Residents do not care that it is not your department
Social media training for council communications teams, where the account is a service channel, a consultation tool and a complaints queue at the same time. Consultations, service disruption, accessibility duties, pre-election period and the comment you cannot ignore. Half day £1,200, full day £1,800 for up to six people, excluding VAT.
Why is council social media harder than brand social media?
Because the audience is compulsory. A brand’s followers chose to be there and can leave. Your residents did not choose you, cannot leave, and arrive at the account when something has gone wrong. Bins, potholes, planning, flooding, school places. The account is not a marketing channel, it is a front door.
On top of that sit obligations no brand carries. Accessibility duties on public sector digital content. Pre-election restrictions. Records that may be requested. A duty to be accurate that is legal rather than reputational. And an expectation of response from people who are paying for the service through council tax.
What does the training cover?
1. The account as a front door
Triage, signposting and routing, so the comms team stops being an unofficial contact centre.
2. Service disruption
Bins, roads, weather and school closures. Templates and a rhythm agreed before the day you need them.
3. Consultations that get responses
Reaching people who never read a consultation document, and reporting engagement honestly.
4. Accessibility
Captions, alt text, plain English and colour contrast. A legal duty for public sector content, and routinely missed.
5. Pre-election period
What can and cannot be posted, who decides, and how to keep essential service information flowing.
6. Misinformation about the council
Local groups where something untrue is spreading. When to correct and when correcting makes it worse. See misinformation training.
7. Devolved posting
Libraries, leisure, parks and schools all posting. Standards without stopping them. See corporate training.
8. Recruitment
Social care, planning and refuse roles are hard to fill. Social is now part of how councils fill them.
Should a council reply to every angry comment?
No, and the pressure to do so is one of the reasons council comms teams burn out. Some comments need a factual correction because leaving them uncorrected costs the authority something. Some need signposting to the right service and nothing else. Many need nothing at all, and replying simply extends a thread that was going to end.
The important thing is that the decision comes from an agreed framework rather than from whoever is on the account and how they are feeling at four on a Friday. We build that framework on the day using your own comments, and it usually reduces the workload as well as the anxiety.
What does the day look like?
| Time | Block | What comes out of it |
|---|---|---|
| 09:30 | Your channels and your comments, reviewed | The real categories of contact you receive |
| 10:30 | Triage and routing | A framework so comms stops absorbing service enquiries |
| 11:30 | Service disruption and accessibility | Templates ready to use, and an accessibility checklist |
| 13:30 | Consultations and reaching residents | A plan for the next consultation with realistic targets |
| 14:45 | Misinformation and difficult threads | Rules for when to correct, agreed out loud |
| 15:45 | Devolved posting and standards | A one page standard for service areas that post |
Who runs the day?
I am Chris Norton and I run most of these sessions myself. I founded Prohibition, the PR, social and content agency behind this site, I have worked in public relations for more than twenty years, and I have been running training since 2009. I co-authored Share This Too, the social media handbook published by the Chartered Institute of Public Relations.
We work with public sector organisations across the North, including Transport for the North, alongside NHS organisations and universities. Public sector comms has constraints that commercial trainers tend to wave away, and a day that ignores purdah or accessibility is not worth your budget.
Local government social media questions
How much does social media training cost for a council?
Half day £1,200 and full day £1,800 for up to six people, excluding VAT, priced by the group. Around £200 to £300 a head. For authorities wanting to reach service areas as well as the comms team we usually quote a combination of one working session plus a shorter standards briefing.
Do you cover pre-election period rules?
Yes, practically rather than legally. What tends to be paused, who signs off during the period, and how to keep essential service information flowing. Final interpretation belongs with your monitoring officer.
What are the accessibility requirements for council social media?
Public sector digital content carries accessibility duties, and social posts are routinely the weakest part. Captions on video, alt text on images, plain English and adequate contrast. We build a checklist your team can apply in seconds.
How do we handle misinformation in local Facebook groups?
Case by case, against a rule agreed in advance. Correcting can help, and it can also amplify something that was fading. We work through your own examples rather than theory.
Can you train service areas as well as comms?
Yes, and it is often the higher value session. Libraries, leisure and parks accounts usually post with no guidance at all.
Do you understand FOI and records issues?
Well enough to flag where they touch social media, not well enough to advise on them. Those decisions belong with your information governance team, and we say so on the day.
Can you help with recruitment campaigns?
Yes. Social care, planning and refuse recruitment come up constantly and the approach is different from resident communication.
Do you work with combined authorities and NHS bodies?
Yes. See healthcare training for the NHS specific version.
Tell us what your account is being used for
Half day £1,200, full day £1,800, up to six people, excluding VAT. Delivered UK wide or online.
One of the sectors we train, alongside every social media course. Delivered UK wide or online. Last reviewed August 2026.
