Social Media for Municipalities & Government

Social Media: Strategies & Tactics for Municipalities Heather Whaling [email_address] twitter.com/prTini linkedin.com/in/heatherwhaling

vending machine metaphor courtesy of Tim O’Reilly Photo credit: WordRidden

Communication Evolution Photo credit: gothopotam Photo credit: laffy4k

“ About 30 citizens became "fans" of Mitchellville, allowing them to see news from the town. Then trouble started. One grumbling resident used the page to post complaints. [The admin] had a hard time keeping up with who was joining the conversation and moderating the comments. The page became a free-for-all, and more irritation than [he] thought it was worth. He deleted it altogether.”
-- Governing, January 2010

Dialogue Requires 2-Way Photo credit: Roland One-way communication isn’t as effective as two-way communication

Source: Forrester Research

Government Goes Social
50% of cities have no “official” Facebook presence
1 in 7 had at least 1 department with a page
Only 13 cities had 500+ fans
66% of cities have a Twitter presence
Source: Fels Institute of Government

more positive impression of the company/brand
Online Interactions Shift Attitudes 74% 72% stronger connection to a company/brand Source: eMarketer

What are we talking about?
Social media isn’t:
Traditional marketing “digitized”
Broadcasting
A quick fix
Free
Stand alone
Tools
Social media is:
Insightful
Collaborative
Strategic
Valuable … when done correctly
Relationships
Service-oriented

What’s That Mean?
Interactive vs. Authoritative
Personal vs. Institutional
“ Narrowcast” vs. Broadcast

Defining Opportunities
What motivates public involvement NOW?
How can online communication support and build on that?
Other opportunities to increase efficiency & collaboration?

Photo credit: nakrnsm

Should we incorporate social media?

traffic.ottawa.ca

Newark Mayor Cory Booker, @corybooker

Richmond Police Facebook, @RichmondPolice

Before Jumping In …
What happens if someone says something negative?
What about sunshine laws and access to information?
Do we need a social media policy?

Social Media Policies
Always be transparent:
Identify yourself and who you work for.
Don’t “plant” comments.
Be careful with “ghostwriting.”
Understand what’s private and what’s public.
Be yourself … not a “mouthpiece.”
People may assume you’re speaking on behalf of the government, even when you’re speaking as an individual.
Stick to your area of expertise.

Policy Suggestions (cont.)
Respond. Answer questions. Show appreciation.
Welcome feedback and suggestions.
Avoid commenting on legal matters and litigation.
Avoid participating in a “crisis situation.”
Disagreement is ok, as long as it’s respectable. If it’s becoming heated, don’t disengage abruptly. It’s ok to ask for help.
Learn from your mistakes.

Moderation Guidelines
Pre-moderation -- user name, email address and moderation to avoid spam
”The good, the bad, and the ugly”
Positive or negative content in context of the conversation will be approved
Ugly, offensive, denigrating, out-of-context content will be rejected

Photo Credit: First Monday, Orlando Chamber of Commerce

Be Strategic
Step 1: Identify goals & purpose
Step 2: Create SMART objectives
Step 3: Research and listen
Step 4: Develop a network
Step 5: Integrate online and offline
Step 6: Measure ROI and ROE

Step 1: Identify Goals & Purpose
Provide stakeholders with access to data
Increase transparency & accountability
Create a stronger dialogue with constituents
Strengthen citizen participation
Collaboration
Others??

Step 2: Create Measurable Objectives
S pecific
M easurable
A ttainable
R ealistic
T ime-sensitive
Photo credit: Knickerstwist

Step 3: Research and Listen
Who are you trying to reach? How are they using social media?
What are people saying?
Where are they saying it?
Free online monitoring tools:
Google Alerts
Addictomatic.com
Netvibes
Hootesuite, Tweetdeck
Search.Twitter.com/Advanced
Nielsen’s BlogPulse
Alerian SM2, Filtrbox
“ If you’re always talking, you’re not listening.” – Chris Brogan

Step 4: Develop a Network
Choose the right tools
Start interacting
Create interesting content
Focus on strategy
Cultivate influencers
Promote others
Be creative
Share, share, share

Step 5: Integrate Online and Offline
Cross-promote content
Balance traditional communication
and social media
Enhance media relations
Talk to reporters on social networks
HARO
Pitchengine.com
Use offline tools to drive online efforts …
and visa versa

Step 6: Measure
Return on Insight
Return on Engagement
Twitter followers, lists, retweets and link open-rates
Blog comments, traffic, inbound links
Facebook fans, wall posts and comments
YouTube ratings, embeds on other sites
Event registrations
Measuring influence requires research

Trends Mobile Photo credit: ilamont Video

Trends (cont.) www.TurnSocial.com Content Aggregation

More Info
Slides & links:
GebenCommunication.com/Ohio
Blog:
bit.ly/prtini

“ Planning without action is futile,
action without planning is fatal.”
Heather Whaling [email_address] twitter.com/prTini linkedin.com/in/heatherwhaling

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Social Media for Municipalities & Government

by Geben Communication: Communicating ... Connecting on Apr 22, 2010

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Social Media for Municipalities & Government — Presentation Transcript