Gallatin County communications coordinator makes memes to engage citizens in local government
By Jen Clancey STAFF WRITER
Most Americans don’t associate memes with local government, but most Americans don’t live in Gallatin County where one social media manager is posting outside-the-box content to catch citizens’ attention.
One meme references a famous “Notting Hill” scene when actress Julia Roberts professes her love for the protagonist, but instead of the original scripted text, the meme reads, “I’m just a local government social media manager, standing in front of her county residents, asking them to be heard by the people who count, which sadly isn’t me, despite my excellent meme game.”
Another is just a photo of Gayle King after her brief flight to space earlier this year, with the caption, “When you get engaged and then remember you now have a wedding to plan.” The post reminds residents of marriage license services available at the Gallatin County Justice Center.
These visual pop culture references are the work of Gallatin County Communications Coordinator Whitney Bermes. At her desk in the Gallatin County Courthouse in Bozeman, Bermes infuses her sense of humor into communications to tell people to subscribe to The Bulletin, a “one-stop shop” for anything people need to know about local government happenings. The Bulletin, too, is the creation of Bermes, who has led communications for the county for the past seven years and started the newsletter three years ago.
For Bermes, the opportunity to add some lightness in her work is refreshing.
“A lot of what government does is so serious,” Bermes told EBS. “And so to be able to bring a little levity to government just also brings a lot of joy to me.”
She said she was inspired by several government pages online like the Washington State Department of Natural Resources, the National Park Service and nearby Missoula County, that have worked to infuse humor into their work. It’s also a way to reach more residents where they’re at: on the internet.
“They’re in a space that has humor and has sarcasm and has wit,” Bermes said. So far, the method has worked in getting people to engage with Gallatin County social media.
In the past, Bermes said, a generic post reminding followers to check out the newsletter resulted in maybe one or two likes—now that number can range from 15 to 100 depending on the popularity of the meme. One Aug. 12 meme celebrating the Gallatin County Road and Bridge Department garnered 119 likes on Instagram, referencing Taylor Swift’s announcement of her next album “Life of a Showgirl,” with a department truck on a glittery background.
“Every department I know wants more engagement with their constituents, whether it’s the health department or the sheriff’s office, or elections. You know, we want higher turnouts in elections, we want more people to show up to our town halls. We want more people to provide public comments so we know that the decisions we’re making have reached the people … they should be reaching. And communications just plays a role in that and an important role.”
Whitney Bermes, Gallatin County communications coordinator
The Bulletin subscription rate also has improved thanks to the creative messaging, with five to 15 new subscribers a week, according to Bermes.
She said that the memes 100% reflects her sense of humor, and also what she sees online. And while some memes don’t “hit” every time, Bermes noted that an unpopular meme is just a part of the process, as is knowing when a meme is unnecessary or not appropriate for the situation.
“Not every topic is ripe for a meme,” Bermes said. “I mean, there’s still obviously decorum and professionalism that you wanna make sure that you’re… using to represent your organization.”
Overall, Bermes sees memes as just another tool to reach people, and another way to empower residents to get involved.
“Every department I know wants more engagement with their constituents, whether it’s the health department or the sheriff’s office, or elections,” Bermes said. “You know, we want higher turnouts in elections, we want more people to show up to our town halls. We want more people to provide public comments so we know that the decisions we’re making have reached the people … they should be reaching. And communications just plays a role in that and an important role.”
Outside of social media and emailed newsletters, Gallatin County communicates through mailers, phone calls, door-to-door visits in urgent situations and evacuations, public meetings, town halls, outreach events or tabling in different locations in the county, speaking at city and town meetings, community notification systems, press releases, and collaborations with stakeholders and partners—all in pursuit of getting the word out about county information.
“It’s just like a different language … we wouldn’t say the same things in a meme that we would say in an op-ed that we’d write for the newspaper. But it’s just translating in different ways in hopes that we continue reaching all of our residents as best we can,” Bermes noted.
“And if it takes a joke or two, so be it.”
