social media for municipal government
DESCRIPTION
Presentation given to staff of the City of La Grange, TX on December 16, 2013 on the use of social media in municipal government.TRANSCRIPT
Social Media for Municipal Government
City of La GrangeDecember 16, 2013
Get these slides here::http://sarahtpage.com/CityOfLaGrange/
Today We’ll Cover …
• Why social media?• Daily management• Common social media platforms• Best practices and Examples• Q&A
Why Social Media?
Keep It Simple• Remember: It’s just a conversation• We can either engage in the conversation with
our customer, or they will have the conversation without us.
Flickr: Search Engine People Blog
Primary Functions of Social Media in Government
• Share – inform citizens of public services and activities
• Listen – observe, analyze, and understand what citizens are sharing to improve public services
• Engage – respond, collaborate, and create with citizens to improve public services.
Source: http: //www.howto.gov
What Are Your Goals?
• Provide additional channels for citizen input and other potentially affected interests
• Increase the transparency of the City’s decision-making process
• Facilitate a sense of community• Reach new audiences with City messages and
information
These are the City of Round Rock’s social media goals. What are yours?
Why Is Social Media Scary?
Someone could say something BAD about you!
Flickr: andyaldridge
2011 Fels Institute Social Media Report
2011 Fels Institute Social Media Report
Daily Management
Centralized vs. Departmental Management
Centralized• Single page = bigger
audience• Professionally managed
pages/channels• Control over
content/messaging• Small cities may lack
resources/staff
Departmental• Niche channels for niche
content• Enthusiastic content
experts• Central office should
guide & teach – not control content
• Small cities may have younger/geekier staff (due to lower pay grades)
Things To Consider
• Records retention• Legal issues/constraints• Transparency• Terms of use• Social media policies
Assessing New Social Media
• Clearly identify objectives• Determine a strategy for its use• “Listen” to the social media conversation for
new potential channels• Realistically assess resources• Reach out to peer cities for advice
Common Social Media PlatformsFacebook, Twitter, and YouTube
What Is Facebook?
• Social networking service that allows users to connect to friends and businesses
• Share content, links, photos, and videos• Comment on others’ activity• Remember: Personal profiles are for people,
not businesses. Develop a fan page instead.
Facebook Stats
• Over 1.1 billion active users• Average user is connected to 40 pages• Smartphone mobile users check Facebook an
average of 13.8 times a day• 751 million users access Facebook from a
mobile device
Source: IDC; expandedramblings.com
What Is Facebook?
Facebook Benefits
• Low cost• Engage with fans of your page• Fans receive your updates and can upload
comments, photos, and video• When fans engage you on your page, their
activity shows up in their friends’ streams– This can prompt others to check out the City of
La Grange pages too!
Facebook Benefits
• Can incorporate content from other social media platforms– Ex: blog posts, updates from Twitter, pictures from
Instagram, videos from YouTube, location-based apps (FourSquare), etc.
• Targeted advertising opportunities (cheap too!)
Know Your Audience
Photo: stijnbokhove
Facebook Insights
Facebook Insights
What Is Twitter?
• Free social networking and micro-blogging site that allows users to send and read messages known as “tweets”
• Tweets can have no more than 140 characters & are delivered to the author’s subscribers, known as “followers”
Twitter Stats
• 500 million users• 60% of active users use their mobile phone to
tweet• Average number of followers per Twitter user is
208• Twitter engagement rates for brands are 17%
higher on Saturdays and Sundays
Source: Linchpin SEO; expandedramblings.com
What Is Twitter?
Twitter Benefits
• Low cost• Speed of feedback• Potential reach of message• Customer engagement/service• Track what people are saying about you• Create buzz around upcoming events• Promote the city and other content you create
What Is YouTube?
• Allows people to discover, watch, and share originally-created videos
YouTube Stats
• More than 1 billion unique users visit YouTube every month
• 100 hours of video are uploaded every minute• 6+ billion hours of video are watched each
month• YouTube reaches more adults ages 18-34 than
any cable network
Source: http://www.youtube.com/t/press_statistics
Best Practices and Examples
#1
Have a Great Bio
#2
Share Information
#3
Use Cover Photos As Advertising
#4
Use Hashtags
#5
Be Human
#6
Ask Questions
#7
Be Helpful
#8
Show, Don’t Tell
#9
Use Local Experts
#10
Try Instagram
Brought to you on behalf of Pedernales Electric Cooperative
#11
Start Pinning
Resources
• Social Media Policy– http://www.portlandoregon.gov/auditor/article/372781
• Portland social media directory– http://www.portlandonline.com/?c=51425&a=468696
• Louisville social media directory– http://www.louisvilleky.gov/socialmediacenter
• Social media policy database– http://socialmediagovernance.com/policies.php
• Fels Institute study– https://www.fels.upenn.edu/sites/www.fels.upenn.edu/fil
es/fels_promising_practices_the_rise_of_social_media_website_final.pdf
Can I Help?
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