That’s because so much political discourse happens on platforms like Twitter. Over half of the US consumes political news via social.

Debates. Fundraising and fact-checking. News and results.

With social media serving as the modern-day public forum, all of the above are just a tap away for voters.

That’s why the stakes are high for candidates on social media. Rather than wait for stories to publish, politicians can break their own news in real time.

The challenge? Navigating social media and politics is tricky if you’re responsible for managing a public account. Below we break down how candidates can step up their social game.

How social media has transformed political campaigns

Before we get into the nitty-gritty of our tips, let’s address a bigger question:

Why is social media such a staple of politics in the first place?

Social media might not be new to the public at large. However, incorporating social media in political campaigns didn’t see significance until the 2008 United States presidential elections with then- candidate Barack Obama. With the power of social networking, political candidates reach wider audiences than traditional media and in real time.

As a result, a lot has changed in social media and politics since the 2020 US presidential election. Let’s look at the specifics below.

More people get their news from social platforms

There’s no shortage of news sources sending stories directly to our smartphones.

According to 2022 data from Pew, the top social networks for news are Twitter (53%), Facebook (44%) and Reddit (37%). Surprisingly, TikTok (33%) isn’t too far behind these sources.

Transparency and trust versus mainstream media

Data from Gallup says 36% of citizens in the US have a “great deal” or “fair amount” of trust in mainstream news sources. This includes cable news and print media. Only 11% of self-described Republicans (and 31% of independents) claim to trust the media.

To say that citizens have trust issues when it comes to traditional media would be an understatement.

Social media is also blurring the lines of what’s considered a “trustworthy” new source. Pew data says that adults under 30 trust news from social media about as much as traditional outlets.

Social media is far from a perfect news source.

Still, the benefit of real-time fact-checking is a big plus for social-savvy consumers. Social platforms also provide politicians with a direct line to the public.

That means the value of social media transparency carries over to candidates. After all, they’re able to speak to voters in their own words and on their own terms.

Consider also the massive reach of social media versus mainstream sources. With shrinking TV audiences, social is the biggest show in town for politicians.

More opportunities for fundraising

The explosion of political advertising on social media since 2020 is well-documented.

But the degree to which campaigns are spending now is truly night and day.
Facebook remains a massive force for fundraising and political ads. The Facebook Ad Library lets anyone see to see how much any given campaign is spending. And it’s a lot.

In fact, $3.6 billion has been spent on political and social issue ads since May 2018.

Consider that the top Senate fundraisers also have engaged and active social teams.

As a result, those candidates can translate their presence into serious campaign cash.

10 tips for running a political campaign on social media

Below we’ve broken down key best practices of social media for political campaigns. From figuring out your content strategy to dealing with trolls, we’ve got you covered.

1. Engage the public via live content

Traditional newscasts aren’t going anywhere quite yet.

That said, social media video lets politicians broadcast their own news and chat with constituents.

For example, many politicians regularly stream on Facebook and Instagram. Rather than just talk at voters, live video encourages meaningful and personable dialogue.

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s IG Live streams rack up massive engagement. For reference, this June 2022 IG Live on the state of Roe v. Wade earned over a million views:

Social video is powerful for politicians addressing local issues not covered by bigger outlets. This includes local ordinances and disaster relief.

2. Fact-check your content prior to publishing

Social media represents a massive news source for voters. Still, unchecked platforms can be a breeding ground for misinformation.

MIT research says that falsehoods are 70% more likely to be Retweeted than the truth. A staggering 38% of people have admitted to accidentally sharing misinformation themselves.

Yikes.

Walking back comments because you didn’t take the time to fact-check them is a bad look. Also, False claims and misinformation are difficult to contain once they’ve been made.

Our advice? Make sure to put together some sort of approval process for your account. Always double-check your sources and wording before making claims that could be twisted.

If you use a platform like Sprout, take advantage of publishing features to keep the above in check.

Social media and politics aren’t a free-for-all. For example, did you know that Presidential Tweets are considered public record? There are real-world consequences that go along with a politician’s social presence.

3. Don’t count out “younger” social media platforms

Twitter and Facebook are the go-to platforms for political accounts.

And based on social media demographics and how age groups vote, this makes perfect sense.

Of course, don’t count out Millennials and Gen Z. Both represent growing voter bases interested in activism. As a result, we’re seeing more politicians investing in Instagram and TikTok.

The fact that 33% of citizens consume news and political content on TikTok is also telling. Notably, Tim Ryan has managed to earn 33,000+ followers with his self-aware TikTok presence. Meanwhile, President Biden is inviting influencers to the White House in a push to reach younger voters.

There is no “single” platform when it comes to social media and politics. Demographics matter and the largest voting blocs are active on Facebook and Twitter.

4. Put your fundraising efforts front-and-center

Running an effective social media political campaign is about much more than “Likes.”

We won’t get into the anatomy of a perfect political ad on Facebook. Just note that fundraising is central to social media and politics.

Beyond running Facebook ads, requesting donations via secure links is likewise fair game. Many candidates put donation links in their social bios or as a dedicated “pinned” post.

Of course, don’t use social media as a place to spam donation messages. Instead, weave them into your content strategy as needed alongside your updates.

5. Learn how to deal with trolls

It’s common to deal with burnout as a social media manager.

And if you’re managing social media for political campaigns, you know this all too well.

Trolling and harassment. Comment spam. Mass reporting.

Unfortunately, this all comes with the territory of social media and politics.

Beyond developing a thick skin,  the best advice we can offer is to not feed the trolls. Try to emphasize a sense of community in the comments and don’t encourage needless fighting.

Just keep in mind that public officials can’t block people on Facebook. There’s plenty of debate over whether or not doing so is legal or ethical as social media is seen as a public forum.

Leave it to supporters and community members to report inappropriate posts. Try to push more intense disagreements into your DMs when appropriate. Whatever you do, be civil.

6. Recognize that not everybody is interested in politics

Comparing social media and politics to that of a business or brand is apples and oranges.

Sure, your goal is to grow your follower account and increase the exposure of your campaign.

But as noted in our guide to social media and government, political accounts are seen as the most “annoying” by the public at large.

Some people go out of their way to block and avoid political discussions via social media. The “Muted words” function on Twitter is handy for this.

Attracting followers and support might seem like an uphill battle at times. Focus on your goals and engage with accounts relevant to your cause.

7. Consistently ask (and answer) questions

Asking questions is a proven way to boost engagement on social media.

Q&As are the bread and butter of political accounts. Posing topical questions to your follower is a simple way to encourage a bit of back-and-forth. Likewise, it’s a way to show that you’re willing to listen to your constituents.

Using Instagram Stories, you can vet questions privately and post answers to followers publicly. Make a point to respond to comments when appropriate. This allows you to publish more thoughtful responses. Publishing Stories as highlights also gives voters something to reference in the future.

8. Earn engagement with visual content versus just text-based posts

Visual content such as videos and infographics are among the most-shared social posts. This rings true across pretty much every platform.

If you’re making an important announcement, consider how you can put together a visual to match up with it. Infographics are particularly popular among politicians.

Bite-sized videos also have viral potential, especially on Twitter or TikTok. For reference, Katie Porter’s short-form videos regularly pop off and earn huge engagement.

Don’t worry about investing a ton of time and energy into editing if you’re looking to get on board with video, by the way. Off-the-cuff cell phone footage has become a staple of political social media, too.

9. Find time for positive, non-partisan posts

It’s no secret that tensions are high among parties. Data says political polarization is reaching a fever pitch.

Not everything has to be partisan, though. Note what we said earlier about the fact that not everyone wants to hear about politics. This might also be the case for people that do follow you.

A positive story “just because” can be a much-needed break from fierce debates. Consider some types of content for followers regardless of party affiliation. Uplifting and local stories are always a plus.

Younger, social-savvy politicians likewise can capitalize on memes and humor to boost their posts.

10. Make a point to post consistently

With so many political campaign strategies made possible by social media, there’s a lot of content to juggle.

Donation requests. Upcoming events and elections. Legislation updates.

And that doesn’t even include real-time news that happens from day to day.

Given how quickly the world of politics evolves, it’s important to have your most important updates and content organized and queued up. By reviewing the best times and how often to post on social media, you can maximize your account’s reach and get in front of more voters on the regular.

That’s where Sprout Social’s publishing tools can come in handy. Allowing you to schedule and publish content across multiple platforms, you don’t have to second-guess if a crucial update was sent out to voters.

Ready to take on the world of social media and politics?

There’s a lot that goes into any social media political campaign.

Understanding what to post and how to wrangle your responses will empower you to build support and a sense of community. Doing so matters for politicians.

And if you want help with doing exactly that, we encourage you to check out our social media marketing strategy guide. Given how busy political accounts are, having more help is always a bonus!

The post Social media and politics: why it matters + 10 tips for campaigns appeared first on Sprout Social.

The reality, though?

Government agencies and officials represent some of the most engaged with users on social media at large.

And in terms of social media’s ability to “do good,” look no further than government accounts such as those run by FEMA, NASA and the NHS.

From keeping people in the loop during a global crisis to entertaining and educating the public, government and social media don’t necessarily have to be “boring.”

But there’s no denying the challenges of running a government account in an era where trust in the government is on the decline.

That said, engaging citizens isn’t just an expectation for government accounts: it’s a civic duty.

In this guide, we’ll highlight the best examples of government use of social media and key takeaways for managers running official accounts.

How to use government social media effectively

Comparing social media and government to brands or businesses might seem like apples and oranges.

But while your social presence might not be tied to selling a product or service, consider that your big-picture goals aren’t so different.

• Establishing a sense of trust with your community as you grow your follower count? Check.
• Responding to comments and questions from your followers? Double-check.
• Keeping followers informed and up-to-date? Definitely.

The beauty of social media and government is that your community and constituency are already there. Therefore, your job is to publish content that attracts attention from your followers while likewise encouraging engagement. Below are some strategies to do exactly that.

Be a source of community news and updates

Perhaps the biggest and most obvious role of government social media accounts is serving as a source of community updates. This includes everything from events and road closures to upcoming policy changes and breaking news.

Whether we’re talking about local constituents (think: the New York City school system) or the general public (think: the FDA or EPA), note that your audience is more than likely following you because they want to hear from you.

And so news should be a cornerstone of your content strategy as a government account.

Over the past few years, we’ve seen social media crisis management in action for many government agencies and offices, including real-time updates in response to COVID-19. Social media provides people a more timely, first-hand source of information versus local news.

Of course, not everything related to government and social media necessarily needs to be gloom and doom. Celebrating milestones, success stories and other uplifting updates all give your followers something to look forward to beyond just the news itself.

Respond to your community’s questions and concerns

Social media can be its own sort of public forum and place for government officials to go back-and-forth with constituents.

Serving as a timelier alternative to email, phone calls or face-to-face meetings, platforms such as Twitter, Facebook and Instagram make government officials more accessible than ever. In a situation where someone comes to you with a concern that’s beyond your pedigree, you can likewise point that person to someone who can help.

Additionally, government social media accounts serve as a way for officials to be more transparent. Think of your account as your agency or office’s face to the public.

Educate your community and better their lives

Again, government use of social media should center around information and helping your community. Both fun facts and real-world tips are fair game here.

Education also means clarifying potential misinformation in addition to educating your followers, by the way. Given how quickly social media moves and rumors can spread, government accounts serve as an important source for followers looking to fact-check claims made elsewhere.

Humanize your agency or office

When someone thinks of government and social media, they might imagine a robot or some suit-and-tie intern trying their best to sound prim, proper and “official.”

That’s why government social media accounts benefit the most when they let their human sides shine through.

Strive to remind your followers of the people you serve and likewise the folks who run your department or office. Doing so isn’t just a great source of authentic content: it’s crucial toward building up your community and follower count.

What are the best practices of government social media accounts?

Now that we’ve highlighted what sort of content to publish, let’s talk about best practices when it comes to social media and government.

If you find yourself struggling to grow your follower count or quell negative comments from followers, don’t sweat it. You’re not alone.

According to previous Sprout Social Index data, government accounts are considered to be the most annoying across social media.

Ouch.

There are a few reasons why this is the case. General disillusionment with government and fierce partisanship both definitely play a big role in the hate that a government account might get.

Also, consider how too much promotional content and laggy response times contribute to the public’s dissatisfaction with some government accounts.

The good news, though? As highlighted by the City of Lexena and their rapid success growing their impressions and interactions using Sprout, engaging your followers in a positive way is far from impossible.

Here are some key tips and best practices of government and social media to grow your presence.

Emphasize visual content

Visual content in the form of videos, infographics, follower photos and memes are among the most-shared across social media. According to our research, over half of marketers say visual formats are the most valuable content types for achieving their goals on social. And this also rings true for government social media accounts.

Not only are visuals easier for followers to understand at a glance, but visual content also makes your content more accessible to those with disabilities.

Beyond that, you can increase the share-factor of your content in the case of a crisis or emergency. Think about it: a visual PSA has more impact and shareability than a simple text-only post that could be misinterpreted or glossed over.

For example, this visual from the FDA is straightforward and easy to digest:

Meanwhile, note how much love this user-generated post from Yorkshire Dale National Park’s account received. Visual-based posts are prime for engagement.

Social media provides a ton of opportunities for government agencies to get creative with their visual content. For example, check out how the U.S. Small Business Administration uses YouTube videos to highlight stories of thriving local businesses.

Get conversational with your constituents

Remember what we said earlier about showing off your human side?

You don’t have to be totally “suit and tie” when it comes to your voice and tone on social media. Humorous captions, candid conversations and playful comments are all common among government accounts today.

After all, nobody wants to just read stuffy, boring updates all the time. Interactions with your followers should be treated as an opportunity to make an impression on them.

Of course, the caveat here is to be able to read the room and never make light of a serious situation. Government accounts are oftentimes responsible for balancing both “just-for-fun” posts and consequential content. If you’re second-guessing whether a comment or post is appropriate for your audience, it’s best to err on the side of caution.

Use community and event-specific hashtags to monitor messages

This is particularly helpful for government accounts with massive followings.

Coupling your messages with hashtags not only makes them more visible in search but makes timely responses easier to spot when somebody uses your tag. Here’s a great example of effective hashtag marketing from the US Census Bureau.

Many government officials likewise host Twitter Q&As and other digital events with the help of hashtags.

Beyond featuring hashtags in your posts, government accounts can keep an eye on trending tags in their area (think: #floridaunemployment) where they may be able to provide insight.

Respond to your constituents in a timely manner

Although government accounts aren’t responsible for customer service per se, they are expected to respond to followers in a timely manner.

In addition to writing captions and scheduling content, set aside time to reply to @mentions and questions posed to you via social. This signals that you care about your community and take your responsibility of being an official resource seriously.

And if nothing else, responding to questions is a way to have meaningful back-and-forths with your followers and show that your account is an active forum for constituents.

Publish your social content to multiple channels

Bear in mind that your target audience as a government account is likely fragmented between platforms.

As highlighted by our demographic data, different audiences and age groups tend to flock to different social sites. Check out this breakdown of the CDC’s use of social media for reference:

Chances are you’re tackling more than one social account, right? As a result, you should consider cross-posting your content across multiple platforms to ensure it receives maximum reach.

That’s where Sprout Social’s scheduling and publishing tools can help. With our tools, you can queue up your content and tailor each post based on whichever platform you’re publishing to.

Speaking of posting, note that most government social accounts tend to post something on a daily basis. That’s why it’s important to have a variety of content queued up on a regular basis. If you aren’t already, make sure you’re familiar with the best times to post on social media. Having these times handy can help you reach your followers when they’re most active.

And with that, we wrap up our guide!

How do you make social media and government work for you?

Social media has become integral to how government officials and agencies interact with the public.

And so if you’re looking to improve your presence and engage more citizens, your head is in the right place.

Want to take a deeper, data-driven approach to social media and increase your interactions? We can help with that! Check out our social media toolkit for resources and ideas to build stronger content, campaigns and audience connections.

The post Social media and government: how to keep citizens engaged appeared first on Sprout Social.

Longer than your typical blog post and more in-depth than an ebook, a white paper is a well-researched piece of content designed to educate readers on a specific topic. It allows you to position your brand as an expert in your field and demonstrate you have a solution to your audience’s problems. And because marketers often gate white papers behind an email form, these reports can help support goals like lead generation and sales.

But with a little foresight, a white paper can do more than capture leads. It can also fuel an entire year’s worth of content and support teams across sales, customer success and even design. From developing social media content to webinars to workshops, there are a number of ways you can extend the life of your white paper.

In this article, we’ll walk you through how to write a white paper as well as how to turn those data and insights into new content for the entire year.

What makes a white paper valuable?

Traditionally, a white paper is defined as an informational document to promote a product or service and is used by marketing and sales to persuade buyers to purchase from one brand over another. In marketing, a white paper can be used to provide in-depth research on a particular subject (like the state of social marketing) and gives brands an opportunity to build credibility with their audience.

Consider this data-driven white paper example: the Sprout Social Index™. The Index™ is our annual 30+ page white paper filled with unique data based on consumer and marketer surveys. We look specifically at the state of social marketing, and offer insights on topics like consumer behaviors, marketers’ social goals and what differentiates one brand’s social presence from a competitor.

It takes roughly three months and collaboration across marketing, design and sales for the Index™ to come to life. On the other hand, this blog post you’re reading took me about one week to complete. To illustrate how to plan and develop a white paper with legs beyond its initial launch, we’ll share how we create the Index™ and the various assets that come from our annual report.

Phase 1. Planning for success

Before diving into topic ideation, establish the goals and objectives you want to achieve with your white paper. Goals can include everything from raising brand awareness in your target audience to fueling new business acquisition by generating leads. And determine which key performance indicators (KPIs) you’ll use to track your progress toward your goals, like net new users and content downloads. From there, develop a project plan with clear expectations around responsibilities and due dates, like when to expect a first draft or design assets for social promotion.

Once your goals and project plan are in place, then you can focus on narrowing your white paper to one specific topic. When in doubt, start by identifying your audience and brainstorming the different problems you can help them solve.

For the Sprout Social Index™, we look at a couple of factors to inform our direction:

• Our audience’s needs. Think about who is going to read your white paper and what problems they’re hoping to solve with the information provided. For the Index™, we know we’re speaking to social media marketers of all industries and experience levels, from solo practitioners to directors managing a team. So the data we offer needs to help our audience advance their careers, strengthen their strategies and sharpen their skill sets. We’ll consider things like top goals and challenges for social marketers, how social is viewed within an organization and what skills marketers hope to develop.
• The state of the industry. In addition to specific audience needs, we also look at what’s happening within the industry at large. Are there emerging trends our audience wants to understand? How are other brands responding to industry changes and what can readers learn from these examples? To ensure the Index™ is relevant for social marketers of all industries, we’ll look at big trends in the overall social marketing landscape like which platforms are most popular among consumers and what types of content generate the most engagement.

If you plan to use your white paper to inspire a year’s worth of content, take a moment to evaluate if the topic will be relevant a year from now. Timely data, while it can be extremely valuable as part of your content strategy, gives you less runway to develop content six, seven or eight months post launch. Additionally, you’ll need to have enough data to work with in the future. Keeping the topic broad enough will enable you to drill down into specific angles for future content.

Phase 2. Writing a white paper from start to finish

With a plan in place, it’s time to conduct your research, develop your white paper structure and deploy any surveys for data collection.

With the Index™, we use a platform like SurveyMonkey to conduct two different surveys: one for 1,000 consumers and one for 1,000 social marketers. We ask consumers questions like which social platforms they use the most and what actions can turn them off to a brand’s social presence. In the marketer survey, we ask them how they use social data, what their greatest challenges are and what factors influence their approach to social.

If you’re unsure how to analyze the data, try creating a separate Google Doc or spreadsheet to house your key findings, organized by question number. When reviewing the Index™ data, we look at things like:

• Responses to all questions without any filtering or comparisons
• Results when we narrow our focus to one particular subgroup (e.g. marketers at companies with only 1-50 employees)
• Responses that contradict our original hypothesis
• Contrasts between the two audiences (e.g. marketers versus consumers)

Remember: you won’t use every single data point in your actual report. Instead of tossing unused data to the side, consider using that information as inspiration for a future piece of content.

With your data in hand, it’s time to put pen to paper. Writing a white paper can take several days, or even weeks, and it’s helpful to start with a comprehensive outline to plan out the report flow. In the outline for the Index™, we include examples of the quantitative data to highlight and brand examples discovered during the research stage. Allocate about one week for outlining and drafting, which should include chart mockups of the data you plan to use.

For reviews, ask for feedback from your key stakeholders, including those who don’t work in content directly. Index™ feedback from our social team ensures we’re giving our target audience what they need while our PR team can recommend future storylines inspired by the report.

Phase 3. Bringing the data to life with creative

Another facet that distinguishes a white paper from a blog post is that white papers are often packaged as a designed PDF.

In addition to creating the PDF version of the Index™, our design team creates graphic assets and charts for use in content, on social and beyond. One of the reasons we ask our social team to review the final draft of the Index™ is to get feedback on which stats and insights will make for compelling graphics on social.

For example, one of the charts included in the Index™ talks about actions consumers take when they follow a brand on social..

Using the feedback from social, we identified one standout data point from this graph, and the design team turned it into a separate social graphic.

Developing a unique design system and color palette for each white paper creates a consistent visual identity so every asset looks like it belongs to the Index™ campaign. This also gives designers the flexibility to create new assets like GIFs throughout the entire year because they have a wide range of colors and motifs to pull from.

With your report ready to launch, remember you still need to track your progress toward your goals. Tracking not only shows you if you’ve achieved your goals but also if you need to adjust your distribution strategy to make up for lost ground.

Phase 4. Giving your white paper longevity

So you’ve officially published the final white paper PDF and all of your design assets—congratulations! But just because you hit that publish button doesn’t mean the work behind the scenes suddenly stops.

To kick off the Index™, we publish different teaser posts for two different audiences: one for the social media manager and one for an executive. Both articles preview some of the salient data points and highlight how the report will address marketers’ challenges, ultimately encouraging readers to download the Index™.

To keep that momentum going, our social and creative teams collaborated to create the #DataDance, a series of short dance moves inspired by findings from the Index™. We encouraged our followers to both learn and share their own #DataDance with us on social.

We also created new content like webinars and articles with industry-specific benchmarks months after the publish date. We also repackaged the Index™ as part of a larger toolkit for marketers as they begin planning for 2021. Finally, we included data from the report in our Data in Action workshop for social marketers, five months after the Index™ launched.

When you can repurpose the data and insights from your white paper, you stand to reach new audiences, reinforce your original argument and demonstrate your expertise in a particular topic.

Breathe new life into your white paper

White papers are not only a great resource for brands to establish their expertise and build authority with their audience, they also can inspire entirely new pieces of content post launch. By repurposing your report and turning it into new content, you can extend the longevity of your data and ensure your white paper continues to drive traffic for the entire year.

Looking for more inspiration for your content strategy? Check out what marketers and consumers say makes a brand’s social best in class and other content insights in the Sprout Social Index™ today.

The post How to write a white paper that inspires a year-long content strategy appeared first on Sprout Social.

Now, as these government communications leaders settle into their home offices (and perhaps become more familiar than they’d like with the pitfalls of videoconferencing), the reality of the work ahead is setting in. Crisis response requires consistent, clear and accurate communication, especially when public health is in question.

While some office workers might be enjoying work-from-home in their pajamas, most of these public servants suddenly find themselves working overtime. Keeping up with constantly-changing information and communicating it clearly to city or county populations without creating panic is hard work. We’d like to recognize 15 leaders who are in the trenches of pandemic communication and doing everything they can to support others in there with them.

1. Kristy Dalton, @KristyDalton22

Dalton is the CEO of Government Social Media (GSM), conference director of the GSM Conference & Expo, and creator and host of the online video show GovGirl. In short, she knows a thing or two about what it’s like to be a government communications leader on social media. Her Twitter feed is currently chock-full of helpful resources and updates about communicating online during this pandemic, but it’s also balanced with posts about home life and family, and little wins while living a “new normal.”

2. Ashley Morris, @MissAshes92

As the Community Outreach Liaison Assistant for the Fairfax County Office of Emergency Management in Virginia, Morris is especially equipped to provide informed insights as COVID-19 triggers disaster responses. Many of her Tweets offer tips for things like keeping videoconferences secure and checking in with socially vulnerable people who may not have a network of friends and family to help with shopping and errands. She also asks questions that show she’s thinking ahead.

3. Deputy Chief Chris Hsiung, @chMtnViewPD

Hsiung brings over 29 years of experience in law enforcement to the table as Deputy Police Chief of the Mountain View Police Department in California. On top of leadership development and succession planning, he’s passionate about connecting government and communities. That’s really shined through as the COVID-19 pandemic has unfolded: he’s used Twitter to share positive stories, shine the light on unsung heroes such as police fleet service workers and offer clear, credible information for his followers.

4. Jon Tolbert, @ImJonTolbert

As the Head of Digital for the City of Columbus, Ohio, Tolbert uses multiple social and other digital platforms to get vital information to residents. He also has a lot of fun doing it, creating relevant TikToks about social distancing and staying home, and keeping things light in between posts about staying safe during a pandemic. His TikTok content and tips were recently featured alongside those of other city government communications leaders in a SmartCitiesDive article  about reaching Gen Z to squash COVID-19 misconceptions.

5. Jordan Gilgenbach, @JGilgenbach

Gilgenbach joined Tolbert in SmartCitiesDive’s TikTok and COVID-19 piece. As the Digital Communications Coordinator for the City of Minneapolis, Minnesota, however, his engaging social media presence isn’t restrained to short videos. His Twitter feed is both informed and entertaining, meshing important information about staying safe with trending shows like Tiger King to produce hilariously helpful memes that he’s happy to share.

6. Cyndi Nguyen, @Vote4Cyndi

While being a City Council member in New Orleans, Louisiana doesn’t require an active social media presence, Nguyen’s online engagement since her election in 2017 is notable. As the city grapples with its rising status as a COVID-19 hotspot, this hasn’t changed. She’s highlighted the need to thank essential workers, spread information about rental assistance and food banks, and shared photos of people and companies offering help.

7. Jessie Brown, @JBrownSocial

Brown wants you to know that taking care of yourself is not selfish. Perhaps drawing from experience working in Social Media & Communications for the Iowa Department of Natural Resources, her Tweets implore followers and fellow government communications leaders to engage in social self care. Her Tweets promote kindness, unity and guarding your mental health, especially during these trying times.

8. Carissa Kat, @CarissaPIO

Kat is the Public Information Officer for the North Richland Hills police and fire departments in Texas. Like many PIOs, her daily routines were upended when she had to begin working from home as COVID-19 spread. While her Twitter feed is full of gratitude for the little things, like a solo office visit, to the big things, like the scientists and medical personnel working to stop the pandemic, she doesn’t forget to check in and ask fellow PIOs how they’re doing. She knows it’s tough out there.

9. Thanh Nguyen, @PIOThanhN

Nguyen is one of Kat’s fellow PIOs, and he’s also a fire captain for the Orange County Fire Authority in California. Unsurprisingly, he shares a lot of information about staying safe and healthy and complying with stay-at-home orders. However, he also shares lighthearted jokes and GIFs, and takes the time to remind everyone to be patient with one another during these stressful weeks.

10. Jen Alvarez Harrison, @JenAlvarezAZ

As the Deputy Director of the Office of Digital Government in Gilbert, Arizona, you’d think Harrison would already have her hands full enough during this pandemic. Yet, she’s sharing heartwarming stories about Gilbert Fire & Rescue retrieving ducklings from storm drains, stay-at-home memes inspired by Missy Elliott, and music resources for parents and kids. Oh, and did we mention she also just had a baby?

11. Andrew Belanger, @AndrewJBelanger

Based in Lansing, Michigan, Belanger is the state’s Social Media Director and Digital Content Administrator. Just like many other government communications leaders, much of what he shares is Retweeted from local news, the state and its governor. However, he also shares helpful articles about managing social media profiles in the age of coronavirus and fun song parodies for fellow government social media professionals.

12. Jennifer Casey, @JenWCasey

Casey is the PIO for Collierville, Tennessee, and her personal Twitter shows that she’s committed to riding out this crisis with the help of a few laughs. From kid-invented homeschooling jokes to sensitive toilet paper content, Casey shares news that makes you smile. She also doesn’t want anyone to miss out on this perfect opportunity to spend some time filling out their Census.

13. Joseph Porcelli, @JosephPorcelli

As the Global Public Agency Lead and Ambassador of Community for neighborhood app Nextdoor, Porcelli has a unique perspective when it comes to government communications online. In response to stay-at-home orders and the increased need for food and medicine delivery to vulnerable neighbors, Nextdoor rolled out a Help Map to connect neighbors who need help with those who can offer it. Many government officials have spread the word, but Porcelli is far from finished with being helpful.

14. Katie Grant, @KatieLynnGrant

Grant is the Digital Media Coordinator for Wisconsin’s Department of Natural Resources. Inspired by Jordan Gilgenbach, she recently dipped a toe into the land of TikTok and Retweets content about stopping the spread of misinformation—an important task in times of crisis. Perhaps most importantly, however, she knows exactly how to reach Wisconsinites when conveying critical information.

15. Warren Kagarise, @WKagarise

Based in Seattle, Kagarise is the Digital Engagement Manager for King County, Washington. He Tweets helpful reminders and happily shares King County’s COVID-19 resources with other government communications managers looking for direction with their communications. He participates in GSM chats and was recently on the GovLove Podcast  sharing what he’s learned so far about working during a pandemic.

When government communications leaders are put to the test

If there’s anything we’ve learned from the social media response of government communicators to this pandemic, it’s that in times of crisis they stick together. The shared information and resources, support and checking in are perfect examples of the ways social platforms can bring us together and make good things happen. In this case, it’s thanks to these dedicated professionals.

Not every government department or agency has the advantage of skilled social media communicators during a crisis. If you’re interested in learning more about harnessing communication tools like Twitter and other platforms, read our recent article about increasing citizen engagement using social media.

As for the hard workers both listed and unlisted: keep at it! You’re doing great and necessary work for our communities.

The post 15 government communications leaders getting crisis response right during COVID-19 appeared first on Sprout Social.

Lake Metroparks strives to provide visitors with recreational and educational experiences that will keep them coming back for more, and social media plays an integral role.

But how does an organization with limited staff, time and budget effectively reach the right audiences, deliver exceptional customer care and measure return on investment, all while maintaining oversight of multiple social accounts?

The answer is Sprout Social.

Sprout provides the tools to effectively manage and engage with all our social networks from one simple user interface.

John Venen
Promotions and Advertising Manager

Simplifying social

John Venen has worked with Lake Metroparks for the better part of three decades, and currently holds the title of Promotions and Advertising Manager.

He wears many hats, but is primarily focused on demonstrating Lake Metroparks’ genuine commitment to the community via social media, public relations and other promotional efforts.

This includes maintaining the organization’s presence across Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest and YouTube.

“Social media is our most effective form of communication,” Venen said. “We use it not only to provide information about upcoming programs and events, but as a way to educate and entertain.”

The transparency offered by social is particularly important to Lake Metroparks.

“The open nature of social media provides users a platform to express impressions or experiences in our parks,” Venen said. “This gives us the opportunity to engage with them to demonstrate our concern for solving any problems. It’s a two-way communication tool.”

However, with so much content to publish and so many visitors to engage with, keeping up with daily demands was easier said than done.

“We were doing things manually,” Venen said. “People would email me things or text me things, and I would take it and go from there.”

The organization began searching for a platform that would support team contributions and simplify workflow.

“We discovered Sprout, and its ease of use, customer support and exceptional reporting were all deciding factors,” Venen said. “The ability to use the team approach of submitting posts certainly made life a lot easier.”

It wasn’t long before Lake Metroparks discovered other ways Sprout could simplify social.

Sprout’s Chatbots are absolutely amazing. They provide the ability to respond to our customers’ most frequently asked questions in a very timely manner at any time of day.

John Venen
Promotions and Advertising Manager

Streamlining strategy

Data shows 46% of social marketers wish they could spend more time developing strategy instead of working on tactical execution. However, 59% say lack of time prevents them from doing so.

The team at Lake Metroparks realized Sprout could help it spend less time on day-to-day tasks and more time pursuing strategic goals, all while improving customer service.

“Sprout provides the tools to effectively manage and engage with all our social networks from one simple user interface,” Venen said. “It allows for the curation of content through team contributions. The reporting options give us an easy-to-follow and up-to-date look at the effectiveness of our outreach. And it allows us to communicate effectively and quickly to those who reach out directly through the use of Chatbots.”

Using Sprout’s Bot Builder, Lake Metroparks is able to automate repetitive tasks, resolve customer issues at a faster rate and create unique marketing experiences.

“Sprout’s Chatbots are absolutely amazing,” Venen said. “They provide the ability to respond to our customers’ most frequently asked questions in a very timely manner at any time of day. With the way we’re able to personalize them, it’s kind of like building a mini-website. People can reach out to us on social and say, ‘Okay, I want information on this,’ click, and then go to the page they need.”

Meanwhile, Sprout’s Smart Inbox empowers Lake Metroparks to stay alerted to potential opportunities or crises brewing on social by unifying all social channels into a single stream, making it easy to monitor incoming messages and surface mentions of specific keywords.

For instance, the Cleveland Browns’ Myles Garrett recently asked his Twitter followers where to bring his new puppy for a playdate. Loyal members of the Dawg Pound, one of the NFL’s most passionate fan communities, pointed him toward Lake Metroparks’ Canine Meadow Dog Park.

“All the TV stations and local radio stations were all over it,” Venen said. “It brought a lot of attention to our dog park and its Facebook page.”

Page impressions jumped by 829%, and the number of new fans for the page increased by 540%.

“Once we were aware of what was happening, we were able to monitor the situation from Sprout,” Venen said. “I was able to add ‘Myles Garrett’ as a keyword in the Smart inbox to ensure we’d stay on top of anything that came up and be the first to know what people were saying online.”

In this way, Lake Metroparks is able to proactively identify opportunities to expand its reach and connect with new audiences.

Assessing impact

Sprout not only makes it easy for Lake Metroparks to measure ROI, but improve it.

“Sprout’s reporting has given us a better look at our analytics and helps us adjust our social strategy through better targeting,” Venen said. “Engagement across all our networks is made simpler through the use of the Smart Inbox and through timely responses utilizing Chatbots. These things have all had a positive impact on our metrics.”

The ultimate goal is increasing attendance at park locations, usage of park facilities and registration for park-affiliated programs. This ties back directly to how many people are seeing and interacting with Lake Metroparks’ social posts.

Year over year after signing up with Sprout, across Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Pinterest, Lake Metroparks achieved a:

• 11.9% increase in total social impressions
• 23.5% increase in total social followers
• 49.6% increase in total social engagements

Lake Metroparks is committed to conserving, preserving and keeping people connected to the beautiful natural resources of Lake County. With the help of Sprout Social, it will continue its mission while saving time, providing excellent customer service and easily maintaining oversight of its expansive social presence.

The post How Lake Metroparks stays a step ahead on social media using Sprout Social appeared first on Sprout Social.

Yet through the power of social media, the City of Lenexa, Kansas is able to quickly share information, answer questions and build bonds with community members.

The city uses Sprout Social to streamline its social efforts and maximize their benefits. And after achieving a 96.9% increase in social engagements over a single year of using Sprout, the results have only continued to improve.

Selecting Sprout

Communications Specialist Kristen Waggener heads up the City of Lenexa’s social media efforts, including promotion of the popular Lenexa Public Market and Lenexa Rec Center across Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and Instagram.

“Our goal with social media is to get information out to residents and businesses, as well as people interested in the city, as quickly and easily as possible,” she said. “We also want to use social as a service channel, because as you probably know, a lot of people prefer not to talk on the phone anymore and would rather have their questions answered through a direct message or a comment on social media.”

As the city’s social presence expanded and new profiles were created, the need for a social media management tool grew.

“I did a lot of research and a lot of trials with different companies,” Waggener said. “One of the major things we were looking for was the ability to easily export analytics for different social profiles. I didn’t want to spend hours upon hours trying to put together an analytics presentation on a monthly basis. So one of the things I really liked was the analytics exporting feature Sprout has. It made it very easy.”

While Waggener was pleased with Sprout’s data analytics and reporting capabilities, she was initially dubious of its Smart Inbox.

“I was actually very skeptical of the Smart Inbox because I was used to doing most things manually, but it turned out to be really helpful,” Waggener said. “It’s very easy to lose track of things or miss things on social. Something can come in at night that I’ll need to follow up on the next morning. With the Smart Inbox, I can just assign it as a task or leave it in my inbox and know that it’s there and I’m not going to lose it.”

I started using Optimal Send Times in June [2018] right after it was rolled out and saw a huge increase in engagement and reach.

Kristen Waggener
Communications Specialist, City of Lenexa

Optimizing Impact

Ultimately, Waggener wanted a tool that would help her inform the public, something easier said than done when it comes to the sometimes-mundane business of governing.

“The topics we’re covering are a lot drier compared to other things on social,” she said. “Things like budgets and street maintenance and building codes. We’re fortunate that our city has fun built into it. We’re known as the ‘City of Festivals,’ we have more than 15 major events every year, but there are other topics people aren’t necessarily excited to hear about or look for.”

So how do you get people to pay attention? By using Sprout’s Optimal Send Times, powered by proprietary ViralPost™ technology.

This feature enables users to schedule and publish content at the times most likely to receive attention and generate engagement based on audience data.

“I started using Optimal Send Times in June [2018] right after it was rolled out and saw a huge increase in engagement and reach,” Waggener said.

Over the course of a single month, from May 2018 to June 2018, the City of Lenexa saw its social impressions and engagements increase by 18% and 49.7%, respectively.

Meanwhile, from May 2018 to August 2018, across Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn:

• Total social impressions increased by 23.4%, including a 29.7% rise on Facebook
• Total social engagements increased by 16%, including a 74.8% rise on Twitter

Waggener feels safe scheduling content in advance because of Sprout’s Pause All feature, which allows users to instantly pause and unpause scheduled content.

“Fortunately, I haven’t needed to use the Pause All feature yet, but I’m so thankful it’s there,” Waggener said. “The last thing I want to do is somehow make the city look bad. I don’t ever want the city to be put in a bad light because we had a random Facebook post that has nothing to do with whatever is going on in the world and it makes us look insensitive. So with the Pause All feature, it’s reassuring because I know all I have to do is literally press that pause button.”

I wear a lot of different hats, so not having to spend the time to figure out what the best time to post is or not having to spend the time compiling all the analytics data—it saves many hours.

Kristen Waggener
Communications Specialist, City of Lenexa

Calculating ROI

For Waggener, measuring Sprout’s return on investment goes beyond metrics.

“It gives me peace of mind, knowing I’m not missing something,” she said. “You know, I have a very strong sense of responsibility to the public in terms of answering their questions and getting them the information they need. Within the native platforms, it’s very easy to see a comment, think, ‘Oh, I need to follow up on that’ and then not be able to find it the next day.”

Time saved is another consideration.

“I wear a lot of different hats, so not having to spend the time to figure out what the best time to post is or not having to spend the time compiling all the analytics data—it saves many hours,” Waggener said. “I can use those hours to do something else that’s worthwhile for the city.”

However, if the City of Lenexa were to judge Sprout purely on hard numbers, that would be fine, too.

After one year of using Sprout, from April 2017 to April 2018, across Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn, the city experienced a:

• 46.8% increase in total social followers
• 41% increase in total social impressions
• 96.9% increase in total social engagements

Meanwhile, year over year in August 2018, across Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn and Pinterest, the city achieved a:

• 38.8% increase in total social followers
• 29% increase in total social impressions
• 54.7% increase in total social engagements

With the help of Sprout Social, the City of Lenexa will continue to boost citizen engagement, serve the needs of its constituents and ensure important information is shared far and wide.

The post How the City of Lenexa Engages its Citizenry Using Sprout Social appeared first on Sprout Social.

The Washington, D.C.-based organization produces original research—crunching numbers, sharing data with the public and providing recommendations to decision makers and influencers.

And it turns to social media to help spread the word.

Since signing on with Employee Advocacy by Sprout Social, the organization has experienced consistent boosts in messaging reach. Over the past year alone, it achieved a 12% increase in total social followers, resulting in more than:

• 13 million impressions
• 160,000 engagements
• 62,000 link clicks

Additionally, the nonprofit captured a total potential reach of over a million social users thanks to employee advocates.

Capturing attention

The organization works with hundreds of researchers covering a wide range of issues, from health care to taxes to housing finance.

The information it uncovers and shares is of great interest to lawmakers and other individuals shaping policy, and is delivered in a nonpartisan fashion.

“For example, if a new law is proposed at the federal level, we wouldn’t say this is bad or don’t vote for this,” said the organization’s Senior Digital Communications Manager. “But we might say, ‘Here’s what could happen if you enact this. We have research on this, and this is what the research says.’ We’re just trying to bring evidence to bear on policy conversations that are happening.”

Online fundraising is a secondary goal. The organization operates more as a publisher than fundraiser, and its audience is policymakers, major media outlets and the people who work in the spaces it researches.

However, staying above the political fray comes with drawbacks.

“We don’t do any advocating ourselves, which can actually make our social media work more challenging,” said the Senior Digital Communications Manager. “In essence, we’re saying, ‘Here are some interesting facts, do with them what you will.’ It can be harder for social, because you’re not making really strong statements, and you’re not telling people to do something, or to get angry, or explicitly telling them something is bad. And people tend to get more excited about that.”

Fortunately, through a combination of smart social strategy and employee advocacy supported by Sprout Social, the Urban Institute is able to amplify its message and reach its target audiences.

Expanding reach

The Senior Digital Communications Manager knew the Urban Institute needed social media management tools to succeed, but was less than impressed with what the organization was using.

“I did a month-long trial of Sprout and loved it. I was afraid the transition from an old platform to a new one would be really hard, but it was so easy. And once we learned about Sprout’s Employee Advocacy solution, it seemed like an easy way to support our social efforts even more. It was easy to integrate it with our current strategies and better engage our staff.”

Publishing and social media monitoring are primary concerns for the team. With Sprout’s publishing features, the organization is able to automatically post content across all connected social profiles at optimal times to maximize reach, and can then monitor who is sharing and commenting on its content. Beyond generating awareness, the organization wants to be able to identify online influencers and key stakeholders.

“I couldn’t do my job without Sprout,” said the Senior Digital Communications Manager. “When I get in in the morning, I can schedule a handful of posts, set it and forget it. And throughout the day, I check back in and update and respond as necessary.”

While it’s active on Facebook, LinkedIn and Instagram, Twitter is the organization’s social channel of choice. Year over year on Twitter, as of April 16, 2018, the organization saw a:

• 6.8% increase in organic impressions.
• 10.3% increase in total followers.
• 15.1% increase in messages received.

Sprout has also helped organize its employee advocacy efforts, opening the door to further increases in online reach. The communications team is able to curate content employees can quickly and easily share on their personal social profiles.

Year over year, thanks to Employee Advocacy, the organization achieved a total potential reach of 1,034,903 across Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn. This growth has continued month over month as well, with total employee story shares increasing 200% between March and April 2018.

Employee shares are especially effective at maximizing messaging reach, as data shows brand messages shared by employees reach 561% further than those shared by brand social channels, and are also re-shared 24 times more frequently.

A critical component of the nonprofit’s mission is to conduct research that elevates debate. With Sprout Social, it can do just that by ensuring its work is shared far and wide.

The post How this nonprofit institute boosts messaging reach with Employee Advocacy by Sprout Social appeared first on Sprout Social.

WBC has found the introduction and dissemination of this new mission has been particularly successful through its social channels, despite a relatively small follower count.

“Social media has been a very valuable tool for WBC,” said Sean Anderson, WBC Communications Specialist. “We don’t have a lot of followers, but the followers we do have are incredibly influential people or organizations and we rely heavily on these influencers to help amplify our message.”

So when WBC needs to gauge whether or not its content is really penetrating, it looks to who’s sharing it and how wide its subsequent reach is. To do this the organization relies on Sprout’s Twitter reporting feature, Potential Reach, found in the Sent Messages report.

Expanding Impact

Potential Reach not only accounts for the number of followers you have when you published a tweet, but also the number of followers of every account that retweeted it. While engagement and new followers are always important metrics, it’s the Potential Reach number that allows WBC to judge message amplification to the 2nd and 3rd degrees.

“Our team provides the C-suite with the typical monthly metrics—impressions, engagement, new followers, etc,” says Anderson. “But it’s the Potential Reach we provide quarterly that really shows them the extent of our social media messaging and proves the power and value of social media versus traditional press and advertising.”

As for content curation itself, WBC relies heavily on Sprout’s Queue and publishing calendar to plan out more strategic posts, freeing up the organization to focus on real-time coverage of industry events. This ability to post relevant, on-strategy content while also maintaining an influential presence at important civic events is vital to the organization’s perception and reputation as a thought leader.

And while having the right content is key to any successful social strategy, the ability to gauge whether or not it’s resonating with the right audience is an invaluable tool that Sprout’s advanced reporting features offer.

To further build its network of local and global connections, WBC will continue to rely on social media—and Sprout’s powerful platform—to leverage the influence it needs to make a lasting impact on the city’s community and economy.

The post World Business Chicago Realizes its Full Potential With the Help of Sprout Social’s Analytics Features appeared first on Sprout Social.

In an era when fewer than 3 in 10 Americans express trust in the federal government, Las Vegas employees are faced with the challenges of connecting with, informing and supporting the city and its people.

“People don’t expect the government to be listening,” said Jennifer Davies, Social Media Manager for the City of Las Vegas. “They feel disenfranchised with the political process.”

But the City of Las Vegas is changing the way citizens think about engaging with their local government by investing in social media to connect with the residents, business owners and organizations that call Sin City home. Vegas’ social team began as a team of one and has quickly flourished into a group of five communications professionals with one primary goal: increasing citizen engagement.

At the center of the team’s efforts are Twitter, Facebook and Instagram, because that’s where the vast majority of the city’s constituents are present. Within one year, the City of Las Vegas engaged with more than 380,000 unique users on Facebook and Twitter (half of the city’s population) increased Instagram engagement by 59% and saw a 26% spike in organic Twitter impressions.

Across all three platforms, the city has implemented a strategy focused on humanizing government, fostering transparency, being agile and raising awareness around initiatives contributing to the city’s growth.

Social media has completely changed the way we communicate.

Jennifer Davies
Social Media Manager

Humanizing Government

Diversity and inclusion have become immediate, hot-button issues for local municipalities and representatives across the country. When the president announced his first executive order on immigration, Americans immediately took to Twitter to show their support, voice concern, provide commentary and everything in between. The City of Las Vegas was quick to follow suit with a pinned, 140-character statement that defined its position on the issue.

Using social media as a megaphone to take a stance and offer clarity to newsworthy and often controversial issues is something the city does often. But unlike a press release, social platforms are more conversational and accessible. Because of this, social media has become the modern version of a town hall meeting between officials and constituents.

“Social media has completely changed the way we communicate. We’re able to engage in a dialogue with people that are happy and mad at the city,” said Jennifer Davies. “I truly believe that we are able to change hearts and minds one Tweet at a time.”

But government for the people, by the people doesn’t end at representation or messaging. The methods a city adapts to connect with its constituents are central to humanizing government.

“Residents can communicate with us in the same way they would talk to friends and family,” said Natasha Shahani, Public Information Officer at the City of Las Vegas. “We use GIFs, we use emojis.”

This casual, relatable demeanor is seen every Monday through Thursday morning when the social media team steps in front of the smartphone camera to broadcast Daily Dose, a short news segment on Facebook Live and Periscope.

Social media allows us to present accurate information directly to the public.

Shane Savanapridi
Public Information Officer

The team covers topics ranging from local road closures to the season finale of the popular NBC drama, This Is Us. To keep viewers invested, the team ventures into the broader community to raise awareness of organizations like The Center LV, a nonprofit that provides services to LGBTQ residents.

Transparency as the Backbone of Success

Having control over your organization’s narrative is more important than ever–especially for government. That’s why the City of Las Vegas relies on Twitter and Facebook to distribute accurate information about government policies and local news.

“Social media allows us to present accurate information directly to the public,” said Shane Savanapridi, Public Information Officer at the City of Las Vegas. “We don’t have to rely on traditional news agencies.”

For instance, in late March 2017, Las Vegas experienced an unexpected wind storm that prompted some news outlets to report that the airport was closed. The city’s social media team was quick to set the record straight with a Retweet from McCarran Airport’s official Twitter account and the hashtag #VegasWind.

Keeping the public informed about what’s really going on in City Hall and throughout Las Vegas helps build trust and positions the government as reliable and reputable.

Tapping into existing government employees through a formal social ambassadors program is just another way that the city aims to foster a transparent relationship with the public. With 84% of people citing recommendations from those they know as the most trusted form of marketing, it makes sense that Las Vegas would leverage its workforce to disseminate its most important messages.

Advocates like Christy Beckwith, Business Specialist at the City of Las Vegas, share curated content about the municipality with their personal social communities.

Las Vegas believes that everyone wins when government employees amplify factual information on their own social platforms. Because unlike many businesses in the private sector, government organizations are unique in the fact that they measure success based on citizen engagement vs. ROI.

“We want to see our likes, comments and shares go up,” said Jennifer Davies. “That means people are interested in what we’re doing and they’re talking to us–which is always our number one priority.”

By sharing content with their personal communities, government employees are supporting the communications team’s goals and helping the city reach a larger audience.

Cutting the Red Tape

When the public thinks of government, the impression is often of bureaucratic red tape and antiquated processes–basically everything social media isn’t. But that doesn’t mean that managing multiple social platforms, corresponding strategies and best practices doesn’t come without its own set of challenges. The City of Las Vegas’ communications team uses a social media management tool to streamline processes and deliver real-time content to its followers during City Council meetings.

A single feed aggregates inbound messages across all of the city’s social platforms and enables the team to respond to constituent comments and questions as feedback comes in. The team is also able to share live updates from City Council and group them together on Twitter using the hashtag #lvcouncil.

The city can attest to the fact that when you cut the red tape, your constituents are more eager to pay attention and take action. In 2016 Las Vegas increased Twitter engagement by 23% and saw a 26% rise in organic impressions on the platform.

Propelling a Community Forward

The City of Las Vegas is constantly reinventing itself through infrastructure projects and cultural initiatives. One of the city’s recent redevelopment initiatives is focused on bringing new businesses to downtown and boosting time and spend in the area. To raise awareness and increase public interest, the city turns to Instagram.

As the world of social media develops, the communications strategy for the city is going to develop right along with it.

Natasha Shahani
Public Information Officer

The mobile photo sharing app is the city’s preferred communication method when it comes to paying homage to downtown Las Vegas’ iconic past, highlighting the murals located throughout the area and celebrating successful businesses.

The city drives awareness for the its downtown initiatives with a branded Instagram hashtag (#DTLV) that saw a 75% spike in usage in 2016. And, overall, Vegas’ streamlined and focused Instagram strategy increased engagement on the platform by 56%.

When asked what’s next for the City of Las Vegas and social media, Natasha Shahani and her colleagues are eager to continue to reinvent their strategy.

“It’s really about what our constituents are on and how we can connect with them,” said Shahani. “As the world of social media develops, the communications strategy for the city is going to develop right along with it.”

The post Why the City of Las Vegas Turns to Social Media to Increase Citizen Engagement appeared first on Sprout Social.