1. Social Media and
Communities @ EPA
Jessica Orquina
Acting Associate Director
Office of Web Communications
April 2015

2. Background & Policy
• It is EPA’s policy to use social media where
appropriate in order to meet our mission of
protecting human health and the
environment.
– EPA is using social media tools to create a more
effective and transparent government, to engage
the public and EPA’s partners, and to facilitate
internal collaboration.
– Social media provides another set of tools to help
EPA accomplish its mission.

3. Considerations
• Social media is not always the answer.
• Social media needs to be part of a complete
communications and marketing plan.
• Some things to remember
– Social media is free like a puppy is free.
– Social media is a set of communications tools. Don’t throw
out the old just because you get something new.
– Social media is becoming the place people go for news,
information, and to talk about what’s important to them.
• Terms of Service
• Resources

4. Social Media Tools
• Blogs
• Microblogs
• Social networks
• Widgets
• Wikis
• Video/photo sharing
platforms
• Podcasts
• Mashups
• Idea generation
• Webinars
• Challenges
• Geotagging Tools
• Software Development
Repository

5. EPA’s Social Media
• EPA is using social media to
communicate with a wide variety
of different audiences.
• Facebook: multiple accts
– www.facebook.com/EPA
– Region, geographical, and program
pages
• Twitter: multiple accts
– @EPA
– Region, geographical, and program
accounts
• Blogs & Discussion Forums: EPA
Blogs
– It’s Our Environment
– Region, geographical, and program
blogs
• YouTube: one account
– www.youtube.com/usepagov
• Instagram: one account
– http://instagram.com/epagov
• Flickr: one account
– www.flickr.com/photos/usepagov
• Challenge.gov: one account
– http://challenge.gov/epa
• Foursquare: one account
– https://foursquare.com/epagov
• Google+: one account
– www.google.com/+EPAgov
• More social media at EPA

6. Where do we engage?
• Questions:
– 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?

7. 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

8. Social Media + Superfund
• Social media is a great tool to connect with a
community when travel is difficult.
• Social media does not replace public
meetings.
• Social media is a good way to promote public
meetings and encourage people to attend!
• Social media is a great way to provide regular
updates on conditions or share data, like daily
air quality.

9. Resources
• EPA Web Guide Social Media
– http://www2.epa.gov/webguide/create-and-
maintain-content#social
• Using the EPA Comment Policy
– http://www2.epa.gov/home/epa-comment-policy
• Terms of Service Agreements
– http://www2.epa.gov/webguide/terms-service-
agreements

10. Question & Answer

11. Contact Information
• Jessica Orquina
• Office: 202-564-0446
• Mobile: 202-322-8369