Communications 2021
‘Say what?’ Trust in central bank communications
Central banks are changing how they communicate with different audiences, but judging the success of these communication efforts is difficult
Communications Benchmarks 2021 report – making connections
Data offers insights into staffing and salaries, communications channels, social media, new technology and strategies
Most central banks communicate in at least two languages
Central banks must weigh challenge of translating sensitive messages against reach
Comms teams grow in step with central bank staff size
But budgets prove to be more varied
Wide gap between some central banks’ communications budgets
But comms salaries are fairly level between high and middle income groups
Officials’ public appearances ranged from rare to frequent in 2020
Central banks take different approaches to senior officials’ online presence
Trust and comprehension seen as more important than audience size
Central bankers see trust as the most important measure of communications effectiveness
Social media is top channel for two-way communication
Central banks use a variety of options to let the public give feedback and ask questions
Monitoring tools critical to measuring comms effectiveness
Facebook and YouTube remain most popular social media options, but some central banks are experimenting with others
Inflation reports more frequent than financial stability reports
Clear majority of central banks also use ‘layering’ in key publications
Central banks leverage multimedia communication channels
Around a third have added podcasts, mobile apps and blogs to their comms repertoire
Comms team salaries similar across high and middle income countries
Employees earn on average around $33,000, according to data from 15 central banks
Vast majority of central banks provide communications training
Social media, writing skills and public speaking emerged as key areas
Academics miss out on central bank background briefings
After journalists, private sector analysts are offered briefings most often
Communications often involved at early stages of central bank policy
Most central banks say comms teams are involved in early planning stage of policy decisions
Fintech communication is most challenging for central banks
Central banks view fintech as greatest challenge, but rate monetary policy communication highly