NZ Digital Marketing Essentials for Local Government 2025

Our "Digital Marketing Essentials for Local Government 2025" course is designed to equip NZ local government communications teams and marketing professionals with the knowledge and skills required to stay relevant in an ever-changing digital landscape. The course maintains the core digital marketing principles while incorporating council-specific considerations, compliance requirements, and public sector best practices.

Through this course, you will deepen your expertise in essential digital marketing and communications areas. You’ll complete the course equipped not only to keep pace but to leverage change as a core strategic advantage.

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Who Should Take This Course?

This course is specifically crafted for New Zealand council marketing and communications professionals who understand the importance of a digital-first approach to communicate effectively with residents and ratepayers but who are keenly aware of the challenges of keeping up with emerging trends, technologies, and regulatory shifts.

  

Course Outline

Here's what the course covers:

Module 1: The Transformed Digital Marketing Landscape

This module provides a foundation in understanding the major changes shaping digital marketing and communications in 2025. Participants will explore the historical evolution of digital marketing, focusing on recent trends that signal the industry’s future. Topics include:

• Evolution of digital marketing and communications
• Consumer migration to digital channels
• Key trends and predictions for 2025
• Setting council marketing & comms goals and objectives in the digital age
• Integration of AI across marketing and communications functions
• New consumer behaviour patterns and expectations
• Building trust and fostering transparency
• Navigating privacy regulations (NZ Privacy Act, GDPR, CCPA, etc.)
• Public sector marketing compliance requirements
• Local Government Official Information and Meetings Act (LGOIMA) considerations
• Understanding ratepayer vs. commercial audience dynamics
• Emergency and crisis communications in a digital environment
• Accessibility requirements for public sector digital content
• Managing political sensitivities in council communications
• Privacy-First Targeting: How to balance personalisation with increased privacy regulations and cookieless tracking

       

Module 2: AI-Powered Marketing Strategy

AI’s capabilities are revolutionising marketing and communications, making strategy development more efficient and data-driven. This module will cover:

• Mapping Complex Target Audience Journeys: Tools and methodologies for mapping multi-touch, cross-platform target audience journeys.
• Rapid deployment market research using current tools
• Predictive analytics for campaign planning
• AI-driven budget allocation and ROI forecasting
• Ethical considerations specific to government AI usage, including potential biases
• Managing multiple stakeholder groups (ratepayers, residents, businesses, visitors, councillors, central government)
• Balancing innovation with public sector constraints
• Risk Management: Identifying and mitigating risks related to data breaches, council reputation and compliance
• Crisis communication, especially for natural disasters, health crises or infrastructure issues
• Tools and protocols for rapid-response communications

Module 3: Next-Generation Content Marketing

Content remains a cornerstone of digital communications and marketing, but its creation, distribution and optimisation are rapidly evolving. This module covers:

• AI content creation and optimisation tools
• Multimodal content strategy (text, voice, video)
• Accessibility standards for digital content, i.e. compliance with WCAG (Web Content Accessibility Guidelines)
• Generative AI for visual content
• Video marketing optimisation
• Podcast and audio content strategy
• Content repurposing
• Creating content for diverse community demographics
• Multi-language content strategies for diverse communities
• Public notices and regulatory communications
• Resource consent and planning documentation
• Civil defence and emergency communications

Module 4: Advanced Search Marketing

As search engine algorithms increasingly rely on AI, traditional SEO strategies need an upgrade. This module explores:

• Google’s E-E-A-T principles evolution
• Council website optimisation for optimal reach, effectiveness and searchability of local government services and information
• The new AI search engines (Google AI Overview, SearchGPT, Perplexity AI)
• AI-first search engine algorithms
• AI-driven keyword research and optimisation
• Voice search optimisation
• Visual search optimisation
• Mobile-first indexing optimisation
• Core Web Vitals mastery
• Semantic Search and Structured Data: Using schema markup and optimising for user intent to improve visibility
• Location-based SEO for council facilities and services
• Local SEO strategies for communication with specific neighbourhoods
• Making council documents and resources searchable
• Improving findability of council forms and applications
• Structured data for council events and services

Module 5: Social Media Evolution

Social media continues to grow, with new platforms and formats emerging every year. This module focuses on staying ahead of trends and adapting to changes in social media. Participants will learn about:

• Choosing the right platforms to reach residents and ratepayers
• New Platforms and Formats: Keeping up with emerging social channels
• Social media content creation using AI
• Effective, automated content distribution strategies at scale
• Dealing with public inquiries and citizen participation
• AI-powered social listening and trend analysis
• Social media policies for local government
• maintaining political neutrality in communications
• Managing elected official communications
• Community engagement best practices
• Crisis communication protocols
• Public feedback management
• Moderation policies and guidelines
• Handling misinformation
• Community sentiment analysis
• Archiving requirements for social media content

Module 6: Video Marketing

Video remains one of the most engaging forms of content in digital marketing. This module explores:

• Creating engaging video content for different platforms (YouTube, TikTok, Instagram Reels, Facebook)
• Using AI to generate videos, provide voices and even create music
• Best practices for video conversion and distribution, in square, portrait and landscape formats
• Cost-effective video production techniques
• How to get noticed on each platform
• Optimizing videos for search engines
• Measuring video performance and ROI
• Council meeting recordings and live streaming
• Public consultation video content
• Creating informational videos
• Community event coverage
• Educational content about council services
• Emergency updates and announcements
• Accessibility requirements for council videos

Module 7: Paid Advertising & AI

This module provides an in-depth look at paid digital promotion in an AI-driven world. Topics include:

• Complying with public sector advertising guidelines
• Procurement processes for advertising services
• Targeted communications for specific council initiatives
• AI-powered ad targeting and retargeting
• AI ad creation tools
• Mastering Google Ads
• Effective Meta Ads strategies
• The Google and Meta ad libraries and how to use them to best advantage
• Rate spending transparency in advertising
• Public good campaign strategies
• Measuring public sector advertising effectiveness

Module 8: Email Marketing & Automation

Email marketing remains a powerful tool, but advancements in automation have raised the bar for personalisation and relevance. This module covers:

• Effective resident & ratepayer relationship management
• Newsletter strategies for different council departments
• Compliance with government email regulations
• Emergency alert systems
• Advanced email marketing techniques (dynamic content, personalization, automation)
• Email deliverability best practices
• Measuring email campaign performance

• Council-specific KPIs and success metrics
• Citizen engagement metrics
• Tracking sentiment, reach and impact
• Service delivery effectiveness metrics
• Public consultation response tracking
• Cost-benefit analysis for ratepayer value
• First-party data strategies
• Privacy-compliant tracking methods

Module 10: Future-Proofing Your Marketing

To remain competitive, marketers and communications professionals need to future-proof their skills and strategies. This final module focuses on:

• Disaster recovery and business continuity 
• Future of citizen engagement
• Techniques for developing compelling stories that resonate across platforms and touchpoints
• Evaluating and selecting AI marketing tools
• Integration of marketing technologies
• Building scalable marketing infrastructure
• Security and compliance considerations
• Continuous learning strategies

 

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TIMING

The next course begins on Monday 30 December, 2024.

However, you take this course in accordance with YOUR OWN TIMING – once each lesson is released, it is available for you to access ANYTIME, 24/7. And you have access indefinitely.

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INVESTMENT

This ten-part online training course is available for $897+GST per person. However we offer an Early Bird Discount of $100 -- pay just $797+GST for bookings received by Monday 23 December, 2024.

Bookings are confirmed on receipt of payment, which can be by bank deposit or credit card. We can raise an invoice in advance if you need it.

To reserve your place in this course, please pay by debit or credit card through PayPal by clicking here:

https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_s-xclick&hosted_button_id=G77NCFVN27RSG 

If you would prefer to pay by bank deposit, or require an invoice, please send an email to bookings@netmarketingcourses.co.nz with your requirements.

NB Discounts are available for 3 or more bookings from the same organisation – email bookings@netmarketingcourses.co.nz for more information.

 

WHAT HAPPENS NEXT?

You’ll receive our emailed confirmation of your booking. Then on the first day of the course we’ll follow up with details of your Login and Password, along with Course Notes for the first lesson of the NZ Digital Marketing Essentials for Local Government 2025 online training course.

Each week over ten weeks, a new lesson will be opened up, and we will email you with Course Notes for that lesson. (We release lessons weekly to ensure that they are as up-to-date as possible).

If you have any questions, or would like more information, please email us at bookings@netmarketingcourses.co.nz

 

FAQ

How does the course work?

Every lesson includes Action Steps so that you can start implementing what you’ve just learned, along with Quick Wins so that you can apply your newfound knowledge immediately.

Is the course live?

No, everything is online, conducted on a web-based e-learning software platform. Once a lesson is released, you can access it whenever you wish, anytime 24/7, in accordance with your own timetable). You proceed at your own pace, accessing materials online.

What's the course format?

This particular online training course provides content in a variety of multimedia forms, including text, images, videos, slideshows, presentations and PDF files. No special software is required to participate, you access it through a web browser (eg Chrome, Firefox, Edge, Safari).

How often are lessons released?

Course lessons will be provided weekly, over ten weeks. We release content on a weekly schedule because we review (and where necessary update) the contents of each lesson just before release, to ensure that the material is as up-to-date as possible — digital marketing is constantly changing, so we aim to ensure that the lessons reflect the latest developments.

How long will each lesson take?

We typically recommend you allow 1-2 hours per lesson.

What happens if I need help?

 Interaction with the course tutor is enabled via email (with telephone backup if required).

What are people saying about these courses?

Feedback from previous digital marketing training course and workshop participants:

• It is great that we have managed to get an external perspective on marketing in the digital space – your expertise in this area is greatly appreciated. – Hazel T.
• I really enjoyed the [Digital Marketing Workshop] today and got a lot out of it  – Nikki H.
• Thanks for a great [Digital Marketing] session yesterday, really enjoyed it and learnt lots – Izi W
• “this was the best professional development course I have done in many years” – Mark R, senior Agency Exec responsible for social media
• “thought the information within was outstanding” – Ed P, General Manager
• “What I loved was that I started with a fairly rudimentary understanding of social media but have learned a lot – including where to find more information as I need it.” – Fiona W, Marketing Manager
• “I found it relevant, informative, topical, insightful and a bloody good read. It’s never evangelical, too techy, patronising, assumes that you know too much or too little about digital and has a warm sense of humour in the communication throughout which helped faciliate the learning process for me.” — Adrienne B, new media senior executive
• “Thanks for pointing me in the direction of this course! It’s been extremely enlightening” — Shayne P, design agency director
• “Rapt with what I have seen of the course” — Julia R, fashion editor
• “I’m really enjoying the course – learning a lot – and I know the two friends I persuaded to join us are also loving it.” — Lavinia C, designer
• “Am thoroughly enjoying the content!” – Kara B, magazine co-ordinator
• “I was already engaging with social media and have been doing so for about 6 years or so. But, did I know how to use social media in a marketing and business sense? No, I simply did not. This course was a great way to show me how to do that.” — Sheryl K, online marketer

COURSE CREATION AND TUTORING

This course has been created and is tutored by Michael Carney.