Objective

“Tell the Region 7 story by interactively engaging the public with

relevant information, tools and resources”

Organizational Social Media:

We have the ability to communicate instantly between government,

communities, organizations and citizens. This is amazing in our everyday

life with traffic, news and weather, but extraordinary in times of need and

natural disasters.

Social media is content creation and

distribution

Social networking is the community you build

online through connections that you make

Interact and share your agency’s story through

your community member’s network

Our online habits have changed

◦ According to a 2009 study by the University of California, the average

American, on an average day, consumes 34 gigabytes and 100,000 words

of information. (http://www.universityofcalifornia.edu/news/article/22528)

◦ “American consumers watched 36 million hours of television on mobile

devices each month …”

How search engines work

• Spiders and Bots = web crawling = local results (target

your audience)

• As users, we utilize search engines instead of URLS

• As an agency, we need to use search engine optimization

techniques

Web 2.0 is collaboration and relationship building

• Developing technology keeps the online environment in flux.

• Our online environment has evolved from information

consumption to an interactive.

• Social network sharing, blogs, site interaction with

video, photography, graphics and posts.

•We build relationships by interacting online

• Enormous potential ex: https://twitter.com/#!/USGS

Cloud computing gives us server based freedom

• Account Preferences and details on every device and machine.

Your habits are tracked.

• Documents, music, movies, photographs, video

storage, email, calendars, social media

• Information strung across all of your devices seamlessly

• We have the ability to share instantly from all of your devices

Tool Break

http://tweetreach.com/

www.hootsuite.com

Engaging with Social Media

Define your Objectives ◦ Stay in line with your agency objective!

Plan campaigns and strategy Define your audience

◦ Who are you trying to reach

◦ What are they interested in specifically?

Attract followers ◦ Get your followers to help you share your story

◦ This is done both online and in person

Social media is an investment◦ It takes time to grow

Decide how to engage

• What type of content supports your established objective.

• What does your agency do well and what resources do you have? Writing (blogs and posts)

Photography

Video

Social media is an investment that takes resources! Social media is like a free puppy…cute, exciting, but a lot of

work http://www.kolbeco.net/Blog/social-media-is-like-a-puppy/

If you already have a public affairs team, they can help The ultimate location of social media is agency specific

Social Media engagement

doesn’t change the rules!

Things to consider • Copyright

• Ethics

• 501 Compliance

• Hatch Act

• When to engage as a private citizen or government employee.

It is okay to post your opinion as a private citizen

If you identify yourself as a government employee, always state that your

opinion does not represent your agency. Leave the agency posting up to the official voice of the agency

◦ That being said….

If you are comfortable engaging online with your personal accounts, POST

AWAY! It is okay to engage on your agencies social media channels

Tool Break

www.tweetdeck.com

www.kurrently.com

It takes commitment

Respond to the good and the bad

online

Dedicate the personnel to the task

Outline your workflow

◦ We take a region wide approach

Define your program objectives and engagement areas

Establish a clear workflow and add value for staff members

Integrate social media into web content and staff consciousness

Use metrics to evaluate your efforts

Analyze results and develop new ways to engage the public

Region 7 Methodology

Strategy | Workflow | Integration | Evaluation | Innovation

This approach is designed to function as a cycle to ensure continued engagement (similar to software development). Define an initial program objective; develop it along the five method path. After initiating new innovations, based upon previous evaluation - define the next objective to restart the cycle. If the overall program objective is still valid, identify an objective that fits within the program objective, such as establishing a new account, improving content or implementing new technology. This process may include all or part of the steps in the development path.

This continual project management approach will discourage complacency and ensure that the region is engaged online.

Monitor

Post

Interact

Water

Comm.

Rep.

Superfund

Comm.

Rep.

ENSV

Comm.

Rep.

Air and

Waste

Comm. Rep.

PLMG

Comm.

Rep.

EPA

Region 7

Staff

OPA

SocMed (Multimedia & Media

Team)

SocMed

Manageme

nt

Portfolio

Publishin

g &

Archive

Web &

Social

Media

Publishin

g

Shannon Bond

SocMed Coordinator (production

schedule, software admin., &

multimedia development)

Toni Castro

Multimedia Development

Chris Whitley

Media Team Lead (copy edit &

release)

Dave Bryan

Copy edit & release

Kris Lancaster

Copy edit & release

Social Media management

software.

• Users have certain permissions

• Provides streamlined edit &

approval process.

• Enhanced admin controls

Digital Asset Management System

• Proper media archiving

• Enhanced production capability

• Enhanced records keeping

• EPA client delivery system

Tool Break

www.waze.com

Photo

Caption

Example

with detail

U.S. EPA Region 7, On-Scene Coordinator, Jim Silver, takes a flood water

sample with the help of Tetra Tech, Environmental Scientist Danny O'Connor, in

South East, Missouri, May 24, 2011. EPA Region 7 is testing the flood water for

potentially harmful contaminants as it recedes. (USEPA photo by Shannon

Bond)

Photo

Caption

Example

with general

information

U.S. EPA Region 7 is working with federal, state and local authorities to aid in

the safe clean up of Joplin, Mo., after a massive tornado devastated the city on

Sunday, May 22,2011. (U.S. EPA photo by Shannon Bond)

Questions?

When to post personally?

Great sites & apps?

◦ Twitter, Facebook, G+, Pulse, Hootsuite,

Bitly, Reddit, Stumbleupon, Skype, Green

versations, digg, YouTube, Google

Docs, Dropbox, Spotify, Pandora etc.