If there’s one thing I’ve learned in my time working in government comms and social media, it’s that teams don’t say no enough.

And it’s not because they don’t want to - they most certainly do - but because it’s hard.

There are plenty of reasons for this. One is that no one wants to be seen as a roadblock, especially when they’re trying to stay in the good graces of colleagues and leaders across the organisation. Another is that comms teams are often full of genuinely nice people who just want to help.

But when you’re running channels with limited space, time, and attention, the ability to say no is crucial - whether that’s an outright “no” or a “smaller yes” that offers a compromise.

This article is all about triaging content requests in a way that actually works - because you’re not a dumping ground or a posting service; you’re a strategic function.

Use my basic structure, or even better - build out your own tailored flowchart.

Hopefully it will help you to stop saying yes to everything and start making better decisions

Step1: Does this actually need to be communicated?

An obvious question, right? But also one that often gets overlooked.

Sometimes a request comes in, and people look to see if there’s room on Facebook on Thursday rather than asking, ‘Hold the phone, does this actually need to be posted at all?’

The assumption from some in our organisations is that every request deserves a post, and the comms team’s job is to make it work. The reality is that not everything needs to be communicated, and certainly not via social media.

Examples include an internal or super niche industry award, some minor change in service, or just info that is better coming from someone else.

Some questions to consider:

Is this information truly important, urgent, or useful?
Is there a legal or statutory requirement for it to be posted (very rare)?
Are we just doing it because we’ve always done it?
Would our audience notice or care if it wasn’t posted?

Based on the answers to these questions, you might want to reconsider that request.

That said, most requesters will genuinely believe their info should be posted (or at least communicated in some way).

Which is fine, because then we move on to the next question...

Step 2: Is this info aimed at a broad section of our audience?

Social media is a mass communication tool. If a message is only relevant to 5% of our audience, posting it doesn’t make sense. The people you’re trying to reach probably won’t see it, and it will be irrelevant and annoying for everyone else who does.

A certain amount of what gets posted on government social media pages is low-value noise - updates that would be better suited to email, a website update, or an internal channel.

Instead, consider setting clear posting thresholds. For example, in local government:

Roadworks? Only post if they impact a major road used by [x] or more daily vehicles.
Water outages? Only post if they affect at least 5-10% of the population.
Consultations? Only if they are city- or district-wide or affect a significant demographic.

When you set clear thresholds, you stop making decisions on the fly. Instead of debating every request, you simply check the criteria.

If the answer is ‘no’, then we move on to the next question…

Step 3: Is there a more effective or direct channel?

There are plenty of better channels for reaching smaller, more niche audiences than social media. Email, letter drop, app or text alerts are good examples.

Hell, if the info is that important and aimed at a small enough group, call them up or visit them in person.

Even your website can work really well as an alternative - especially if people know where to go.

Power companies have trained their customers over the years to go directly to their websites when the power goes out. We don’t go on social media looking for a post about it - we help ourselves instead.

Yes, that option requires disciplined effort over time, but it pays off.

If there’s no better channel (although I bet there is), and social is still the best way forward, move on to the next question…

Step 4: Can it be combined with other, similar info?

Bundling information is a way to share required updates without clogging up feeds with multiple small posts.

Council meetings and consultations are a great example. There are often internal pressures to promote these on social media, regardless of the fact they almost always get awful engagement.

By bundling them together you can at least try to make something that (in theory) can be more valuable and less disruptive.

Although from an audience POV, I’m not sure it makes much of a difference if you open a box that contains one turd or two - it’s a pretty crappy experience either way

If bundling isn’t an option, then we move on to…

Step 5: Is there marketing budget?

By now, you have information that needs to be communicated, to a small audience, via social media, and can’t be bundled.

The best approach? Targeted paid posts. Ask for some cash to make a dark paid post and see how that goes.

If there’s no budget, well things are getting pretty bleak. So consider putting the information on a temporary channel like Stories so it disappears in 24 hours rather than clogging up the feed.

This way, you’ve still helped - you treated the request with respect while also respecting your audiences. In fact, some might call you a hero…

Step 6: Could it be fit a content pillar?

Ok, now we need to back up the flowchart bus a couple of stops. We have determined that the info does need to be communicated, and is relevant to a broad audience.

This is where your content pillars come into play.

If they are specific enough and - even better - tied to a specific go-to format, then you should be able to appropriately funnel a good number of requests through one of your pillars.

For example, say the events coordinator comes to you with an event that is really borderline in terms of size or relevance to your channels. So instead of a post on its own, could it be channeled through some kind of ‘people’ pillar? Maybe a member of the events team could go on video talking about who they are, what they do, AS WELL AS the event in question.

Two birds with one stone.

Because if the requester’s info can fit within a pillar, then by coming to you they are actually helping you execute your strategy - which is a win for everyone.

Step 7: Create a post

Ok, but what about if the info can’t be shoehorned into a pillar, what then?

Well, by this stage, you’re running out of good reasons NOT to post TBH. That’s a good thing - it means the process worked.

You now have information that:

Needs communicating
Is aimed at a significant portion of your audience
Doesn’t fit neatly into a content pillar

Which I’d say is the definition of a worthy one-off post really.

All that’s left to do now is roll up our sleeves and make that post sing.

What do you reckon? Comment below or email me@seamus.nz

How to triage content requests (with flowchart)