gov 2.0: implementing a strategic, successful social media plan for government agencies
Post on 19-Oct-2014
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This presentation initially given to the 2010 State-EPA Environmental Innovation Symposium focuses on overcoming some of the challenges faced by government agencies getting started on the development and implementation of a social media planTRANSCRIPT
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Emily Lenard | Social Media for Government Agencies
comet
Social Media is Nothing New.
It’s a Conversation.
Between People.
branding | pr | social media
Emily Lenard | Social Media for Government Agencies
cometbranding | pr | social media
Listen
Collaborate
Participate
Like any conversation,
social media engagement
should strive to
achieve a balance.
Emily Lenard | Social Media for Government Agencies
cometbranding | pr | social media
Gov 2.0 Challenge 1: Not Knowing Where to Start
• Do your research. Reach out and ask others for their t ips/best practices.
- National Agencies
- State Agencies
- Consumer Brands
• Ask consti tuents what kind of information they would f ind helpful .
• Check out great online resources l ike:
- http://www.whitehouse.gov/open
- http://mashable.com/
- http://www.usa.gov/webcontent/technology/other_tech.shtml
Get started on social media....s l o w l y.
Gov 2.0 Challenge 2: Opposition & Lack of Understanding from Key Players
• Identi fy agency staff whose approval and 100% support wil l be needed.
- IT Staff
- Tradit ional Communication Staff
- Legal/Public Policy Staff
- Human Resources
- Agency Leadership
• Be open and understanding to their fears and/or misconceptions.
• Seek feedback.
• Be prepared to have numerous conversations on how your agency specif ically wil l accomplish goals with social media as part of the strategy.
Hmmm....strategy....about that....
comet
Emily Lenard | Social Media for Government Agencies
branding | pr | social media
Emily Lenard | Social Media for Government Agencies
cometbranding | pr | social media
Gov 2.0 Challenge 3: Developing a Collaborative Social Media Strategy
• Questions that need to be answered. Answers that need to be agreed upon.
- What are we looking to accomplish through social media?
- Who wil l be responsible for monitoring/posting/replying on each channel? Mult iple people? Different people for each channel?
- How wil l agency responsibi l i t ies change for each person involved?
- How wil l success be measured?
- What characterist ics define the agency’s voice?
- What’s the approval process for posting content?
Social media content sounds like more work...
Gov 2.0 Challenge 4: No Time to Generate Social Media Content
• Leverage available content
- Press Releases (PitchEngine.com)
- Webinars
- Pictures
- White Papers
- Events
• Re-purpose content to make i t social media-friendly.
- Tailor your message format to each social media channel.
- Insert the agency’s social media voice and personali ty.
- Think about how content might be used for social media before i t ’s created. (capturing events via video, doing short interviews, podcasts, etc) .
Goal: Make a Traditional Communications Plan Social
comet
Emily Lenard | Social Media for Government Agencies
branding | pr | social media
Gov 2.0 Challenge 5: Implementing an Even Handed Social Media Policy
• Make sure staff understand what the agency considers to be appropriate vs. inappropriate.
• Be aware of how open records affect social media for government agencies.
• Things to incorporate into a social media policy:
- Who wil l speak for the agency across every platform.
- Ongoing conversations and training on the blurred l ines of business vs. personal networking.
- Fostering an understanding that each employee is personally responsible for what s/he posts online.
- Prepared language and steps for potential social media cri t ic ism and/or backlash.
• Enforce the designated policies & practices regardless of posit ion and agency rank.
Goal: Make a Traditional Communications Plan Social
comet
Emily Lenard | Social Media for Government Agencies
branding | pr | social media
comet
Emily Lenard | Social Media for Government Agencies
branding | pr | social media
Tips for Gov 2.0 Success
• Do your research.
• Get key agency personnel on board with social media’s value by demonstrating how social media enables government to achieve transparency, part icipation, and collaboration.
• Develop a collaborative and strategic social media implementation plan driven by your agency’s specif ic goals.
• Look for ways to incorporate social media into a tradit ional communications plan.
• Re-purpose old content and think ahead when creating new content on how it might be used for social media distribution.
• Develop an even-handed social media policy.
• Determine how ROI wil l be measured.
• Look for ways to collaborate with other agencies/departments.
• Begin slowly. Get comfortable using one tool at a t ime.. .but have a t imeline for implementing the others.
Be Prepared to EVOLVE!