Elected Officials Need To Find Ways To Communicate Better 

Image Credit: Paul Shanks

Getting elected is hard work, staying elected might be even harder. In addition to performing the job that you have effectively been hired to do, at the same time you need to be constantly proving to the people who voted for you that they selected the right person. What this means is that you've got to find ways to become a good communicator and this just isn't easy to do.

Elected Official As Communicator

Ultimately the job of being a good communicator belongs to the person who was elected. You would think that he or she must already have some good basic communication skills, after all - they did get elected. However, as good as they may be, they all struggle with the same issue: there never seems to be enough time.

If the elected official can't be the one who is always on the phone, at the press conference, or out shaking hands, then how can he or she hope to communicate with the various parties that really matter? If you've had the forethought to select GSL Solutions and their HillTop service, you may already have an answer close at hand -- your official website.

The good news is that the information that an elected official wants to communicate to the world is generally fixed - it's factual information about how they view the world and what their future intentions are. This means that they just need to communicate their message to as many people as possible. Taking the time to write down what they want to say and then posting it on their HillTop powered webpage provides elected officials with an effective way to get the word out and create a lasting record of it.

Staff Of Elected Official As Communicator

One very important thing that we need to keep in mind when we are talking about elected officials is that behind every successful politician there is an effective staff. Yes, the elected official is the “front man" (or woman) for the position; however, it's really the team behind them that makes sure that everything that needs to be done gets done.

One of the biggest challenges that this team often has is that there is just so much going on. Their elected official is expected to be taking a stand on a almost every issue that is out there, world and domestic events keep unfolding every day, and back home where everyone comes from has its own set of hot topics. If the team has elected to use GSL Solutions' HillTop service then what could be an impossible job just got a lot easier.

Using the HIllTop service provides the elected official's staff with the critical tools that they need to do their job efficiently. What this means is that they can create website posts that detail the position that their boss is taking and why he or she chose that position. Using the HillTop service, staff members can create text that describes the information that they want to communicate. Once this has been done, staff can use HillTop's PutAnyWhere technology to display their text in one or more places on the website at the same time.

Since we now live in the 21st Century, the ways that we communicate have expanded to include video. When an elected official goes on camera, it creates a lasting record of what he or she had to say. Staff that are using the HillTop service can easily add video images to the site in a way that complements the text that may already be there. This allows site visitors to have one-click access to each of the different ways that the elected official has selected to communicate with them.

What All Of This Means For You

Elected officials got into office by promising to do things for the people who voted for them. In order to ensure that these people understand that they are getting real value for their vote, the elected officials need to effectively communicate with their voters about what they have been spending their time doing.

Much of the responsibility to communicate what an elected official is doing falls on their shoulders. They are the ones who have to give speeches and create position statements. However, when they are not available to deliver their message in person, their website can fill in. If they have selected to use GSL Solutions' HillTop service, then updating the website will be as easy as using Microsoft Word. Even better, the elected official's staff can use the HIllTop service's built-in PutAnyWhere technology to create text and then place in multiple spots on the website.

The goal of any elected official is to only leave a position when they want to. In order to make this happen, they need to do a good job of communicating what what they have been doing back to the people who have voted for them. The official website, especially if it is powered by GSL Solutions' HillTop service, can help them to accomplish their communication goals. The next time that you have to get the word out, use your website!

- Dr. Jim Anderson HillTop – Political Web Sites That Get The Vote!™

Question For You: Do you think that new information can be released on the website before anyone gives a speech on it?

GSL Solutions' HillTop service provides politicians with a way to get voters more involved with the political process. HillTop has been designed by politicians, for politicians in order to provide easy-to-use tools that make updating a political website with current and topical information easy to do. The website becomes a powerful communication tool between the politician and the voters. More information can be found at: www.HillTopCMS.com.

Tags: communication, elected official, staff, message, website, political web site, campaign, voters, reelected, issues