Social Media In The Public Sector Speakerbox Presentation

Social Media in the Public Sector: Perspectives and Practices
Market Connections, Inc.
October 27, 2009

Objectives
Provide a snapshot of current social media practices in the B2G marketplace.
Provide a snapshot of how tools are being used by the government.
Two online studies and contractor IDIs:

Government Contractor Social Media Survey and in-depth interviews
Federal Employee Social Media Survey

2

Survey Respondent Classifications
Federal Employees

59% Defense

37% Civilian
4% Judicial/Legislature

72% Male

28% Female
38% 55+ years old
36% 45 – 54 years old
26% < 45 years old
Variety of job functions represented:
17% Executive management
10% Program management
9% IT, engineering
8% Accounting
7% Procurement
Contractors

50% < 500 employees

32% 5,000+ employees

42% Senior executives

26% Marketing, advertising, PR

Variety of businesses represented:

28% Professional services
13% Manufacturers
13% System integrators
12% Defense/aerospace
3
Source: 2009 Government Contractor Social Media Survey

Contractors: Current Practices in Social Media
4

Contractors: Social Media Strategy
Of those who do not use social media, over half do not expect their organization to develop a strategy or do not know of any plans.
Of those who use social media formally or informally, over one-third started to use it within the past six months.
“Everything we do is driven by our clients. If they came out and said they are really using these tools, then we’re there. But right now, our organization’s infrastructure just isn’t set up for this, and someone is going to have to prove how these tools will make government work smarter before we consider them.”
5

Contractors: Social Media Implementation Responsibility
Forty-one percent (41%) have a staff member whose primary responsibility is focused on social media.
6

Contractors: Budget for Social Media Activities
Twenty-two percent (22%) have a budget dedicated to social media activities with nearly two-thirds expecting that budget to increase.
7

Contractors: Primary Purpose of Social Media Activities
“There’s a lot less desire to meet face to face with clients and these tools helps us enhance the way we communicate beyond what used to be possible with just email and telephone calls.
We can share video and audio, chat through instant message, create groups on sites like Facebook and LinkedIn where we can exchange ideas with the community focused on these issues.
There’s a huge percentage of our DOD audience who are under 25 and who no longer use email and we, as an organization, need to be very aware of that.”
8

Contractors: Social Media Activities and Content
Top Five Types of
Content Distributed
Sales and marketing materials
Event information
Job postings
Press releases
White papers/case studies
9

Contractors: Current and Future Social Media Tools – Top Seven
LinkedIn used most frequently followed by Facebook.
GovLoop used most frequently.
YouTube used most frequently.
10

Contractors:Benefits of Social Media for the Organization
11

Contractors: Challenges of Social Media Implementation - Top Ten
“It’s a major time consumer. Someone’s got to monitor it constantly, and we just don’t have the resources or people to do that…You have to remember that marketing is overhead at a defense contractor, it’s not something that we can charge to a client, so it’s very difficult to convince our executives to spend on it.”
“My main concerns would be security and training. Making sure that our staff are using the tools appropriately. Another issue is the proliferation of them. There are new tools popping up all the time, and it’s becoming a challenge to make sure everyone is on the same platform.”
12

Federal Government Employees:Current Practices in Social Media
13

Federal Employees: Agency and Personal Social Media Use
Use by agency type
24% Defense
22% Civilian
14
Source: 2009 Federal Government Employee Social Media Survey

Federal Employees: Social Media Use by Gender and Age
Social Media use by Gender
15

Federal Employees: Agency’s Use of Social Media
16

Federal Employees: Use of Social Media in Organization
17

Federal Employees: Organizational Social Media Policies
Byagency type
59% Defense
65% Civilian
18

Federal Employees: Social Media Sites Used in Past Month – Top Ten
19

Federal Employees: Sources for Information on Government Contractors
20

Implications
Social media is still being used primarily as a high level information push/pull tool to agency constituents or as internal collaboration tools.
While widespread adoption in the rank and file is not seen yet, significant growth has occurred in the past six to 12 months.
Social media should compliment, not dominate, your marketing mix. Tried and true still has its place in your marketing plan.
Set realistic objectives and expectations for your social media campaigns: building relationships vs. lead generation.
Develop a formal long term plan for social media – consider phased roll-out.
Monitor the evolution and use of social media tools by your customer base and adjust your strategies accordingly.
21

Contact Information
Market Connections, Inc.
14555 Avion Parkway,
Suite 125
Chantilly, VA 20151
703.378.2025
www.marketconnectionsinc.com
22