From chaos to confidence: Fixing social media for Australia’s cyber intelligence agency

Australian Signals Directorate
October 2020 - November 2021

How I rebuilt the social media program for the Australian Signals Directorate and the Australian Cyber Security Centre—bringing structure, clarity, and trust to a function that was under pressure.

Only months before the launch of a major advertising campaign, I was engaged to reboot ASD’s social media platforms and ease the anxieties of several senior leaders.

The Australian Signals Directorate (ASD) is a vital part of Australia’s national security community. It supports the Australian Government and the Australian Defence Force. ASD is a cyber intelligence agency with a more public-facing alter ego, the Australian Cyber Security Centre (ACSC), which helps educate Australians about cyber security risks.

With just a few months until the launch of ASD’s new cyber security campaign, the social media accounts for both ASD and ACSC needed urgent attention. Social media was to be a central pillar of the campaign, bringing thousands of people to view the accounts.

When I joined, the Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn pages had been struggling. A high turnover of communications staff and a lack of consistent strategic direction had taken a toll. Despite posting almost daily, organic reach and engagement remained low.

Senior leadership closely monitored what was being published. They saw social media as a key communications platform, but their expectations were not always clear. They provided frequent critical feedback, despite the best efforts of the communications team.

ASD engaged me to lead social media activities for both ASD and ACSC, with a specific remit: to ‘fix’ social for the organisation.

To start, I reviewed the entire social media function and assessed each account. I proposed a series of recommendations that would:

• improve day-to-day coordination of the accounts
• reduce errors
• ease leadership anxiety
• and improve content quality.

The leadership team accepted these recommendations, and I implemented them across four phases.

1. Introduce new workflows to manage content creation and moderation

I identified that the lack of structure around planning, review and moderation had contributed to senior leaders’ lack of confidence. Content was often created only hours before publication, then rushed to leadership for approval. The process appeared reactive, disorganised and at times chaotic. It was no surprise they felt the need to monitor the channels daily.

To rebuild trust, I introduced standard workflows that clarified expectations around content volume, the review process and comment moderation. These workflows gave the communications team time to develop a bank of approved content. They could catch errors before they became issues, which in turn built senior leaders’ confidence.

New moderation guidelines helped staff manage community interactions. Staff were empowered to track and respond to low-risk comments and given clear escalation paths for higher-risk issues.

2. Build a dedicated social media team

I trained two new communications officers, who became the dedicated team responsible for the day-to-day management of the channels.

Together, we expanded the workflows, tools and templates into a comprehensive Social Media Guidebook. The guidebook captured everything needed to manage social media within the organisation. It aimed to provide continuity through any future staff changes and set a clear baseline of expectations, roles and responsibilities.

With daily coordination now in the capable hands of a dedicated team, I was free to focus on the next phase.

3. Establish strategic objectives and brand identities

I worked with stakeholders across ASD and ACSC to define new strategic objectives for each social channel. Clarity around the role of each brand and platform was long overdue.

ASD’s social media supported recruitment, events, stakeholder engagement and community programs.
ACSC’s channels focused on communicating cyber threats, offering technical advice, and promoting simple behaviours to help Australians avoid cybercrime.

Once these objectives were agreed with senior leaders, everyone was aligned. This helped reduce distractions, disagreements and confusion about what belonged on each platform.

The visual identity and tone of each brand had become inconsistent over time—a common issue when teams experience high turnover. Without strong brand guidance, personal preferences for language and tone tend to take over.

Clear objectives allowed us to re-establish distinct voices for ASD and ACSC. This helped bring each brand to life in a consistent, purposeful way. It also gave senior leaders confidence in the direction of the program, allowing the team to produce better content and demonstrate their contribution to the organisation.

4. Transition to business as usual

The final phase involved shifting from the reboot to a new business-as-usual rhythm. With strategic direction and workflows in place, the team could now focus on continual improvement—expanding our content bank, undertaking more ambitious projects, and exploring analytics in greater depth.

The dedicated officers gained confidence and were soon managing all day-to-day activity with minimal supervision. The Social Media Guidebook and clear objectives meant all team members could step in and support each other seamlessly.

The reboot of ASD’s social media program led to measurable improvements in reach and engagement. For example, ACSC’s LinkedIn following increased by 280% over 12 months.

But the most valuable outcome was the renewed confidence it gave ASD’s communications function. Social media became a reliable and trusted platform. The social team was granted more autonomy to produce engaging, effective content, while leadership could step back from daily oversight.

The social media program now supports both ASD and ACSC’s strategic objectives. ACSC’s accounts remain a central platform for cyber security advice. ASD’s channels played a key role in celebrating the agency’s 75th Anniversary and launching a new recruitment campaign.

Many organisations managing multiple social channels lose their way—particularly when communications teams are stretched thin. In these situations, an external review can help your team refocus and realign their efforts. It is a straightforward process that can help ensure your time and resources are being used effectively.

If this sounds familiar, feel free to get in touch. I would be happy to hear about your goals and see whether I can help.

This blog post was written with minimal assistance from an AI tool. Unless stated otherwise, all writing on this website is my original work unaided by AI.