Embassies tap social media, traditional media to get their messages out

Embassies in the United States are tapping social media as well as traditional media to get their messages to policy makers in the United States and across the globe, a panel of press attaches from Austria, Mexico, Sweden and Ecuador said Wednesday at the National Press Club.

For the Embassy of Ecuador in Washington, a 30-second advertisement during the Super Bowl and a strong social media campaign proved to be a successful way to communicate with folks in Washington and across the globe. The embassy has multiple social media accounts dedicated to different areas, including commerce and trade.

“We decided that it wasn’t really strategic to only have the official account of the embassy so we targeted our messages and our audiences,” said Carla Portalanza, Ecuador's cultural and press attaché.

Mexico, which has 50 consulates in the United States, uses multiple avenues to get the message across, including social media, public events, engagement with the think tank world and academia.

“The opportunity to come and speak at forums like this is extremely useful,” Vanessa Calva, deputy spokesperson in the press and public affairs section at the Mexican Embassy, said. “The use of social media has become of course of extreme importance."

The House of Sweden works with a theme each year to create awareness and reach a more targeted audience within Washington.

“We try to communicate through seminars, concerts and exhibitions,” said Monica Enqvist, head of public diplomacy, press and communications at the Embassy of Sweden.

This year the theme is "Earth and Space," and it will be used to promote messages on human rights, gender equality and others Swedish values, Enqvist said.

Though social media takes a front spot in the lines of communication, the Embassy of Austria still practices the most traditional way of communicating as well, through print.

Thorsten Eisingerich, director for press and information at the Austrian Embassy, showed the printed version of an Austrian publication to the audience that boasts a distribution list of about 12,000 readers.

“Nowadays, you would guess that we need also to be more electronic so we do. It is also available online,” he said.

The panelists also highlighted the importance of using the messaging systems to talk about tourism, climate and environment issues, and promoting their respective cultures. Eisingerich, for example, mentioned that the EZ Pass is actually produced by an Austrian company and that the Harry Potter Hogwarts Express in Orlando, Florida is an Austrian cable car with an “old style train on top of it.”

The panelists agreed that the importance of communicating is also to continue a dialogue on a full range of issues from tourism to tough issues of governance.

“We need to listen to what people say,” Calva said. “Even if it’s difficult to handle.”