Social media – what the tweet is it all about?

socialmedia

networkingRSS

blogs

video

Podcasts

bookmarks

Instant message

virtual worlds

photos message boards

wikis sharing

engagementmicro blogs

collaboration

communication

What is social media?

• The technical definition: web sites and online tools used to publish, share and spread ideas amongst groups of people.

• The behavioural definition: social media the democratization of content, the shift from broadcast to conversation.

Social media means

• Better and faster access to information• More ways of communicating• Rapid communication• New ways of collaborating• Democratized media

• The rise of the amateur

= resident

Traditional communications model

= resident

= social media platform

Social communications model

The four Cs of success

• Content is the campaign starting point: blog post, video, photo, podcast, resources such as a calendar of events.

• Created by us, our users (known as user generated content or UGC) or syndicated from other third parties.

• Sharing content leads to conversations: interaction on a site we’ve developed, comments on other blogs, Twitter replies, writing on a Facebook wall, or other means of online dialogue.

• Conversations encourage others to connect with us, and join in the conversation.

• Online conversations can also lead to collaboration: creation of new content, or be part of a wider project to consult on a particular service or initiative.

Getting the best out of the four Cs

• Be consistent. • Be engaging. • Be transparent. • Be prepared. • Be aware. • Be organised. • Be dedicated.

And the potential pitfalls?

• Think before you publish.• Beware the irony. • Make your commenting policy clear. • Beware of misunderstandings. • Beware of arguments. • If you publish, you can be re-published. • Remember the internet is permanent.

It’s all about engagement

• We want people to make a noise. • We want people to store and share things. • We want people to love our websites. • We want people to visit them more frequently.• We want people to contribute to them.• We want people to refer them to their friends. • We want people to tell us what they think of us.• We want people to feel connected to us and our

services. • We want people to feel proud of being a Camden

customer.

Accounting for success

• Social media sharing & participation. • Followers on Twitter, fans on Facebook, members of

our groups or forums.• Comments on forums & blog posts - ours & third party.• Retweets on Twitter.• Views of our videos & photos.• UGC - forum topics, blog posts, reviews, video, audio,

photos.• Time spent on key pages of our websites, & on the site

in general.• Conversations about us online - negative, positive or

neutral.

Working with young people or vulnerable adults

We have a duty of care to remind them that: • Social networks are public spaces.• The internet is permanent. • Not to feel pressurized to become "friends", to

understand what that "friendship" means • Not everyone is necessarily who they say they are.

We have a duty of care to protect them from: • Cyberbullying & anti-social behaviour.• Potentially illegal behaviour & illegal content.

We must:• Be wary of intruding on their space.• Be conscious of our role as facilitators not dictators• Be CRB checked

A group manager

• Generates compelling editorial content• Encourages all community members to contribute• Responds to (or "rewards") contributions • Moderates UGC in line with our social media policy &

the site’s "house rules" • Monitors the growth of the group, analyzes/reviews

effectiveness of new initiatives• Regularly feeds back insights gained from group

monitoring into the relevant teams

Before you respond

• Be transparent – be honest about your connection to the story

• Cite sources – be clear about your sources of information, include links to them

• Don’t rush – take time to make your response a good one.

• Get the tone right – make it appropriate to the story, the organisation and the medium.

• Focus – on your most influential online activity. Is responding to this story/author a good use of time?

Useful resources

• Great blog on community management: www.feverbee.com

• Social by Social’s useful jargon buster: www.socialbysocial.com/book/a-to-z

• Guidance on cyberbullying: http://www.digizen.org/cyberbullying/fullguidance/

• LGiU on councils & social media: https://member.lgiu.org.uk/whatwedo/Publications/Documents/Local%20Government%203.pdf