National Digital Roundtable

How can creators and influencers be better integrated in our public diplomacy strategies? The recent NATO Summit in Washington DC showed us how the public facing of a complex and burocratic institution – whether it’s an international organization, government agency or an embassy – can benefit tremendously by partnering with creators and influencers. What I learned earlier this week at roundtable that I hosted at the Italian Embassy is that influencers diplomacy is a key new tool to progress: 1) our foreign policy priorities, 2) improve the way we engage with audiences, and 3) the way we reach out to younger generations, at home and abroad. Nice to see NATO welcoming our efforts! Marie-Doha Besancenot, NATO Assistant Secretary General for Public Diplomacy, graciously commented to my X post about the event and said: "Thank you for highlighting our joint efforts to bring diplomacy & political decisions closer to citizens across generations ! We believe in #digitaldiplomacy and recognize the decisive role these coms experts can play in raising awareness on our role & missions." Love it! Grazie Marie! My takeaways from the event: - Influencers and creators care about geopolitical and global issues, and are not afraid to stand for what they believe in - They are eager to partner to support causes they believe in - They care deeply about and deeply respect the community they’re part of - We need to find ways to partner with them and engage with the community they represent - They aim to educate, inform, learn — but also sooth and entertain - We talk about and focus too much on the algorithms I cannot thank enough Anthony Shop and the National Digital Roundtable for partnering with us. And thank you also to all those who made this round table a true success, it's a long list, bear with me! Grazie Candiace Dillard Bassett, Aaron P., Anthony J. Polcari, Nick Martin, Allie O'Brien, Rhea Shetty, Rina Shah, Gabriela Castillo Madrid, Patrick Kane, Miguel Gorman, Angela Krasnick, Ariana Mushnick, Robert Bole, Emily Keller, Kristie Dash, Elizabeth Ghosh, Jade Womack, Alex Schroeder, Susannah Outhier, Pierre Leonard, Albert Ting, Jake Schneider, Adam Shapiro, Anne Paisley, Elizabeth Georges. As well as their organizations. And a big GRAZIE to Sebastiano Tibolla, Mafalda Minerva Aiassa, and Francesca Boi here at the Embassy.

"The algorithm didn't just fall out of a coconut tree." The platform companies reminded us that the users power algorithms by what they choose to watch and engage with. In the wake of the NATO Summit, which reached more people than ever thanks to influencers, the Embassy of Italy in the US hosted a phenomenal National Digital Roundtable discussion about the #Creator economy. Our impressive group featured recognizable influencers ranging from Tony P to Real Housewife Candiace Dillard Bassett, alongside digital leaders from The White House, Meta, X and Google/YouTube. Here are a few of the notes from the experts in the room that I scribbled down while moderating: 💡 Treat Creators like press... but remember they aren't journalists! 💡 People will continue to seek out social content that soothes them - so creators can help you reach your target audience in new ways. 💡 Working with influencers is not transactional like buying ads - build partnerships built on shared values and audience interests. 💡 Remember: sometimes the people in charge of social channels in an organization don't actually use said channels! Social Driver launched National Digital Roundtable to facilitate important conversations exactly like the one we had today!

(Inter)National Digital Roundtable? Advisory Board members Patrick Kane and Kevin Coroneos were honored to join the U.S. Department of State’s International Visitor Leadership Program participants from Africa to present on the latest trends in social media, and how brands are breaking through the noise by leveraging video, influencers, and more innovative tactics! Thank you to the Meridian International Center Center for hosting, and Chair Anthony Shop for driving the conversation throughout this special afternoon with content creators and leaders from across the globe.

What questions do you think we should ask some of DC's top influencers and creators?

Why did Jennifer Coolidge make a special appearance at our latest National Digital Roundtable event? (If you look close, you can see her!) The White Lotus and Legally Blonde star showed up on-screen in a short-form video that broke through the noise: a Motion Picture Association Instagram Reel celebrating the Fourth of July (h/t Becca D. and Patrick Kane). Social Driver launched the National Digital Roundtable to build a community of digital leaders, innovators and policy shapers, and to help us all find clarity in a time of uncertainty. A few takeaways from our participants: ⚡ Everyone used to ask me to help them go viral. Now they're asking me to help them get on Tiktok. ⚡ What I used to call short-form is now long-form. If it's over one minute, it's dead on social. ⚡ The new engagement metric to pay attention to is whether your audience is sending the video to their friends. ⚡ Creative partnerships are essential - even cabinet secretaries are pitching influencers to reach the right people. ⚡ Our thought leaders are now asking the digital team to help them launch a Tiktok account. 👀 👀 👀 Keep your eyes peeled for a full article including some of our favorite short-form videos from around DC. 👀 👀 👀 Huge thanks to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce for their partnership, and especially to Rachel Reh who served as an extraordinary host and presenter for this event. If you want to ask our participants a question or host a future event, let me know.

🎥Thank you Anthony Shop and the National Digital Roundtable for inviting me to this great conversation yesterday on short-form video content and trends! It was powerful to hear from my fellow comms + marketing colleagues in the field on how they’re utilizing this strategy to reach their goals, and to bring some actionable takeaways back to our small-but-mighty team at Center for Adoption Support and Education. 🤗Bonus that I got to sit only one chair away from my former Flamboyan Foundation teammate Rachel Tringali Marston, and that I ran into my old friend Mike Jackson in the lobby of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, heading to another event! Mike and I graduated from the excellent Public Diplomacy Masters program at USC Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism an undisclosed number of years ago — he was part of the first graduating class ever, and I was in the second! cc Nicholas Cull ☀️Not a bad way to spend a blistering hot Thursday afternoon in DC.

Washington, DC has one of the most vibrant communities of digital strategists, practitioners, and content creators in the country, and it’s always special when we can bring these groups together! Hosted by our friends at Social Currant, the National Digital Roundtable assembled leaders across the digital space for an evening of networking and camaraderie. A big thank you to Ashwath N., Vidyut Ghuwalewala, and the Social Currant team for your support of this great event. If you are interested in hosting a roundtable or social event, please reach out to our team!

Social media’s harmful effects on young peoples’ mental health has been a topic of conversation for years. Is it time for a social media ban for children and teens? It’s complicated. National Digital Roundtable held a discussion recently at the American Psychological Association's Washington, D.C. office focusing on youth safety in the digital age, particularly the potential risks of social media content, features, and functions on youth mental health. “It’s hard to find a topic more important and relevant than this one,” said Anthony Shop, chairman of the National Digital Roundtable. “It’s why we wanted to bring the research of the APA before a group of leaders ranging from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and the U.S. Center for SafeSport, to Pinterest and Elizabeth Dole Foundation. These issues cannot be solved in silos.”

How do we keep kids safe online? It’s not an easy question to answer. National Digital Roundtable partnered with the American Psychological Association to unpack this complex issue. We will share some amazing takeaways soon! But in the meantime, thank you to the incredible participants from organizations including Pinterest, U.S. Department of Homeland Security, The Trevor Project, U.S. Center for SafeSport, Elizabeth Dole Foundation, inseparable, National Governors Association and more. #mentalhealth #youth #youthsafety