How Government Organizations are Building Trust Amongst Millennials & Gen Z

Once again, Edelman’s Trust Barometer reinforces the UAE’s position as one of the most trusted governments in the world. The 2021 study, which measures different paths of development including politics, economics, and social development, revealed a staggering 80% of UAE citizens trust their government.

While the UAE continues to top the ranking year in year out, that doesn’t mean the nation can get complacent. Trust, after all, is a delicate matter. It can take years to build and seconds to break which is why it’s so important for governments to continuously build on and protect their reputation.

During this article, I’ll share a few ways I’ve observed government bodies across the UAE using big data to build trust amongst Millennials and Gen Z. Since these generations are larger than any other demographic globally, and they’re gradually making their way into positions of power, the importance of this group is growing - as is the need for government bodies to create meaningful relationships with them.

Who are Millennials & Gen Z and what makes them unique?

When it comes to building trust, it’s paramount that government bodies get to know what makes Millennials (born between the years 1981-1996) and Generation Z (born between 1997–2014) tick.

One thing that’s unique about Millennials and Gen Z compared to generations that have come before them is the fact that they are the very first ‘digital natives’ – people born or brought up during the age of digital technology. They have been familiar with computers and the Internet from an early age and their digital savviness means they’re often early adopters of innovations. It’s therefore unsurprising that 68% of social media users in the Middle East are aged between 18 to 34 years.

Putting their digital upbringing aside, Millennials and Gen Z’s traits, beliefs, and motivations also differ from other generations, and these have a direct impact on what they come to expect from government communications too.

What Millennials & Gen Z expect from government communications

1.??Relay of mission, values, and stance on societal issues

Millennials and Gen Z have a strong sense of community, both on local and global scales, and they tend to focus on larger societal needs rather than their own. As this audience becomes more socially aware of their actions, they’re becoming increasingly interested in how responsibly organizations are acting too. They favor organizations that are progressive, stand for something, and aren’t just out to make or take money.

Being a purpose-driven organization not only benefits society, but also has a positive impact on reputation. For example, corporate social responsibility stories can help build your image as a noble organization that can be trusted, it can also help and convey human-like characteristics such as empathy, accountability, and integrity.

To engage and build trust with this audience, governments must be present where they are, discussing topics the audiences care about.

Government bodies often use social listening tools to track relevant conversations and surface insights within them. They use media intelligence tools to actively listen to chatter across social networks and discover/ learn more about what their audiences stand for. This data is then used to make decisions such as shaping relevant communication messaging or deciding which corporate social responsibility programs to invest in.

Sometimes the importance of a particular issue increases as a result of different stimuli; for example, citizens may suddenly become more concerned about sustainability due to an environmental crisis, like the man-caused pollution and littering in the desert. Keeping on top of trends through continuous media intelligence analysis is key to ensuring government bodies remain relevant and that they avoid focusing messages on a fad that’ll quickly pass by.

2.??Prioritise authentic and transparent storytelling

Authenticity (the quality of being real) and transparency (the act of being honest) are hot topics right now. According to a report by Open the Government, over 50% of voters want to see more authenticity and transparency in their government. But how can bodies achieve this?

?As mentioned, Arab youth aren’t interested in having shallow conversations with their government; they crave meaningful interactions about important issues. Once you understand the topics your community is concerned with and have tweaked your messages to reflect findings, the next step is deciding who’ll lead this conversation.

Remember, it’s much easier to warm to a human compared to a business entity, which is why we often see stakeholders positioned as thought leaders...

How big data can be used to drive trust

Using relevant thought leaders

Thought leaders are there to inspire communities and get them on board with ideas. They also help to establish topic authority, and in turn, drive credibility and trust. I’d personally recommend using different thought leaders for different communities to ensure relevancy, this will make outbound communications far more engaging for audiences.

Before choosing a spokesperson, run a media analysis on their name to ensure they have a positive reputation amongst the demographic you’re trying to influence and engage. This type of analysis will also uncover key trends surrounding that influencer so you can decide whether they’re aligned with the messages you want them to drive. For example, if a spokesperson is known by the public and media for creating anti-green policies, it’s best not to use them as the face of a sustainability campaign.

Thought leaders come from outside of your organization too. While many believe the larger the thought leader’s online following, the more influential they are, this isn’t always the case. On the contrary, advice given by micro influencers’ (people with 500 and 5,000 subscribers) is usually perceived as more trustworthy, authentic, and credible by audiences. Often, governments already have micro (and major) influencers in their community who support their causes, they just need to analyze their social media communities to find them.

Recognizing the power influencers have, the UAE government offers UAE-based social media influencers the chance to take a diploma program to hone their skills and develop their digital content. This move helps ensure that social media influencers are aligned with the government's vision, something that’s needed considering how much social media platforms shape public opinion and impressions. Influencers will be asked to set a social, economic, or scientific goal that they would want to achieve on social media, then develop the material using the tools and techniques taught in the course.

One government professional who is a fan of using influencers is Captain Khalid Al Marri, Director of the Social Network Section at Security Media Department Organization (Dubai Police), he comments:

“Being a non-profit organization, we use influencers to market our campaigns and spread awareness messages. We use them to market our initiatives and smart services. Statistics show that posts reach vastly increases when it involves a message about or from an influencer."

?Using real-life case studies

?Overpromising and under-delivering is a sure way to break trust. When you communicate with citizens, be honest about what’s achievable, how long it will take, what it will take and where you currently stand on the plans/ implementation. While the message may be less glamorous than you’d hoped for, they’ll appreciate your transparency and authenticity and will respect you for this.

Case studies are important when trying to build trust as they demonstrate you walk the talk. As His Highness Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai states,

“We are a government of achievements, not a government of lectures. We are a team of accomplishers, not a team of preachers.”

Case studies, especially user-generated ones, are the perfect vehicle for showing and not telling your audience about the impact you’re making.

User-generated content will also help position your government organization as being a part of the community rather than on the sidelines of it.

Review sites and forum comments are a great channel to source content from. To save you time when looking for content, use a social media monitoring tool to cut through the noise and zero in on positive engagement by filtering conversations by sentiment. You can also sort the conversation further using the reach metric so that you can quickly spot positive user-generated content that was created by an influential community member.

Protecting image and reputation

Trust is one of the most crucial resources a company can own – so it’s crucial to protect it.

Time is of the essence when it comes to negative stories circulating in the media, which is why government bodies are increasingly monitoring real-time online news and social media conversation for detrimental mentions, so they have a better chance of containing them and prevent them from spreading. In some cases, they have used this insight to their advantage and built counter-argument messaging for future communications. For example, one Meltwater client spotted a surge in tourists complaining about public transport, so they decided to run a campaign that shows future development of public transport links.?

Keen to understand how Dubai Police maintain their positive reputation, something that’s critical for building communities, the Meltwater team asked Captain Khalid Al Marri his top tips. Here’s what he said:

“Continuous engagement with the public through e-platforms. Our team works 18 hours a day to not only publish posts, but to also answer inquiries sent by members of the public through social media platforms. While we engage with audiences on all channels, Twitter is our main audience engagement area. We have more than 1.6 million followers on Twitter, with over 50 inquiries and incoming messages coming in every 7 hours (per shift) on average, as well as incoming comments and direct messages on Facebook and Instagram.”

Despite the large amounts of inbound messages they receive, Dubai Police works hard to consistently respond, Captain Khalid Al Marri adds, “We set a maximum 1-hour time to respond to an inquiry and we try to respond to all of them. The direct communication with our online audience contributes significantly to our success."

Dubai Police also rely on their uniquely carved voice on social media to build a trustworthy image. “We’ve become a source for news, alerts about traffic conditions, sharing safety and security awareness messages, as well as posting exclusive sources of information about our organization. We’ve managed to build and maintain trust with the audience by directly communicating with the public through social media platforms. We rely on our social media platforms to alert the public about a situation, a major traffic accident, or any other incident. If any individual has an issue, a question, a concern, they can comment on our social media platforms and we’ll provide them with the answers they are looking for by communicating with them through private messages, which allows them to share their concerns freely.”

So, there you have it, a few ways I’ve seen government bodies across the UAE utilize data, technology, and social media to build trust with Millennial and Gen Z audiences. If you’re interested in doing the same or want to hear more about the examples discussed, direct message me on LinkedIn. Let’s chat!