From ‘one-way’ communication to Bridgerton memes: How government social media pages have evolved

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As federal government organizations’ social media pages have grown and evolved over more than a decade, many have turned to making posts that follow trends and that reference popular memes in hopes of connecting with more Canadians.

Natasha Maheu, the chief of social media for Statistics Canada, which is known for its funny and trendy posts, said the agency has been on social media since about 2010, first posting on Twitter, Facebook and YouTube. Fourteen years later, the agency can be found on six social media platforms, including Instagram and Reddit.

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It has 760,000 followers across all platforms, including 366,000 on LinkedIn and 43,700 on Instagram.

Maheu, who has been on the team since 2016, said the platforms used by the agency aren’t the only thing that’s changed. While StatCan previously used social media as a “one-way medium,” providing updates on information posted online, it’s grown into a space to test our different trends and see how their audience reacts.

On top of posts, Maheu said StatCan also hosts digital events like “ask me anythings,” using social media to have discussions with Canadians on platforms like Reddit.

“Our goal is really to make data accessible to as many Canadians as possible, and to really create some awareness on the type of data that’s available at StatCan,” said Maheu, adding that around half of the agency’s Instagram follower demographic are between the ages of 18 and 34, which has proven to be hard to enumerate in surveys. “It really provides us with an opportunity to reach some of our core audience groups that we haven’t been able to reach in more traditional communication mediums.”

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Maheu added that StatCan’s lighthearted posts tend to be more popular on platforms with a younger social media audience, with followers on LinkedIn, for example, seeming to be interested in a balance of serious and fun posts. She added that fun posts generate lots of reactions, which can help build an audience to see posts on more serious and important topics, like on housing or inflation.

In following current trends and internet jokes, some of StatCan’s recent posts have referenced the “Four Seasons baby”, and the popular Netflix show Bridgerton.

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StatCan also shared a post honouring the 20-year anniversary of Mean Girls, creating its version of the iconic “Burn Book” to share Canadian data related to characters from the movie.

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One of their most recent posts that went viral built off the “looking for a man in finance” trend, with StatCan sharing a reel with statistics sharing how many Canadians were employed in professional occupations in finance in 2021, with the catchy tune playing in the background.

“We were able to not just tap into the trend and use the trending audio to reach a broader audience but also to showcase our census data that we had on occupations and labour force characteristics,” Maheu said. “So it’s also showing how to use the tools on our website.”

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StatCan isn’t the only government organization that’s turned to comedy to share information with its audience.

The Office of the Commissioner of Official Languages of Canada, for example, recently made a post referencing the new movie Inside Out 2, with another referencing rising pop star Chappell Roan.

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The Canadian Institutes of Health Research has made Instagram posts referencing the Spiderman meme and the Winnie the Pooh bear meme. 

Maheu, who said organizations have to follow government policies on communications and accessibility, said she has noticed a willingness from the government of Canada as a whole to find ways to reach more Canadians to tweak its communication strategies.

“We’re seeing the same kind of push in other departments,” Maheu said. “Everyone has a different level of following, everybody has a different mandate specifically to what they’re using social media for, so, of course, it’s gonna be different from one department to another, but at the core, when you’re in social media, you have to be in tune with social media.”

Maheu said StatCan is unique in the sense that her team has data on “pretty much everything” as well as a management that trusts the social media team’s expertise.

“I think just having that support through the upper echelons of the agency, it really goes a long way in providing not just a motivating work environment, but also allows us to be able to think outside the box and be creative,” she said. “It’s very fun engagement that we’re able to have these days, especially in the last few years. “

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Maheu said there are “various levels of approval” for posts, with the team conferring with subject matter experts to make sure statements are accurate, as well as getting approvals on the communications side to make sure content is in line with the agency’s mandate.

“When we’re talking about a current trend, we can’t wait two, three weeks to be able to put out a publication because then the trend might be over,” Maheu said. “We’re very lucky to have a team of senior management that understands the the quickness of how social media works.”

Maheu said one of the most challenging things her team has encountered at the government is making sure they can develop content that’s equally engaging and fun for their French accounts.

“We also want to publish all the time equally in English and French,” she said.

Maheu said the social media team is diverse, with people having different lived experiences, being from different age groups and having different interests and levels of experience working with StatCan data.

“The one thing that keeps us all together is we’re all very passionate about social media,” Maheu said. “What we do on a regular basis is we brainstorm, we share ideas, we share links to different trends or different ideas that we see online that we think would be maybe relevant for the agency to leverage.”

“And then we do a lot of research on our website.”

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