The document discusses the importance of using social media for government officials to engage with citizens and effectively communicate crucial information and services. It highlights various tools and strategies, such as blogs, newsletters, and social networking sites, emphasizing the need for a strong online presence to foster community involvement and advocacy. Additionally, it warns against failing to establish a representative voice, which could allow dissenting opinions to dominate the narrative.

1. Who’s telling your story? Engage your citizens…using Social Media

2. Issues important to you (gov’t officials) Responsible spending of tax revenue Infrastructure Planning and development Emergency services Delivery of basic services Disaster planning and recovery Crisis management Recreation Events Schools (maintenance, levies, staffing) Road construction (potholes, orange barrels up too long, etc.) City-sponsored efforts (recycling, smoke alarm day, safety training, CPR training) Building codes (direction on installing fences, decks, electrical wiring, etc.) Traffic updates / road closings Emergency updates (snow storms, tornadoes, electrical outages, chem spills) Policy research (what issues are on upcoming ballots?) Issues important to your citizens

3. Benefits of engaging citizenry Quicker and easier adoption of new services, policies, etc. Community support (advocacy) for new initiatives Immediate feedback on issues Direction on what issues are most important to general population Direction on how to promote community/ attract future residents and businesses

4. What is social media? Internet- and mobile-based tools for sharing and discussing information. Wikipedia What is social media… to government? The use of Internet- and mobile-based tools to engage residents, collect consumer data, share information and generate awareness… Social Media is new form of Public Relations

5. Reasons for government to use social media Alternative to (“evolution of”) traditional PR Increasingly effective and growing Multiple lines of communication Essential, especially in times of crisis Inexpensive Reach various demographics Increase search engine rankings Real time Drive citizens to website Communicate your message Establish representative voice(s) for community If you don’t establish a voice, someone else will! Crisis Management tool Follow same principles as with traditional media Establish intelligent, skilled spokesperson(s) Tell your side of the story Gain empathy and advocacy Never say “No Comment”

6. Types of social media Weblogs/Blogs—Blog.Wired.com, TwoBitsAndAByte Microblogs—Twitter News dissemination (Social Media Release)—PitchEngine.com, Google News, Twitter E-Newsletters E-mail Social media networking sites—Facebook, LinkedIn, Google Groups Aggregators—Ping.fm, FeedBurner, FriendFeed Wikis—Topic-specific Wikipedia pages Online photo/video sharing galleries—YouTube, Flickr Podcasts Text messaging Internet forums Event forums—Meetup.com Online surveys—SurveyMonkey.com Custom Applications—Twit2Win

7. Important points You DO NOT need to be an active blogger Leadership should embrace social media, not fear it Establish social media policy and best practices You DO need to communicate your message You CAN measure impact of social media If you don’t establish a representative voice for your community, someone else will! Dissenting voices can easily become “de facto” voices for your community Purpose is not to “control” message, but to “guide” message and engage citizens in message It all starts with your website!

8. The tools! Website. It all starts here! The basis for all PR, branding, social media Dynamic, functional, user friendly The face…and often first impression…of your community Content rich—to drive search engine results Social Media Policy Establishes best practices and procedures Ensures that entire staff is on message Empowers staff to be proactive Positions social media as “means to engage” rather than “distraction” Encourages citizen participation

9. The tools! E-newsletter Ensures regular contact Promotes/strengthens brand Delivers timely, relevant content Easy to monitor Measurable Call to action Entertains Can be self administered Inexpensive—no printing, nominal monthly fees to manage (e.g., ConstantContact.com) Example: City of Sharonville (Ohio) Implemented Fall 2008 to bridge gab b/t business and residential communities Partnered with Chamber to get subscribers Doubled subscriber list in 6 months Receives e-mails thanking them for newsletter

10. The tools! Blog Enable direct communication with and feedback from citizenry Can be monitored and managed by community staff More personal and dynamic than typical website Can be separate from or part of community website Typically ties into overall marketing/PR strategy Can allow comments from visitors; can monitor comments Easy to create using free, downloadable blog software Best used for sharing information of interest to or that specifically benefits targeted users Serves as home page for many organizations—growing trend May work best for elected officials, rather than appointed/hired staff

11. The tools! Event Forum Set up custom events online Choose whom to invite Allow others to join Specific to topic, location, etc. Engages with niche audiences (e.g., dog lovers re: plans for new dog park; bicyclists re: proposed bike lanes) Can host actual events at popular community locations

12. The tools! Microblog—Twitter Limited to 140 characters per entry Allows people to follow each other in real time from any location with Web/mobile access Simple to use Growing by 900% Increasing usage among businesses, individuals, politicians and PR pros as news dissemination device Bridging gap between traditional and social media Growing number of reporters take story pitches from Twitter ONLY

13. The tools! Podcast Free video or audio series downloaded to and playable on iPods, computers, TVs, mobile phones, or similar mobile media devices Enable users to view or listen to preferred content almost anywhere at anytime Tool for sharing issues discussed at council meetings, community forums, etc.

14. The tools! Social Networking Communities What are you doing? Who do you know? Fan pages Groups of common interest Photo/Video Sharing Sites Personalized albums Share via invitation, e-mail Showcase events, demonstrations

15. The tools! Wiki Encyclopedic online profile of community Anyone can contribute content Can be updated in real time Is preferred to be objective—not self promotional

16. How not to use social media Motrin (Johnson & Johnson) (motrin.com) Objective Sell Motrin Social Media Components Irreverent video designed to appeal to young mothers suffering from back pain associated with baby slings/carries Posted ad to YouTube and Motrin.com Results Small # of “mommy bloggers” were offended; posted scathing remarks on Twitter Motrin apologized and pulled ad immediately Motrin pulled entire campaign Motrin wasted all money spent on campaign Later Findings Motrin heard from same mommy bloggers that they were disappointed video was pulled Mommies wanted their concerns addressed, not dismissed Motrin failed to engage and befriend bloggers; lost potential customers

17. What’s next? Google Wave Collaborative tool Equal parts “conversation” and “document” People communicate and work together with richly formatted text, photos, videos, maps, and more Evolved from Google Maps Create a wave; add people Users pull text, graphics, widgets, feeds from other Web sources Concurrent rich-text editing Users can see instantly when others are typing inside their wave

18. What makes social media valuable to you? It’s the way people of all ages and demographics are communicating Studies show consumers research products online before buying True for government, as well Why wouldn’t you build your online relationship with them…NOW? Its usage is growing rapidly Vital part of marketing mix, more search hits Natural evolution of marketing and PR Builds via “word of mouth” Engages citizens like no other medium Allows you to tell your story in your words

19. Why social media is relevant Facebook.com- Social Network Site 200+ Million Active Users Fastest growing Demo 30+ Flickr.com-Photo Sharing App hosts more than two billion tagged images Twitter.com- micro-blogging site 32.1 million people answering the question “What are you doing now?” in 140 characters! Wikipedia.com- Information Sharing Source 684 Million visitors/ 9 million named accounts Youtube.com- Video Sharing 5 billion online US videos 44% share of all online videos Digg.com-Social News site #3 referring source of traffic to NY Times. 30K visitors/ month Nielsen BuzzMetrics – created in 2006 by A.C. Nielsen to begin measuring social media

20. Questions? Dan O’Keeffe O’Keeffe Communications [email_address] 513.221.1526 www.okeeffecom.com