This document discusses how social media can support community broadband development initiatives. It provides several examples: 1) Itasca County in Minnesota started with COS Systems fiberhood planning tools, identified community champions, and used free social media and mapping tools like Facebook, Survey Monkey, and county GIS maps. This resulted in multiple broadband projects with updates shared via social media. 2) Social media helps promote online surveys to gauge customer interest, but does not create action on its own. Interested providers share fiberhood planning tools and community champions use social media and other methods to promote surveys. 3) Customer commitments from surveys are more effective than random sample surveys. Project progress reports on social media help maintain momentum for

1. Social Media in
Community Broadband
Development
Blandin Broadband
Leadership Roundtables
June 16, 2020

2. The Granddaddy –
Google Community Competition
Google Fiber Fiber-hoods

3. C-Spire –
Moving from
competition to
commitment

4. COS Systems – Adding business case planning to
fiberhood customer acquisition

5. Itasca County
• Started with COS Systems
• Identified community champions
• Moved to free, easy tools
• Facebook
• Survey Monkey
• County GIS Mapping
• Shared GIS maps with Paul Bunyan
Communications
• Resulted in multiple broadband
projects
• Project updates via social media

6. Social media supports action;
it does not create action!
Interested providers share
“fiberhood GIS survey tools
Community champions promote
online survey via email, posters,
lawn signs, social media, face-
to-face door knocking and
community events
Customer commitments beat
random sample surveys every
time!
Project progress reports
supports momentum

7. Top
Community
Broadband
Social Media
*Twitter
*Facebook
*Instagram
Blandin on
Broadband blog
•Blandinonbroadband.org
Institute for Local
Self-Reliance
•Muninetworks.org
NTCA
•Ntca.org
Benton Institute for
Broadband and
Society
•Benton.org

8. How are you using social
media to support your
broadband initiatives?
Discussion