Social Media Usersʼ Expectations of the
US Government
Survey Results
Contact:
Jed Sundwall
jed@capturagroup.com
@jedsundwall
619-681-1856 x208

2
Audience Survey
Introduction
These slides contain selected results from a survey
issued by Captura Group to inform the social media
strategies for USA.gov and GobiernoUSA.gov.
We hope these data will help advocate for strategic
usage of social media throughout government
agencies.
Contact:
Jed Sundwall
jed@capturagroup.com
@jedsundwall
619-681-1856 x208

3
Audience Survey
Survey Overview
A survey was fielded from October 22, 2008 to Jan 5, 2009 to gauge the preferences and
expectations of social media users with regards to accessing government information online
Respondent Facts:
• 501 people started the survey, 385 completed it (76.8%)
• Average respondent age: 42
• 50:50 Male/Female ratio
• 58% of respondents familiar with USA.gov
The survey was distributed exclusively through social media, being shared on GovGab, Twitter,
Facebook, LinkedIn, Digg, and Delicious — eliciting an average of 13 responses per day.

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Audience Survey
Survey Findings
Survey findings indicate that social media can be successfully leveraged to make relevant
government information easily accessible to a wide audience in a timely manner
• The majority of respondents are interested in accessing government information via social media
• Credibility of government information on social media is critical for respondents
• Facebook is the preferred social media tool among respondents
• Respondents are very interested in having conversations with the government
• Respondents are interested in a variety of government information, including:
- Emergency alerts
- Civic information including local government and event information
- Ways to protect the environment
- Consumer goods recalls
• Relevant and timely content is critical – the channel used to deliver it is secondary

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Audience Survey
Social Media Behaviors
Respondents frequently engage with a variety of social media services, particularly social
networks, blogs, and online video sites
How many times in the past month have you engaged in the following activities online?
Never
Every Few Weeks
Every Week
Daily

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Audience Survey
Preferred Websites
Respondents visit Google, Facebook, and YouTube most frequently
How often in the past month have you visited the following sites?
Never
Every Few Weeks
Every Week
Daily

7
Audience Survey
Research Behaviors
Respondents first look to search engines and official government websites for government information
When looking for information provided by the US government, how useful are the following sources
in helping you locate the information you need?
0 - I donʼt use this 5 - This is my preferred
source at all
source of information

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Audience Survey
Research Behaviors by Age
We do not perceive any significant difference in research behaviors across age groups
When looking for information provided by the US government, how useful are the following sources
in helping you locate the information you need?
5
4.5
4
3.5
3
GEN-Y (born 1980-1995)
2.5
GEN-X (born 1965-1979)
JONES (born 1955-1964)
2
BOOMER (born 1938-1954)
1.5
1
0.5
0

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Audience Survey
Government Information: Services
Emergency alerts and civic information are most interesting to respondents
What kinds of government services information would you be interested in receiving from the US government?
0 - Not interested at all
5 - Very interested

10
Audience Survey
Government Information: Consumer
Respondents are eager to learn how to protect the environment and be informed about
consumer goods recalls
What kinds of consumer and household information would you be interested in receiving from the US government?
0 - Not interested at all
5 - Very interested

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Audience Survey
Government Information: Education
Respondents are interested in a variety of government educational and research resources
What kinds of US government educational and research resources are you interested in?
0 - Not interested at all
5 - Very interested

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Audience Survey
Government Information: Business
Respondents are less interested in government business and employment information
What kinds of jobs, business and employment-related information would you be interested in receiving from
the US government?
0 - Not interested at all
5 - Very interested

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Audience Survey
Preferred Features and Tools
Relevant and timely content, such as emergency alerts, is more important to respondents than
how content is delivered
Which of the following features or tools would you be interested in using if they were provided by an official
US government source?
Emergency Alerts
3.85
FAQs
3.27
Local Event Information
3.00
Chat with government help staff
2.88
Wikis
2.61
Blogs
2.57
Video
2.55
Tutorials
2.51
Widgets
2.15
Podcasts
2.03
Mobile phone updates
1.86
Twitter streams
1.79
Games and Quizzes
1.46
0 - Not interested at all
5 - Very interested

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Audience Survey
Beyond Government Websites
60% of respondents are interested in government information on non-government sites – those
interested indicated a preference for information via social media channels such as Wikipedia,
social networks, and blogs
Where, outside of government websites, would you like to receive US government information?*
*This question was only asked of respondents who indicated an interest in receiving government information through non-government websites

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Audience Survey
Preferred Government Interactions
Respondents are very interested in having conversations with the government
What kind of interactions would you like to have with the US government online?

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Audience Survey
Disclaimer
This survey was issued and distributed using social
media tools, and the results are taken to represent a
sampling of English speaking social media users.
You are welcome to use it to inform your own social
media outreach strategies, but if you seek to address
a particular audience, the data presented here may
not be appropriate.
Contact:
Jed Sundwall
jed@capturagroup.com
@jedsundwall
619-681-1856 x208