social media as tools for public engagement

Social Media: New Tools for

Engaging Stakeholders

The evolving Extension modelTHEN

NOW

Why social media?

If you want to engage the public,

you need tomeet them

on their own ground.

Before you start, consider:

Who do you want to reach?What do you want to say?How do you want to say it?How will you get it to the people you want

to reach?

Case studies: Different blogs for different purposes• Words from a Wet Vet (replacing a newsletter

for a specialized audience)

• H2ONC (broad topical engagement and education)

• An Educator At Sea (special project chronicle)

How will I find the time?• Post short, timely items.• Compose quickly, spell-check, send.• Reuse existing material.• Redistribute widely• Sharing is the currency of social media.

Encourage readers to share your posts.

Get the word out

Use the tools you already have:• Email lists• Print mail lists• E-mail signatures, business cards• Mention it at meetings• Post to FaceBook, Twitter, etc.

Grab those metrics• Social media user stats, blog server stats. • Google Analytics (free!)• Blog comments, retweets, Facebook

“likes,” etc.• When in doubt, survey your followers.• If it’s not working, change it!

Welcome to the future. Enjoy!