social media & local government mark tosczak march 29,2012
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Social Media & Local Government
Mark TosczakMarch 29,2012
My Assumptions
1. You understand the importance of social media.
2. You have at least some familiarity with most widely used sites – Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn.
3. You try to approach communications strategically (goals, measurement).
4. You have a social media policy.
Four Social Media Challenges
1. Reaching an audience online.2. Increasing engagement.3. Dealing with crises.4. Finding the resources.
A quick survey of the social media landscape
- Biggest, most successful social media site- People use it mostly for social exchanges –
friends and family- Biggest challenge with Facebook is
maintaining engagement- Warning: Don’t rely on it exclusively – the
company tends to change the rules
- My favorite (I’m @marktzk)- Fewer active users, but those users are
influencers (journalists, bloggers, people who are active across multiple platforms)
- Good for building relationships with smaller, targeted groups
- Sometimes used as a customer service tool
- Social media for people who are afraid of social media
- Great for networking, job searches, professional advancement
- Can be a good tool for cultivating small communities of professionals (via groups, etc.)
- Often underrated by its own users
And more …
PinterestGoogle+FoursquareYelpMyspaceBlogsWebsite commentsWikipedia
Email listsDiscussion forumsDigg, Reddit, StumbleUponQuoraTumblrFlickrEtc.
Challenge 1: Reaching More People
Facebook – More Likes on Your Page(s)- Have some content already there- Promote elsewhere (email signatures,
newsletters, website, etc.)- Ads work, if you have a budget (use geo-
targeting, put the Like button in the ad itself)- Ask your fans to share page content w/ others
Challenge 1: Reaching More People
Increasing Twitter Followers- Publish content regularly- Fill out your Twitter profile in full- Follow others- Engage with others – RT them, thank them for
RTs, ask and answer questions, etc.- Promote in other settings
Challenge 1: Reaching More People
LinkedIn- Two likely strategies here:
- Create your own group and invite people to join that group (ex. Your Town Planning Department Discussion Group)
- Monitor other relevant groups (if they exist for your community) and participate in those
Challenge 1: Reaching More People
Why Organizations Fail in These Efforts- They update/post too infrequently - Too much promotion, not enough
engagement (no viral lift)- Most important: They give up too soon!
Challenge 2: Increasing Engagement
Challenge 2: Increasing Engagement
On Facebook- Engagement = comments, likes, shares, click-throughs- Pictures & video work better- Keep text status updates short and engaging:
- Ask questions: “What’s your favorite park in [your town]?”
- Look at your FB insights, figure out what’s working, do more of that
Challenge 2: Increasing Engagement
Challenge 2: Increasing Engagement
On Twitter- Engagement = RTs, favorites, DMs, responses,
click-throughs- Writing a good tweet is like writing a headline
– pithy, attracts interest, WIIFM factor- Allow room for RTs (i.e. make it 120 characters
or less)- Engage with others (RT them, respond, etc.)
Challenge 2: Increasing Engagement
Challenge 3: Crisis Communications
Challenge 3: Crisis Communications
“Ten years ago people would have read about this in the newspaper, then left it alone feeling sad. Now people can take their outrage and turn it into real action … It’s really a testament to the tragedy of this case and the power of social media to draw attention and allow people to have an avenue.”
-- Brianna Bayo-Cotter, Change.orghttp://newsfeed.time.com/2012/03/26/social-media-the-muscle-behind-the-trayvon-martin-movement
/
Challenge 3: Crisis Communications
Basic Principles- Get the facts, ASAP
- What happened?- Why did it happen?- How is it being addressed?- What’s being done to prevent this in the future?
- If you don’t know yet, say so!
Challenge 3: Crisis Communications
Basic Principles- Many offline principles apply online (speed,
addressing perceived victims, etc.)- Use the same messages, documents as you do
for media & other key groups- Direct people to your website for statements,
news releases, etc. (don’t restrict communications to social channels)
Challenge 3: Crisis Communications
Is it a storm, or a tempest in a teapot?- Don’t overreact – be measured in your response- Don’t censor, don’t create the impression you’re
trying to hide something- Questions
- Is the issue spreading online?- Are the media paying attention?- If there is a single person or group driving this, are
he/she/they taken seriously?
Challenge 3: Crisis Communications
Further Tactics- Take it offline – the most vocal people can
often be calmed down through face-to-face conversations
- Good PR starts with good ‘public policy’ – you can’t always resolve issues solely through communications
- Build your community before you need it
Challenge Four: Resources
Challenge Four: Resources
Hub-and-spoke model- Create content once, push it out over multiple
social media channels- Ex. Write a post about something on your
town/county/agency blog- Tweet about the post- Share the post on Facebook- Link to in your LinkedIn group
Challenge Four: Resources
Schedule your outbound content ahead of time- Hootsuite has scheduling capability- WordPress blogs allow you to schedule posts
for publication- Worst case … the intern
Challenge Four: Resources
Content Planning- Create editorial calendars (include content-
due deadlines, publishing dates)- Delegate at least some content creation (you
don’t have to write every word, take every photo)
- Repurpose content (a blog post, a photo album, a video uploaded, etc.)
Challenge Four: Resources
Free and low-cost tools- Consoles: HootSuite, TweetDeck, SproutSocial,
SocialOomph- Bit.ly for measuring click-throughs- SocialMention.com – real-time social media
search- Boardreader.com – search engine for
discussion forums
Challenge Four: Resources
Free and low-cost tools (cont’d)- Monitter.com – real-time Twitter search, by
location- Fbsearch.us – searches publicly available
Facebook posts, pictures, etc.- Locafollow.com, followerwonk.com – Search
for Twitter users based on location, bio
One final thought:
You can’t do everything. Focus on one or two things that make sense
and do them well.
Challenge Four: Resources
Questions?
Where to find me
On the job:mtosczak@rlfcommunications.comwww.rlfcommunications.com
Online:Personal blog: marktzk.comTwitter: @marktzkLinkedIn:
http://www.linkedin.com/in/marktosczak
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