Deep in the midst of developing a social media strategy, I asked one of the team of people I’m working with about their use of Flickr. The particular channel they shared with me relates to the Latvian armed forces, and when I asked why they used it, I got a very simple reply:
‘A picture paints a thousand words’
It was late afternoon and the hot Riga spring sunshine was streaming through the windows as we were started exploring the possibilities of using visual aids: photos, videos, info graphics and more, as part of a wider communication strategy. Rather than continue to let the fine weather distract us, I invited the team to split into three groups and go and photograph the city. Each team would then present their view of the city back to the group in the morning, as a way of promoting the city for the upcoming EU Presidency. Extra points would be awarded if the slideshow could capture the three Latvian EU Presidency values: Involving, Growth and Sustainability.
The following day we reconvened and were treated to a series of interesting and entertaining slide shows of Riga. Here are a few excerpts:
Often when the town or city where we work is just somewhere we walk through every day, we take it for granted. It was great to get out and enjoy the sunshine, sure, but the feedback that really interested me from this exercise was how much people appreciated the opportunity to see their city in a different light.
