Experts say Auckland Council not spending enough on social media

The Auckland Ratepayers’ Alliance is questioning the nearly $200,000 being spent by Auckland Council on Facebook and LinkedIn advertising.
 
Figures obtained by the lobby group show $187,870 has been spent on social media advertising by Auckland Council in the 2015/16 financial year, with $164,287.32 being put toward Facebook advertising and $23,582.96 spent on LinkedIn.

Tiny fraction
But former McKinsey hit man Lance Wiggs defends the council.

The social media spending was part of Auckland Council’s total marketing and communications spend of approximately $26.2 million.

"The amount of spend is trivial versus the need to communicate, and social media is a very cost effective way to do so. Would the TPU prefer that councils spend more money on printing and distributing paper? I would think the alliance should be advocating this effective, measurable and rapid method of communicating," he says.

"Perhaps a table of spend versus council budgets would put this absurd holiday weekend press release into perspective," he adds.

"Auckland Council, for example, has a total 2016/2017  budget of $5.623 billion, and their social media ad spend is just 0.003346% of that total.

"The Ratepayers' Alliance should be analysing spend on low BCR [benefit-cost ratio] road projects like the East West Link rather than wasting our time, council money and a lovely weekend on a 0.0033% issue."

Keep up with shift to social
And although there is perhaps a hint of cupboard love (he has done council contract work in the past), social media marketing expert Vaughn Davis says local government should actually be spending more on social network sites.

"As someone whose business has followed the shift from broadcast to two-way media, my only concern with these figures is that councils aren’t investing more in this area," the owner and creative director of Auckland advertising and social media agency The Goat Farm says.

"Our councils are there to meet our needs and represent our interests. The old model – one postal ballot every three years – is overdue for disruption. Social media gives any organisation the opportunity and perhaps the obligation to listen to its stakeholders in real time. Any council that’s not doing this is ignoring that obligation and missing the opportunity to understand and serve its residents," he tells NBR.

Ratepayers' Alliance spokeswoman Jo Holmes says the $187,870 spent on social media was blown on "propaganda" council branding exercises of now value to the city's residents.