Transcript Social Media – Who is using it?

Guidelines for
incorporating social media
into your outreach strategy
Todd McGee, NACIO President
N.C. Association of County Commissioners Director of Public Relations
Social Media – Who is using it?
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More than 76% of U.S. households have
Internet Access
More than two-thirds of Internet users
report using at least one social media site
Americans spend more time on-line on
Social Media sites than any other activity
Facebook and YouTube attract more than
100M unique users per month in U.S.
Demographics skew to a younger
audience, but don’t forget the geezers.
Top Web sites in U.S.
1 Google.com
2 Facebook.com
3 YouTube.com
4 Yahoo.com
10. Twitter.com
12. LinkedIn.com
13. blogspot.com
18. Tumblr.com
Social Media – What sites should you use?
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There are a lot of sites out there
Concentrate on the big three – Facebook, Twitter and YouTube
Don’t forget about your county website
Social Media – Why should you use it?
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Allows you to control your message
Gives you instant access to your citizens
Enables you to receive feedback easily
Gives you access to people who don’t consume traditional
media
Easy
Social Media – How do you do it?
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Plan
Branding
Content
How to develop a policy
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Internal resources
 County manager
 County attorney
 IT
 Public Information Officer
 Emergency Management
External Resources
www.nacio.org
What the policy should address
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Guidelines for use of sites
• Who will update sites
• What will go on sites
• Archiving sites to comply with public records laws
Issues to consider
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Social Media rapidly evolving
Departments vs. County
Public Comments
Social media sites place restrictions on accepted posts
Local governments can adopt even stricter rules for posts
Social Media – It ain’t free, but it’s pretty darn close
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Sites are free
Do require dedicated resources
Integration is key (and easy)
Equipment and software not expensive
Social Media – It ain’t free, but it’s pretty darn close
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Webcam - $50
Handheld HD movie camera (Kodak ZI8) - $100
Accessories – tripod, camera bag, memory card, microphone - $150
Video editing software - $100
Microphone for computer ($25)
Skype account (free) or gmail
Can you become the next media mogul?
Steps to becoming a multimedia sensation
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Sign up for all the various accounts:
• www.facebook.com
• www.twitter.com
• www.youtube.com
Link your Facebook, YouTube and Twitter accounts through your
YouTube account – automatic video updates
Link Facebook and Twitter accounts – status updates
Content is key
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Update sites regularly (at least 2-3 times per week, but more –
especially if you are allowing comments)
Twitter – aim for daily updates, but no more than 3x per day
Links to news articles or TV reports, press releases, etc.
Drive traffic to county Web site whenever possible
Post Twitter feed on Web site
Post links to YouTube and Facebook on Web site
Get creative
No PIO? No problem.
Additional Resources
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Use Picasa Web Albums (Google photo-sharing albums)
BSR Screen Recorder (www.thesilver.net)
Skype (www.skype.com)
Gmail (www.gmail.com)
Slideshare (www.slideshare.net)