Join us this week for a special and extended episode of InTransition where we explore the history of contentgroup, where we are today, key highlights for 2017 and what you can expect from us in 2018.

With a rich history in journalism and marketing, David describes the process of starting this company 20 years ago, and why we believe the relationship between government and citizens is so important to improving the well-being of the Australian population.

Talking about the power of effective communication, we hear what happens when communication breaks down between government and people.

For contentgroup this has been a big year, hence this lengthy episode. Below are the topics covered and where you can find them.

• History of contentgroup and how we got where we are today – 00:00
• Our company’s ethos and mission – 13:00
• Why it’s important to work towards strengthening government comms – 15:00
• Using both traditional platforms is still important today – 19:00
• Where the money goes in public vs. private comms 23:00
• The future of communications in the digital age – 26:00
• The story behind our methodology – 33:00
• Highlights and insights from 2017 – 41:00
• Our predictions for 2018! – 46:00

Find contentgroup on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn.

Read more about content on our blog or from our weekly newsletter.

Countries all over the world are slowly working towards building digital governments. While nations such as Estonia and the UK have built digital havens for citizens, other countries around the world are trying to catch up.

Understanding that the transition to digital-first doesn’t just happen overnight, we talk to Brian Lee-Archer, Managing Director at Accenture, about why countries should start investing in an e-upgrade.

According to Brian, there has never been a better time to start working towards taking your government online. It creates transparency, promotes trust in the government and increases citizen engagement.

Discussed in this episode:

• The importance of including measurement and evaluation in your communication strategy
• Why governments need to a higher level of transparency, and how going digital can help
• The dangers of countries using people’s data to track citizen’s
• Understanding the political process is important to keep up with political communications
• E-government isn’t a passing trend; it’s the future
• How governments can create value for their citizens
• The role content plays in the future of digital governments

Find contentgroup on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn.

Read more about content on our blog or from our weekly newsletter.

Jenny Muir is the Chief Council of Primary Communication, an Australian strategic communications agency. As one of Australia’s leading communication professionals, Jennifer shares decades of experience in media relations, government policy development, strategic community and stakeholder engagement, and high level advocacy. Jenny is the National President of the Public Relations Institute of Australia and has been a member of the Mindframe industry Advisory committee since 2007.

In this episode, you'll learn:

• Why the Public Relations Institute of Australia recognises over 1,200 job titles
• Where are the challenges and opportunities of communications?
• How can communicators become influential?
• How has technology allowed public relations professionals to create more value?
• Do executives understand how large the transformation of digital and communications is?
• Why the public sector should be more vulnerable and more human?
• Two ways to use the authentic first-person story

Follow Jenny Muir on Twitter @jennymuir

Learn more about the Public Relations Institute of Australia Website | Twitter @PRIANational | Facebook

Learn more about Primary Communication Website | Twitter @PrimaryCom | Facebook

Following a successful trip to the UK recently, we thought for InTransition this week we'd dig up one of our favourites for you and revisit episode 100 with Alex Aiken, Executive Director of Government Communications for the UK government.

He has been responsible for creating the Government Communication Service and developing many of the UK’s very successful cross-government campaigns and offers 5 tips on strengthening the value of communications.

He speaks with David Pembroke about:

• Public trust in government communications
• The lessons of Brexit and economic change
• Governments need to listen to be nimble
• Sharing research across government departments
• Five ways to strengthen the value of communications
• Proving your value to your political masters
• The new professional skills required for communications

Find contentgroup on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn.

Read more about content on our blog.

A veteran in the world of marketing and content creation, Trevor Young joins us this week to talk about the changes he’s observed in his 25-year marketing career. While the internet has made it easier for people to communicate, the daily saturation of content in people’s lives means it’s becoming ­­harder and harder to break through the noise.

In this episode, Trevor provides us with ways to do just that; break through the noise and engage a following. His tips include finding what interests your audience, then building your skill set to meet those interests and specialising as required, to make your relationship with your audience a successful one.

Like our host David, Trevor is one of the old dogs in the industry, busy teaching us all the new tricks. There’s a lot we can learn from those communicators who began their careers at the dawn of the internet, and this podcast is a rare insight into those times.

Listen to two old friends discuss the past and future of content.

Discussed in this podcast:

• How to build strong relationships with your audience
• The growing noise in marketing and how to avoid it
• Connecting PR with content marketing
• It’s a competition for people’s attention
• How to get people to listen, and stay listening
• Why storytelling is such a crucial element in engaging your audience
• Ways you can get creative with your approach to content creation
• The future generation of comms professionals: more prepared than ever
• Generalise your skills, then specialise
• Learning from experience – want to give advice about podcast? Make a podcast. Want to provide tips for blogs? Start your own blog.

Find contentgroup on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn.

Read more about content on our blog.

Engaging your supporters 100 years ago was simply showing up and giving it your all. These days you’ve got to create and post relevant content, produce beautiful videos, reply to questions, tell engaging stories and provide frequent updates. You could say it’s gotten kind of complex.

Tom Nickson is the Digital Media Manager of the Western Bulldogs, and it’s his job making sure the above is happening. From assisting and directing his production team daily, to leading his social media team to boost engagement, this is a job that doesn’t stop when the season ends – this a 365-day commitment.

This week we take you behind the scenes of the AFL’s Western Bulldogs communication team and how they build their library of content. Comprised of two video producers, a digital marketing coordinator, a social media and digital coordinator, an editorial manager AND a graphic design team, they have almost as many players as the Doggies themselves.

Key points:

• Developing a strategy beyond the wins and losses
• Creating an experience via digital channels to evoke feelings from the fans; excitement of a new recruit, devastation of a season-ending injury, tension from rivalries
• The never-ending search for stories, with the women’s league a key source.
• The importance of recycling content and how they do it
• How to measure and evaluate digital content, and the importance of benchmarking
• The need for authenticity and candour from players, coaches and staff

This week we have an extraordinary guest for you. With 30 years’ experience in marketing and a decade in recruitment for the Australian Defence Force, Pat Duffy is no stranger to the ins-and-outs of adapting and embracing change.

Starting her career at Defence Jobs in the late 2000s while the internet was on the verge of becoming the beast of a machine it is today, Pat has been at the forefront of innovating recruitment practices and efficiently making the most of the resources available.

While technology advanced and connecting with people has become a whole lot easier, Defence recruiting had to adjust its approach. With the use things such as social media, AI and storytelling Pat was able to keep her team up to date and move defence recruitment into the 21st century.

We are excited to announce Pat is the newest member of the contentgroup team; we couldn't be more excited.

Discussed in this podcast

• The history of content in marketing – Telstra, Optus and Amdahl Corporation
• The value of face-to-face communication, online and offline
• Content being a mix of journalism and marketing
• How to measure the reach of your products pre-internet and social media
• The expensive price tag on qualitative and quantitative research
• Why technology has become such a crucial part of the recruitment process
• Storytelling and content essential in building a citizen understanding of military operations and experiences
• Early days of social media and defence – from one Facebook to 28, 27 Twitter accounts, 6 Instagram accounts and 6 YouTube channels
• Having multiple messages in your adverts – why people should shop with you, want to work for you, answer questions they will ask
• The future of AI in recruiting

Leading is always challenging; you need to have authority, be an inspiration to others, guide your people through change, diplomatically manage the politics of internal and external stakeholders – the list may well be endless.

For those searching for someone who has navigated these turbulent waters with finesses, we have the man for you – Paul Maddison, once Commander of the Royal Canadian Navy and the current now High Commissioner of Canada to Australia.

Paul has seen dramatic changes in his 38-year naval career, the rise of consultative communication and women in the workforce to name just two. Now as High Commissioner, he fosters bilateral relations between the two nations using an innovative communication strategy.

A must listen for all in a leadership role, with any interest in defence or international communications.

• Changes seen during Paul’s 38 year long military career, including the introduction of a consultative communication approach and the rise of women in naval roles
• The importance of genuine and authentic leadership
• The role of storytelling in effective communication
• How to inspire subordinates and instil confidence in them
• The move from Naval Commander to Diplomat
• How the Canadian Embassy creates and manages content
• The importance of innovation in communication

Libby Varcoe, Content Community Lead at the Digital Transformation Agent, is no stranger to the content world having started around the same time that contentgroup was in its early stages. It all started with a conversation she had with a fellow communications graduate in a café back in 1997 who merely said: “look, I think we need to break into this content world.” And from then on, she was hooked.

Opening her own agency in 2002 called write-minded, she has worked with some massive names from around Australia including The Australian Museum, The National Museum, St. George, Qantas and many more. As a boutique content agency, she would help brands create and implement their best content strategies focusing on online channels.

While doing a nine-week contract for the Digital Transformation Agency, she was offered the opportunity to join the team permanently, which she took. And two years on she is now the Content Community Lead, leading a team of content designers to transport our government across federal, state and local areas to the digital age.

Discussed in this podcast:

• From the late-1990s to now, content continues to become more relevant to the government and public sector
• Departments shouldn’t just focus on a content team; all teams should have an understanding of content
• Why it’s important to approach content proactively rather than leaving it to the last minute
• Why archiving is important
• There are over 44 million ‘.gov.au’ pages floating around the internet
• How making the government/citizen interaction online easier boosts community participation
• Taking inspiration from gov.uk and their approach to content – click here

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Starting her career on Myspace, Lola Berry built an audience alongside a growing, though niche, market focusing on nutrition and health products. Though today these can be considered as standard for most social platforms, for Lola it was quite the opposite and early days for healthy blogging.

Through consistency and perseverance, she was able to build her empire by mastering YouTube, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram as well as finding time to have a successful writing career. Her ability to adapt as platforms changed built her audience and through her belief of honesty to her fans, they remain to watch her journey.

There’s a lot we can learn from Lola, who can be labelled as one of the first Australian influencers. Whether you are creating a social profile for personal growth or for work, Lola provides valuable insights into how she built her empire, and how you can too.

In this podcast

• The how and why being honest on your platforms promotes growth and builds relationships with your audience/ Why honesty is the key ingredient
• The importance of transparency in your social media campaigns and that builds towards organic growth/Authenticity + transperancy = organic growth
• Why you should bring a unique approach to the field to stand-out against competition/ Dare to be different, it’s the only way to stand out
• Reasons to consider Instagram as part of your communication strategy
• How Lola continues to have high physical book sales in the digital age
• The double life of an influencer – separating work and play