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Building Trust, Participation in the COVID Vaccine Process

The release of COVID-19 vaccines has helped begin 2021 on a hopeful note for people around the world.  

But behind the headlines, officials at all levels of government face increasingly difficult logistics for delivery of potentially limited vaccine quantities, leading to decisions coordinating strategy for how, when, and where to distribute vaccines to their residents. Furthermore, state and local officials need to consider the unique segments of their communities, prioritize distribution, and make sure that access for groups such as at-risk and rural communities receive the information they need.  

Governments will need to engage efficiently and effectively with a variety of communities to positively impact public health and make the vaccine a success. An effective communication strategy that reinforces the key messages around participation in the COVID vaccine process is crucial to building trust and encouraging participation. 

Creating an Effective Vaccine Communications Plan

The best communications plans are split into two phases: strategy and engagement. Strategy requires determining goals, targeting and analyzing audiences, and aligning resources into a blueprint that will make your goals achievable. Engagement is the delivery of those resources, using data to gauge effectiveness, and adjusting future messaging in response. 

To help governments respond with speed and agility, Granicus is pleased to announce the launch of a Vaccine Communications Toolkit, a set of tools that empower governments at all levels to build public trust in the vaccine, reach at-risk communities, and support effective vaccine distribution.  

These tools are available to any local, state, or federal government organization, and several of them are free. They are designed to accelerate vaccine communications strategies and optimize effectiveness by providing governments with the resources to formulate a cost–effective plan that is grounded in measurable digital communications capabilities and can be implemented quickly.

Examples of these tools include:   

  • Digital communications tools: Access proven tools that allow you to quickly capture a digital audience and drive adoption of government-issued content, including website overlays, directive social media and ad placements, and text-to-subscribe campaign integration. 
  • National analytics: View real-time, actionable data about messaging, campaign, and audience effectiveness to tune your outreach activities using proven methods that drive outcomes and impact. 
  • Peer content sharing: Streamline your content authoring and aggregation activities through access to a curated library of the most effective peer content, communications, and templates. 
  • Digital strategy support: Receive support from expert digital strategists through our Granicus Experience Group (GXG) team members who have years of experience helping governments rapidly build and launch campaigns that drive action, educate residents, and communicate with hard-to-reach audiences. 
  • Granicus Subscriber Network access: Ability to promote content to our network of over 250 million opt-in citizen subscribers, including those in historically hard-to-reach communities. The Subscriber Network allows governments to rapidly develop digital audiences for vital communications about the virus, vaccinations, and future crisis outreach. 

Beyond providing these tools, Granicus is helping governments deliver targeted communications through multichannel, cloud-based technology solutions that scale to meet surges in demand. We are offering several of these services, including govDelivery implementation on an accelerated procurement and activation basis, at no initial cost, for a limited time, for vaccine-related use. 

Granicus Solutions Empowering Effective Vaccine Messaging 

The Vaccine Communications Toolkit is the latest example of Granicus’ support for government communications since the pandemic began. From state public and community health officials to local county managers, Granicus solutions have helped government groups achieve nimble communications strategies tailored to the unique needs of their audiences.  

There’s no one-size-fits-all approach to messaging around vaccination. That’s why the flexibility of services such as govDelivery—Granicus’ email, social, and text messaging solution—will continue allowing government organizations to approach different audiences at different times, with appropriate messaging, based on vaccination priorities.  

govDelivery is scalable to meet teams’ evolving needs, and allows for distributed editing of content by unlimited administrators. When all hands are on deck for crisis communications, govDelivery makes it easier for agencies to adjust to the size of the team, helping to share critical messaging quickly and effectively. 

Finally, automated, targeted messaging can help drive awareness of vaccine distribution plans, and it can be used to alert residents about critical updates such as second dosage reminders or required treatment. Automated messaging also gives government groups the ability to provide timely, personalized information that will build community trust not only in the vaccine process, but in the broader relationship with government.   

Learn more about the Vaccine Communications Toolkit here.