I don't know about you but I think that one of the easiest (bad) habits to fall into as a comms person is that of jumping both feet first into the next project without taking adequate time out to 'think it through.'
Yes, we all know the theory and yes we all know the importance and yes when it really matters of course we think it through. But with busy workloads, greater demands and the need to pull comms rabbits out of problematic organisational hats it's extremely easy to underplay thinking and planning time. And worse still, it's easy not to ask the customer what they actually want.
And so this week, when I attended my first LGcommunications national executive meeting in Blackpool, I was asked to pull together a seminar on digital engagement I immediately began pulling together ideas and scribbling notes about the format and content of the event.
I've been involved in a few of these types of events these past 12 months and so I could (incorrectly) think that I have all of the answers.
So, I thought about it some more today and decided that actually it would be far more beneficial to ask folk what a seminar on digital engagement should include.
So, here goes, I'm keen to get your views on...
- What would get you to a seminar on digital engagement?
- What would like to hear about and discuss?
- Who would you like to hear talk - which organisations inspire you?
- Who would you like to grill on their approach?
- Who has effectively mainstreamed social media into their key customer contact channels?
- Have we got digital engagement cracked in terms of emergency planning?
- What are the next challenges for us all to overcome?
- How far would you travel to get to such a seminar?
- What format do you prefer - powerpoint-led, unconference-style, or a mix of the two?
- and, do we need more or less of these seminars?
Answers not on a postcard, thanks.
p.s. The seminar is being held on 30 January at the brilliant new Manchester Metropolitan University campus.
Darren Caveney is co-creator of comms2point0 and vice chair of LGComms
photo by me