Education series for local governments that want to get started with Twitter and Facebook. This step by step series walks an agency through how to get started with each of these social channels, as well as the social dashboard, Hootsuite, to manage these communication streams. This is a half-day course.

1. Building a Municipal
Social Media Presence
January 2012
Carol A Spencer, Web Manager
County of Morris, NJNJ • BuildingMunicipal Social Media Presence
County of Morris, • Building a a Municipal Social Media Presence
Facebook • Twitter • Hootsuite
1

2. What you’ll learn today
• Considerations before getting started
• How to get a Google account & Gmail address
• What are the differences between a Facebook page and profile
• How to set up a Facebook page
• What Twitter is and why you should use it
• How to set up a Twitter account
• What Hootsuite is and why you should use it
• How to send one message many places, all at once
County of Morris, NJ • Building a Municipal Social Media Presence
2

3. One Post: Many Channels
County of Morris, NJ • Building a Municipal Social Media Presence
3

4. Considerations before getting started
A little planning goes a long way
• Seriously consider having a single Social Media presence online
(1 Facebook page, 1 Twitter account, etc)
• Use a consistent, generic email address for all social media
• Use a consistent “vanity” name
• Have multiple admins for each application
• Adopt “Use” and “Commenting” policies
• BACK UP (Backupify.com)
EVERYTHING is subject to records retention laws, including comments
County of Morris, NJ • Building a Municipal Social Media Presence
4

5. Considerations before getting started
A little planning goes a long way
• Decide on a “communications tone”
• Don’t post original material on Facebook
• Anyone can comment on your FB posts
• Assign a team member to monitor comments
• Secure your Facebook profile so no one can see it
• Never let fans / followers upload photos or videos without moderation
• Think about how you’ll market your social presence
County of Morris, NJ • Building a Municipal Social Media Presence
5

6. Choose an email address
Generic Local or Generic Gmail
• Facebook requires a real name: webmaster@, admin@ are not
acceptable.
• Gmail: We use MC[town]NJ@gmail.com if we set up your email.
• Gmail.com
County of Morris, NJ • Building a Municipal Social Media Presence
6

7. Check Your Chosen Vanity URL
• Morris County is MorrisCountyNJ
Facebook.com/MorrisCountyNJ
Twitter.com/MorrisCountyNJ
YouTube.com/MorrisCountyNJ
Flickr.com/MorrisCountyNJ
Scribd.com/MorrisCountyNJ
MorrisCountyNJ.gov
• Choose a name.
Check it everywhere.
Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Flickr, Scribd, LinkedIn, FourSquare
• Denville is already DenvilleNJ on Twitter, YouTube, Scribd
• DenvilleNJ – Available on Flickr (go grab it), but gone on Facebook
• What to do…..
County of Morris, NJ • Building a Municipal Social Media Presence
7

8. Check Your Chosen Vanity URL
Chatham Borough
@ChathamNJ is a real estate company
Chester Township
@ChesterNJ is a woman who cooks for food allergies.
@ChesterBoroNJ (official borough page for public safety information)
Lincoln Park
@lincolnpark_nj
Mendham Borough
@MendhamFireDept; @MendhamNJ (hasn’t tweeted yet, unknown)
Parsippany:
@ParPolice; @ParTroyLibrary – library; @BigReadParTroy - library
Riverdale
@RiverdaleNJ
Rockaway Township
Roxbury
nothing
nothing
County of Morris, NJ • Building a Municipal Social Media Presence
8

9. BUILDING A MUNICIPAL
SOCIAL MEDIA PRESENCE: FACEBOOK
MAY 2012 (Timeline)
Carol A Spencer, Web Manager
County Morris, NJ • • Building a Municipal Social Media Presence
County of of Morris, NJBuilding a Municipal Social Media Presence
Facebook • Twitter • Hootsuite
9

10. FACEBOOK
Profiles vs Pages (Timeline)
Businesses now use “Timeline” (below).
Individuals continue to use a “Profile” as
well as a “Timeline” view.
County of Morris, NJ • Building a Municipal Social Media Presence
10

11. FACEBOOK
Timeline: each person sees it differently
Each person’s
view of a
business timeline
will be different
because when
their friends
reference the
business page in
a post, that post
appears on the
individual’s view
of the business
“Timeline” page.
Others, who are
not friends with
that person, will
not see that post.
County of Morris, NJ • Building a Municipal Social Media Presence
11

12. FACEBOOK
Profiles vs Pages
If you are not active on FB, the profile to
which the government page is tied
should be locked down: no friends, no
profile photo, etc.
County of Morris, NJ • Building a Municipal Social Media Presence
12

13. CREATING YOUR PAGE
Login later
County of Morris, NJ • Building a Municipal Social Media Presence
13

14. GOVERNMENT PAGE TYPE
County of Morris, NJ • Building a Municipal Social Media Presence
Company, Organization, Institution
14

15. GOVERNMENT PAGE TYPE
County of Morris, NJ • Building a Municipal Social Media Presence
Government Organization
15

16. GOVERNMENT PAGE NAME
County of Morris, NJ • Building a Municipal Social Media Presence
[Jurisdiction Name] Government
16

17. FACEBOOK TOU
You must agree to have a page
County of Morris, NJ • Building a Municipal Social Media Presence
17

18. FACEBOOK TOU
Special Government Terms
County of Morris, NJ • Building a Municipal Social Media Presence
18

19. CREATE AN ACCOUNT
Or log in with an existing account
County of Morris, NJ • Building a Municipal Social Media Presence
19

20. PROFILE PICTURE
Logo, seal, or local branding
County of Morris, NJ • Building a Municipal Social Media Presence
20

21. ADD YOUR WEBSITE
Add some info about your jurisdiction
County of Morris, NJ • Building a Municipal Social Media Presence
21

22. VANITY URL
Direct, easy access to your page
County of Morris, NJ • Building a Municipal Social Media Presence
22

23. TIMELINE
Like your own page
Facebook will open these various
windows when you first try to create a
page, encouraging you to invite your
friends, etc. Skip as many of these as
you can to avoid tying your personal
information to the government page.
County of Morris, NJ • Building a Municipal Social Media Presence
23

24. TIMELINE
Admin Panel
County of Morris, NJ • Building a Municipal Social Media Presence
24

25. TIMELINE
Admin Panel
County of Morris, NJ • Building a Municipal Social Media Presence
25

26. UNPUBLISH THE PAGE
Only Admins can see it
Do this FIRST, so as you’re
working on your page, it isn’t live.
Facebook defaults to a live page.
County of Morris, NJ • Building a Municipal Social Media Presence
26

27. EDIT THE PAGE
Your Settings
County of Morris, NJ • Building a Municipal Social Media Presence
27

28. EDIT THE PAGE
Manage Permissions
UNCHECK:
Everyone can post to my timeline
Everyone can add photos and videos
Show the box for “Recent Posts by
Others”
Update the level of profanity you
want blocked.
County of Morris, NJ • Building a Municipal Social Media Presence
28

29. EDIT THE PAGE
Basic Information
Information
you enter here
shows up in
the “About”
section of the
Timeline.
County of Morris, NJ • Building a Municipal Social Media Presence
29

30. EDIT THE PAGE
Basic Information (con’t)
County of Morris, NJ • Building a Municipal Social Media Presence
30

31. EDIT THE PAGE
Profile Picture
Use your town or
county seal… some
photo that says this
is an official site.
County of Morris, NJ • Building a Municipal Social Media Presence
31

32. EDIT THE PAGE
Featured
Once you “like”
other government
pages, if you want to
feature one, you do
it here.
For example, FEMA
during a weather
emergency.
County of Morris, NJ • Building a Municipal Social Media Presence
32

33. EDIT THE PAGE
Use Facebook as….
When posting as
your town, you’ll
want to use FB as
the page, not the
person.
County of Morris, NJ • Building a Municipal Social Media Presence
33

34. EDIT THE PAGE
Resources
County of Morris, NJ • Building a Municipal Social Media Presence
34

35. THIS IS THE PAGE TITLE
And this is the subtitle
County of Morris, NJ • Building a Municipal Social Media Presence
35

36. PROMOTE YOUR PAGE
Like Box, Like Button
County of Morris, NJ • Building a Municipal Social Media Presence
36

37. EDIT THE PAGE
Manage Admins
Have at least two admins.
Each admin must have a FB profile page,
however you can lock it down if they
don’t use FB.
County of Morris, NJ • Building a Municipal Social Media Presence
37

38. EDIT THE PAGE
Manage Apps
County of Morris, NJ • Building a Municipal Social Media Presence
38

39. EDIT THE PAGE
Mobile
County of Morris, NJ • Building a Municipal Social Media Presence
39

40. MOBILE POSTING
Via Email or Via Text Message
County of Morris, NJ • Building a Municipal Social Media Presence
40

41. EDIT THE PAGE
Insights
Insights are stats.
Use these to see
what people are
looking at the
most, what time of
day your page is
most active.
County of Morris, NJ • Building a Municipal Social Media Presence
41

42. EDIT THE PAGE
Insights
County of Morris, NJ • Building a Municipal Social Media Presence
42

43. EDIT THE PAGE
Help
County of Morris, NJ • Building a Municipal Social Media Presence
43

44. ACCOUNT SETTINGS
Lock down the profile
To do this, you must be using FB as a
person, not as a page.
County of Morris, NJ • Building a Municipal Social Media Presence
44

45. ACCOUNT SETTINGS
Lock down the profile
County of Morris, NJ • Building a Municipal Social Media Presence
45

46. ACCOUNT SETTINGS
Lock down the profile
County of Morris, NJ • Building a Municipal Social Media Presence
46

47. ACCOUNT SETTINGS
Lock down the profile
Since you have your profile locked down,
there is no reason to allow subscribers.
County of Morris, NJ • Building a Municipal Social Media Presence
47

48. ACCOUNT SETTINGS
Lock down the profile
County of Morris, NJ • Building a Municipal Social Media Presence
48

49. ACCOUNT SETTINGS
Lock down the profile
County of Morris, NJ • Building a Municipal Social Media Presence
49

50. ACCOUNT SETTINGS
Lock down the profile
County of Morris, NJ • Building a Municipal Social Media Presence
50

51. ACCOUNT SETTINGS
Lock down the profile
County of Morris, NJ • Building a Municipal Social Media Presence
51

52. ACCOUNT SETTINGS
Lock down the profile
County of Morris, NJ • Building a Municipal Social Media Presence
52

53. PRIVACY SETTINGS
Lock down the profile
County of Morris, NJ • Building a Municipal Social Media Presence
53

54. PRIVACY SETTINGS
Lock down the profile
County of Morris, NJ • Building a Municipal Social Media Presence
54

55. PRIVACY SETTINGS
Lock down the profile
County of Morris, NJ • Building a Municipal Social Media Presence
55

56. PRIVACY SETTINGS
Lock down the profile
County of Morris, NJ • Building a Municipal Social Media Presence
56

57. PRIVACY SETTINGS
Lock down the profile
County of Morris, NJ • Building a Municipal Social Media Presence
57

58. PRIVACY SETTINGS
Lock down the profile
County of Morris, NJ • Building a Municipal Social Media Presence
58

59. PRIVACY SETTINGS
Lock down the profile
County of Morris, NJ • Building a Municipal Social Media Presence
59

60. FINAL THOUGHTS
Before publishing
•Get your “vanity” URL
Facebook.com/username
County of Morris, NJ • Building a Municipal Social Media Presence
60

61. Be sure to identify
your page as the
“Official Page”
Otherwise, you
could have this.
Note the failure to
post for well over a
year.
Next slide shows
how this looks with
the Timeline layout.
County of Morris, NJ • Building a Municipal Social Media Presence
61

62. Be sure to post relatively
frequently or this is how
your government page
will look.
County of Morris, NJ • Building a Municipal Social Media Presence
62

63. Get creative!
Add photos in your
Flickr gallery, then
pull into Facebook.
Communicate with:
Residents
Visitors
Businesses
The next slide shows
what Ocean City MD
had to do with the
mandated Timeline
layout of FB.
County of Morris, NJ • Building a Municipal Social Media Presence
63

64. County of Morris, NJ • Building a Municipal Social Media Presence
64

65. BUILDING A MUNICIPAL
SOCIAL MEDIA PRESENCE: TWITTER
JANUARY 2012
Carol A Spencer, Web Manager
County Morris, NJ • • Building a Municipal Social Media Presence
County of of Morris, NJBuilding a Municipal Social Media Presence
Facebook • Twitter • Hootsuite
65

66. TWITTER
140 Powerful Characters
County of Morris, NJ • Building a Municipal Social Media Presence
66

67. TWITTER
Signing up
County of Morris, NJ • Building a Municipal Social Media Presence
67

68. TWITTER
Setting up an account
County of Morris, NJ • Building a Municipal Social Media Presence
68

69. TWITTER
Setting up an account
You’ll have to do this a few times….
County of Morris, NJ • Building a Municipal Social Media Presence
69

70. TWITTER
Setting up an account
County of Morris, NJ • Building a Municipal Social Media Presence
70

71. TWITTER
Setting up an account
County of Morris, NJ • Building a Municipal Social Media Presence
71

72. TWITTER
Setting up an account
County of Morris, NJ • Building a Municipal Social Media Presence
72

73. TWITTER
Setting up an account
County of Morris, NJ • Building a Municipal Social Media Presence
73

74. TWITTER
Setting up an account
County of Morris, NJ • Building a Municipal Social Media Presence
74

75. TWITTER
Setting up an account
Click PHOTO to change. BRAND. Use the one from your FB page.
County of Morris, NJ • Building a Municipal Social Media Presence
75

76. TWITTER
Tweeting
76
• 140 characters. Try to use less. Link to more details.
• Learn Twitter lingo.
• Use abbreviations. Eliminate punctuation where possible.
• ALL CAPS is shouting. Don’t shout.
• Write your message, then start eliminating words and using abbreviations
to say the same thing in 140 characters.
• RT is re-tweet.
• @TwitterHandle is a public message to TwitterHandle
• DM TwitterHandle (note the space) is a direct message (private)
to TwitterHandle. You can only DM your followers.
• Mention means someone used your Twitter handle in a tweet.
County of Morris, NJ • Building a Municipal Social Media Presence

77. TWITTER
Tweeting
77
• Tweet valuable content:
Road closures, meeting reminders, budgets are posted, fields are closed,
events, important web postings, chamber events, celebrations, honorees,
good press.
• If someone asks you a public question, answer publicly.
• If someone asks you a public question, answer it.
• If someone DMs you, and you need more information to answer,
give them a link to your feedback form.
• If someone DMs you, answer them.
• If people RT your tweets, thank them with an @ message.
• Create a Twitter widget for your website.
Put it on your home page.
(https://twitter.com/about/resources/widgets)
County of Morris, NJ • Building a Municipal Social Media Presence

78. Tying it Together
Using Hootsuite
Carol A Spencer, Web Manager
County of Morris, NJNJ • BuildingMunicipal Social Media Presence
County of Morris, • Building a a Municipal Social Media Presence
Facebook • Twitter • Hootsuite
78

79. Sign up for Hootsuite FREE version
Use the same email as Facebook & Twitter
County of Morris, NJ • Building a Municipal Social Media Presence
79

80. Hootsuite Dashboard
County of Morris, NJ • Building a Municipal Social Media Presence
80

81. Hootsuite Dashboard
County of Morris, NJ • Building a Municipal Social Media Presence
81

82. Hootsuite Dashboard
County of Morris, NJ • Building a Municipal Social Media Presence
82

83. Hootsuite Dashboard
County of Morris, NJ • Building a Municipal Social Media Presence
83

84. Hootsuite Dashboard
County of Morris, NJ • Building a Municipal Social Media Presence
84

85. Hootsuite Tools
County of Morris, NJ • Building a Municipal Social Media Presence
85

86. Hootsuite Tools
County of Morris, NJ • Building a Municipal Social Media Presence
86

87. Hootsuite Tools
County of Morris, NJ • Building a Municipal Social Media Presence
87

88. Hootsuite Tools
County of Morris, NJ • Building a Municipal Social Media Presence
88

89. Before Posting
Double check before you post
Information is accurate
Information is authorized for public release
Post is 140 characters or less
Spelling is accurate
Link is accurate
Copy it into a new browser window to be sure it goes where you want
Date and time are correct if scheduling into the future
Selected social networks are the correct ones
Once it’s out there, you can delete it but anyone who has read it,
has read it.
County of Morris, NJ • Building a Municipal Social Media Presence
89

90. A few more things…
Searching, deleting, filtering
To search Twitter, enter the search criteria in the search box and
click the magnifying glass.
To create a stream of a particular search term, click “+Add Stream”.
Choose a search term or use logic as per examples
To create a stream of keywords, enter the terms. Tweets using any
of the keywords will be returned.
To use hashtags so your comments will be included in a stream using
that term, precede your term with a #. Example: #MCLibrary;
#Jan25; #gov20; #superbowl, #SOTU
To be sure your tweet ends up in someone’s mentions stream,
use @ before their Twitter handle.
To delete in Hootsuite, hover over the tweet in the ‘sent tweets’
stream and click the x.
County of Morris, NJ • Building a Municipal Social Media Presence
90

91. What you’ve learned today
• How to get a Google account & Gmail address
• How to set up Facebook, Twitter and Hootsuite
• About commenting
• How to post to all your social channels at once with Hootsuite
• How to schedule postings in the future
• What to check before posting (you can’t take it back)
• How to delete a post if you must
• How to backup so you have records
County of Morris, NJ • Building a Municipal Social Media Presence
91

92. Contacting me
Carol A Spencer
Web Manager
cspencer@co.morris.nj.us
webmaster@co.morris.nj.us
County of Morris, NJ • Building a Municipal Social Media Presence
92

93. Building a Municipal
Social Media Presence
January 2012
Carol A Spencer, Web Manager
County of Morris, NJNJ • BuildingMunicipal Social Media Presence
County of Morris, • Building a a Municipal Social Media Presence
Facebook • Twitter • Hootsuite
93