% of
young Austrians have become victims of cyberbullying (study by Safer Internet
Austria). Hate Speech on Facebook and Instagram quadrupled in 2020, leading to
the removal of 22.5 million posts on Facebook and 3.3 million posts on Instagram
in the second quarter of 2020 alone.
• The Internet's speed and reach makes it difficult for governments to enforce
national legislation in the virtual world. Social media is a private space for public
expression, which makes it difficult for regulators.
• Action step: Education (media and information literacy) is key to prevent hate
speech (objectives: raising awareness on the rights of individuals and groups;
enabling individuals and institutions to counteract messages of hatred). One of the
current challenges is adapting goals and strategies to the digital world, providing
not only argumentative but also technological knowledge and skills.
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6. The power of TikTok
• In 2021, TikTok has contributed to a rise in influencer marketing, leading brands to
use TikTok content creators to market their products. As a result, we’ve seen new
food and cultural trends, like the feta pasta fad which led to a feta cheese shortage
in grocery stores. TikTok is fully reliant on AI and while Instagram, for example,
uses AI as a tool, TikTok is AI.
• This trend will continue into 2022 because not only does TikTok capture people’s
attention, particularly Gen Z.
• Action step: For the Austrian Armed Forces (Bundesheer), Tik Tok is the most
followed and most watched social media channel regarding employer marketing
activities. Public communicators should consider different options for using TikTok,
such as creating videos to watch or creating challenges, contests or giveaways to
engage their target audiences.
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„Youth internet monitor“ 2021 (Austria)
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Thank you for your attention!
Susanne Weber
Federal Chancellery
Head of Unit I/11/b
susanne.weber@bka.gv.at