Social Media:What & Why

Metrics Overview

Jessica OrquinaU.S. Environmental Protection Agency

Office of Web CommunicationsMarch 2014

Social Media: What & Why

• Social media includes anything online other than static content. It’s about:– User created content– Engagement– Conversations

• Social media is where people are.– It is where they go to look for information and engage

with the community.– It’s a more direct connection to people.– It gives us an opportunity to hear what people are saying.

Social Media is a Powerful Tool

• Share: Inform citizens of public services through social content

• Listen: Observe, analyze and understand what citizens are sharing to improve public services

• Engage: Respond, collaborate and create with citizens to improve public services (sharing and listening)

Potential Benefits of Using Media

• More effective distribution of critical information to citizens and communities, whether for emergency response, education or awareness.

• More responsive public programs that citizens help shape, and better customer experience by listening for feedback.

• Better informed strategies that operate on the most up-to-date and accurate data, leading to greater efficiency.

• Increased use of innovative tools and services from small businesses and entrepreneurs that drive further innovation.

EPA’s Social Media Policy

• It is EPA’s policy to use social media where appropriate in order to meet its mission of protecting human health and the environment.

Considerations

• Social media is not always the answer.• Social media needs to be part of a complete

communications and marketing plan.• Always consider your mission and goals first.– Then plan your communications and marketing

strategy – then think about which social media tools are appropriate.

What is EPA doing on social media?

• EPA is using social media to:–Provide information during

emergencies–Engage the public–Gather feedback–Share our work in communities across

the country

Social Media Tools• Blogs• Microblogs• Social networking• Widgets• Wikis• Video/photo sharing• Podcasting• RSS• Mashups• Idea generation• Webinars• Challenges• Geotagging• Software Development

Repository

How You Can Use Social Media to Connect with the Public

• Ask questions on social media platforms (like Twitter, Facebook, Google+) or in blog posts

• Ask the public to submit or share content (such as photos or video)

• Talk with the public:– Twitter chats– Twitter town halls– Facebook chats– Google+ Hangouts– Reddit AMAs

• Share multimedia content with the public• Share information with the public

Listening

• Social media is not just for sharing information, it can also be used to listen and gather feedback on public opinion.

• Use social media to listen:– Read comments on blog posts.– Read comments on Facebook, Google+, YouTube, and Flickr.– Read replies on Twitter.– Read mentions on Twitter.– Search keywords and hashtags on Twitter to find trends in

conversations and public opinion.

Where Should You Engage?

• Questions to help determine the best place / way to engage with your audience on social media:– What are your goals?– Where is your audience?– What type of information do you want to share?– How much time / resources do you have to

commit to this communication effort?– How sensitive is the topic?

Maximizing Impact / Campaign Coordination

• Foundation: Good content on the web.– Plain language information– Maps– Photos and graphics

• Momentum: Sharing– Web content– Between social media sites (example: share blog posts on

Facebook and Twitter)• Engage: Listen and respond

– Join in the conversation on blogs and social media!– Answer questions when possible– Listen to feedback

Social Media Metrics

• Social media metrics for federal agencies is an evolving topic.– Information and recommendations on DigitalGov– New methods and tools become available all the time

• What we can / want to measure:– Breadth – Depth – Direct Engagement– Loyalty – Customer Experience – Campaigns– Strategic Outcomes

Metrics: Breadth

• High-level information on the breadth of traffic to, and content usage of, a given social media activity.– Community Size

• The size of your direct and indirect community• Potential audience / reach• Examples: Facebook fans, Twitter followers, YouTube

subscribers, Tumblr followers

– Community Growth• Change in the size of your direct community• Popularity of your account

Metrics: Depth

• The extent (time), outcomes and context of a visit.• Number of desired actions users complete as a result

of your social media strategy, whether its engagement, access to data or registering for services.– Conversions

• Volume of desired actions through social media channels, such as click-throughs

– Viewing• Video-specific• How often certain videos are viewed, and for how long

Metrics: Direct Engagement

• The extent to which a visitor uses the social media content.– Engagement Volume

• The volume and frequency of an agency’s engagements with citizens

– Engagement Responsiveness• How successful an agency is in reaching response-time

benchmarks• Are you achieving your goals?• Examples:

– Are you able to answer the questions posed by your customers?– Are you answering these questions within the timeframe you have

specified?

Metrics: Loyalty

• Visitor loyalty and returns• Return Community– Use Google Analytics to measure returning traffic

from social media sites.– NOTE: Review your agency’s policy on cookies and

tracking users of your website.

Metrics: Customer ExperienceConsiderations / Concerns

• The sentiment, surveys, and high-tier social data from customer service measures.

• Listen to what customers are saying about specific programs or events on social platforms so that data can then be used to improve strategies and services.– The Privacy Act of 1974 (5 U.S.C. § 552a)

• Protect personally identifiable information (PII) of citizens• Usernames and other data on social media can be considered PII

– OMB Memorandum M-10-23 Guidance for Agency Use of Third-Party Websites and Applications (PDF, 103 KB, 9 pages, June 2010) Section 3.e• If information is collected through an agency’s use of a third-party website or

application, the agency should collect only the information “necessary for the proper performance of agency functions and which has practical utility. If personally identifiable information (PII) is collected, the agency should collect only the minimum necessary to accomplish a purpose required by statute, regulation, or executive order.”

Metrics: Customer ExperienceMeasuring

• Sentiment– The context of what is being shared about programs– There are some free tools that provide high-level sentiment analysis– Paid tools that provide this type of information include Topsy and Radian6

• Indicators– The characteristics that influence or are associated with an agency’s

social programs• Survey Feedback

– Provides key results of customer satisfaction surveys conducted for an agency’s social community

– Create surveys or questions to ask your audience for feedback– NOTE: Make sure you comply with the Paperwork Reduction Act on all

social media surveys

Metrics: Campaigns

• Campaign analysis reports how specific programs and tactics perform using the core five categories of metrics (breadth, depth, direct engagement, loyalty, and customer experience).

Metrics: Strategic Outcomes

• Strategic Outcome analysis reports how the performance of social media strategies directly impact strategic priorities of the organization.

• Measure strategic outcomes through combinations of metrics, campaigns and the goals of your organization.

Resources

• DigitalGov Social Media– #SocialGov Community of Practice– Federal-Compatible Terms of Service Agreements– Social Media Metrics for Federal Agencies– DigitalGov University

• Social Media Registry (agency-facing side)– Social Media Registry (English public-facing side)– Social Media Registry (Spanish public-facing side)

• EPA’s Webguide – Social Media @ EPA– EPA’s Social Media Policy (Note section 6 of the document)

Contact Information

• EPA Social Media Lead– Jessica Orquina– 202-564-0446– Twitter: @JAOrquina