Top social media tips for public sector engagement that actually work

Engaging with your communities is one of the most important jobs for any public sector comms professional. How do you get the correct information to them, and more importantly, how do you get their feedback? 

To help in answering those questions, our very own Customer Success Director, Richard Shilton, was joined by Ariana Donley and Kristy Dalton from Government Social Media (GSM) to share actionable insights on how public sector comms teams can move past “broadcasting” and start building real community trust.

We’ve broken down exactly what they said, question by question so you can dig into their top tips for social media engagement even more.

Ariana recommended a community engagement strategy. She suggested comms pros spend a few minutes engaging with comments on their organisation’s own content, due to the fact that so much of the algorithm relies on reciprocal engagement. By interacting with your community and other public sector organisations, you signal to the algorithm that you are an active participant, which boosts your discovery.

Kristy suggested focusing on the “helpful share” framework. People share content for three reasons: it’s funny, it’s emotional, or it helps someone they know. Instead of posting a generic safety tip, frame it as: “Do you know someone driving this weekend? Share this safety tip with them.” This small change in phrasing encourages the public to act as an extension of your communications team and can be extremely effective.

Success in the public sector isn’t about vanity metrics like follower counts; it’s about tangible real-world impact. Does your campaign improve things for your communities in real life? Has your safer driving campaign resulted in fewer RTCs, or has your vaccination messaging meant you’ve seen a spike in people coming in for their jabs?

Beyond these offline results, the experts suggest auditing your accounts quarterly. Look for viewer retention rates on videos e.g. are people watching past the first three seconds? They also recommend studying your top-performing posts to find a “formula” you can replicate.

The trap many agencies fall into is trying to please everyone at once. “If you try to appeal to everyone, you won’t engage anyone,” Kristy warned. Instead, you should:

• Find your niche: It’s okay if one post only speaks to small business owners and another only to parents. The algorithm will surface the right content to the right people.
• Platform-specific strategy: Stop “cross-posting” the same content everywhere.
  • Instagram: Use carousels and vertical photos.
  • Facebook: Single images with compelling visuals often outperform graphics.
  • LinkedIn: A great home for long-form “thought leadership” articles.
  • YouTube: The best place for in-depth, long-form educational videos.

The answer is simple. Yes. Relatability is the engine of engagement. The experts highlighted “Engineer Jeff” from the Utah Department of Transportation as a prime example. By featuring a standout personality who isn’t an “elected official,” the agency humanised its brand. People are far more likely to engage with a face they recognise than a faceless government logo.

For “guarded” leadership, use benchmarking. Show them what successful, similar agencies are doing. Data-driven buy-in is the language of leadership.

When dealing with serious topics, use plain English, avoid jargon that creates a barrier between you and the citizen. Ariana suggests being proactive and transparent, for example you could get a member of staff on-scene to record a quick, factual update can build immense trust and prevent the spread of misinformation.

While leadership might find negative comments daunting, disabling them kills your reach. Platforms reward interaction, so if you shut down the conversation, the algorithm will stop showing your posts.

The experts advise leaving comments on but having a clear policy. Focus on removing only “unprotected speech” (threats, malware, obscenity) rather than just “mean” comments. If comments must be disabled for legal reasons, focus on “shareable” content that solves problems, encouraging the community to discuss the post in their own private circles. We’d also recommend knowing the power of a well crafted response which can do wonders for your reputation.

Accessibility shouldn’t be an afterthought. It’s an engagement tool and will help you reach every corner of your community.

• Captions: Most people watch videos on silent. Adding burned-in captions (Open Captions) helps people with hearing impairments and the person scrolling at their desk.
• Alt-text: Describe your images simply.
• Camel case: Capitalise the first letter of each word in a hashtag (e.g., #PublicSectorSuccess) so screen readers can distinguish the words.
• Emojis: Don’t pepper them throughout the text, as it disrupts screen readers. Place them at the end.

Ariana shares three “cheat codes” for trend discovery:

1. TikTok creative centre: Even if your agency isn’t on TikTok, this is where trends start. It’s free to browse.
2. Google trends: Use the “Trending Now” tab to see what people are actually searching for in your local area.
3. The “upward arrow”: On Instagram Reels, look for the small upward arrow next to the audio. This indicates a trending sound.

The golden rule: Never do a trend just for the sake of it. If you can’t tie it back to your organisation’s mission, skip it.

Engagement isn’t about posting more often; it’s about connecting better. By humanising your organisation, embracing transparency, and prioritising the needs of the citizen, you can turn your social media channels from broadcast towers into community hubs.