About Roger Christie

About Roger Christie

Founder & Managing Director, Propel

In a sentence, why are you passionate about social media and digital communications for government?

I only see enormous upside in having a public service that is seen as aware, connected, collaborative and trusted by citizens - and digital participation is the best and fastest way for institutions and individuals to achieve this.

Tell us a bit about your background - how did you get to where you are today?

Social media wasn’t a ‘thing’ when I was studying, but after cutting my teeth in public relations and reputation management for a few years I saw the potential in social media to build more direct access and engagement with key stakeholders, and fortunately had a boss who empowered me to have a crack. Fast forward 15 years or so, and the perspective I have today is built on a fair share of successes and failures from the frontline of social, as I’ve learned alongside clients and colleagues where to focus effort to get the best results online.

What’s been your biggest learning to date?

Social media is not just a brand platform. It’s a human platform. The sooner public sector agencies see social media as a strategic tool instead of the last place any brand communication goes out, the sooner they will harness the true potential of these channels and networks to build strong, positive relationships with citizens.

Who - agency or individual - do you most admire for their work online?

Firstly, I think anyone - leader or frontline agent - who’s been active on social media during COVID deserves an enormous pat on the back. It’s been rough and I know people in the digital world have taken on a lot more than their usual remit and should be recognised for that.

For best practice, I’m a huge fan of the work the NSW Customer Service Department does - yes as a brand team, but perhaps more specifically as a leadership team, as across the political and bureaucratic divide they use LinkedIn in particular as a way to visibly demonstrate how they’re both listening to citizen needs and taking fast action. It’s genuine best practice from my POV.

I also love the authenticity of leaders like Amanda Yeates, Mike Kaiser and Amy Brown among others - plenty of good examples to look to.

What’s your favourite social channel and why?

LinkedIn. It’s the intersection of professional values, activities, insights and relationships that I value in my role. But I have a soft spot for Reddit - it’s the one place I come away from every time having learned something new.

What’s the most amazing/unusual/valuable thing you’ve personally achieved via social media?

I met my future wife on Twitter - that’s a fairly strong ROI on one direct message, I’d argue?! Not entirely sure she’ll be pleased with me sharing this little detail publicly, however :) 

Professionally, an initiative I led - that really reinforces the power and potential of social to impact lives - involved working with LinkedIn and a humanitarian client of ours to help protect people caught in Afghanistan during the Taliban offensive. Unlike much of what we use social media for, in this case it was about suppressing messages and keeping people safe, but it was only through social media that reaching the right people and taking rapid action could happen.

Let’s get warm and fuzzy for a moment - why did you join the GDLN and how do you hope to help create a better public sector?

Having worked across the public and private sectors for years now, I just saw this opportunity for the public sector to come together on this issue, learn and lift one another up faster than the private sector could. There are a tonne of ‘communities of practice’ across gov, and they serve a role. But to break down jurisdictional lines and ensure anyone can access the benefits, I wanted to take it out of any one tier or any one agency’s remit and bring people together who were passionate to share their knowledge and expertise to help the sector thrive. And, by default, the citizens the sector serves. That's why I started the GDLN.

What would you say are your areas of expertise on social, if people need advice?

I’m passionate about seeing good leadership amplified, so I’ll talk anyone’s ear off about the opportunities for public sector leaders stepping up individually online (thus the new podcast on this very topic!). I also have a background in strategy, technology and issues management, so very happy to talk about my experience and share best practices there too.

What’s the best way for people to contact you?