Thoughts Out Loud: Local Governments Using Social Media

I had the pleasure of being part of a panel on KOPB’s Think Out Loud the morning of October 6. The topic was using social media in local government.

A few key points I think came out of the discussion (based on feedback I got from people):

• Organizations must be deliberate and approach social media thoughtfully and strategically.
• Be human and be real. If you’re not, people won’t want to interact with you online. If people/orgs appear insincere, consumers will stop reading or following.
• Social media will not replace traditional channels of outreach and is not a panacea for organizations to connect with their constituents.
• Social media is a paradigm shift and is about sharing, not about one way information.

In preparation for my participation on the panel, I thought about potential topics and made some notes for myself. I covered most of these in my remarks, but I wanted to share some of my favorite points with you here.

Why should local government participate?

• Be part of existing conversations about your agency/organization and its services
• Put a human face on government
• Make government easy to access
• Engage new audiences
• Build dialogue with your constituents

How should government participate?

• Listen first. Know where conversations are occurring so you can meet your audience where they are.
• Be authentic and transparent
• Be strategic. Think about what you want to accomplish, how it fits in with your organization’s mission and then find the tools – not the other way around.

What if people say negative things?

• If people are being critical or have a genuine concern, that’s ok. It’s an opportunity to respond and do so publicly. If it’s more than a basic question, take it off the social network to fully explore the issue and help solve it.
• Spam, hate speech and porn have no place on a public sector site. Create a policy to deal with such comments and have people empowered to remove them.

I found several great resources for thinking about this topic that I’d also like to share:

• IdeaPolicy busts 10 local government social media myths.
• USA.gov has some great PDFs for download about using social media in government, how to handle barriers and what goals federal agencies are pursuing with web 2.0 applications and technology.

What do you think? Are any government agencies doing it “right” in your view? I welcome your feedback.

[note: cross-posted at Verve:In Bloom]