This presentation initially given to the 2010 State-EPA Environmental Innovation Symposium focuses on overcoming some of the challenges faced by government agencies getting started on the development and implementation of a social media plan

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+ pr

2. Emily Lenard | Social Media for Government Agencies
comet
Social Media is Nothing New.
It’s a Conversation.
Between People.
branding | pr | social media

3. Emily Lenard | Social Media for Government Agencies
comet branding | pr | social media
Listen
Collaborate
Participate
Like any conversation,
social media engagement
should strive to
achieve a balance.

4. Emily Lenard | Social Media for Government Agencies
comet branding | pr | social media
Gov 2.0 Challenge 1: Not Knowing Where to Start
• Do your research. Reach out and ask others for their tips/best practices.
- National Agencies
- State Agencies
- Consumer Brands
• Ask constituents what kind of information they would find helpful.
• Check out great online resources like:
- http://www.whitehouse.gov/open
- http://mashable.com/
- http://www.usa.gov/webcontent/technology/other_tech.shtml
Get started on social media....s l o w l y.

5. Gov 2.0 Challenge 2: Opposition & Lack of Understanding from Key Players
• Identify agency staff whose approval and 100% support will be needed.
- IT Staff
- Traditional Communication Staff
- Legal/Public Policy Staff
- Human Resources
- Agency Leadership
• Be open and understanding to their fears and/or misconceptions.
• Seek feedback.
• Be prepared to have numerous conversations on how your agency specifically will
accomplish goals with social media as part of the strategy.
Hmmm....strategy....about that....
comet
Emily Lenard | Social Media for Government Agencies
branding | pr | social media

6. Emily Lenard | Social Media for Government Agencies
comet branding | pr | social media
Gov 2.0 Challenge 3: Developing a Collaborative Social Media Strategy
• Questions that need to be answered. Answers that need to be agreed upon.
- What are we looking to accomplish through social media?
- Who will be responsible for monitoring/posting/replying on each channel?
Multiple people? Different people for each channel?
- How will agency responsibilities change for each person involved?
- How will success be measured?
- What characteristics define the agency’s voice?
- What’s the approval process for posting content?
Social media content sounds like more work...

7. Gov 2.0 Challenge 4: No Time to Generate Social Media Content
• Leverage available content
- Press Releases (PitchEngine.com)
- Webinars
- Pictures
- White Papers
- Events
• Re-purpose content to make it social media-friendly.
- Tailor your message format to each social media channel.
- Insert the agency’s social media voice and personality.
- Think about how content might be used for social media before it’s
created. (capturing events via video, doing short interviews, podcasts,
etc).
comet
Emily Lenard | Social Media for Government Agencies
branding | pr | social media

8. Gov 2.0 Challenge 5: Implementing an Even Handed Social Media Policy
• Make sure staff understand what the agency considers to be appropriate vs.
inappropriate.
• Be aware of how open records affect social media for government agencies.
• Things to incorporate into a social media policy:
- Who will speak for the agency across every platform.
- Ongoing conversations and training on the blurred lines of business vs.
personal networking.
- Fostering an understanding that each employee is personally responsible for
what s/he posts online.
- Prepared language and steps for potential social media criticism and/or
backlash.
• Enforce the designated policies & practices regardless of position and agency
rank.
comet
Emily Lenard | Social Media for Government Agencies
branding | pr | social media

9. comet
Emily Lenard | Social Media for Government Agencies
branding | pr | social media
Tips for Gov 2.0 Success
• Do your research.
• Get key agency personnel on board with social media’s value by demonstrating how social
media enables government to achieve transparency, participation, and collaboration.
• Develop a collaborative and strategic social media implementation plan driven by your
agency’s specific goals.
• Look for ways to incorporate social media into a traditional communications plan.
• Re-purpose old content and think ahead when creating new content on how it might be
used for social media distribution.
• Develop an even-handed social media policy.
• Determine how ROI will be measured.
• Look for ways to collaborate with other agencies/departments.
• Begin slowly. Get comfortable using one tool at a time...but have a timeline for
implementing the others.
Be Prepared to EVOLVE!

10. Questions?
Emily Lenard
emily@cometbranding.com
Twitter: @EmilyLenard
comet branding | pr | social media