In this webinar, hear directly from researchers at the University of Pennsylvania’s Fels Institute of Government, including communications expert Eric Rabe, who surveyed over 100 cities and led 20 in-depth interviews with government administrators to uncover promising practices from your peers across the country.

1. The Rise of Social Government
September 18, 2012
Presented by:
Made possible
by:

2. Today’s Presenters
Eric Rabe Lauren Hansen-Flaschen

3. About the Fels Institute of Government
• Fels: Since 1937 preparing graduate students for leadership in
city state and federal government.
• Research & Consulting brings expertise of professionals and
creativity of grad students to public problem-solving
• 1,400 projects over 70 year history

4. Today’s Webinar Topics
• Key Findings & Promising Practices
Ø Managing Social Media
Ø Measuring Social Media
• Questions and Answers

5. What Defines Social Media?
Social Media is...
• Interactive...not Authoritative
• Personal...Not Institutional
• Narrowcast through
networks...not broadcast
• Used by 47% of American adults
(2011 Pew Research Center)

6. 2011 Report: What We Studied
• Most comprehensive study so far of Social Media
in local government
• 108 surveyed cities & 21 in-depth interviews
(summer 2011)
• Identifies data, case studies and promising practices
• Available for Free download from the Fels
website by May 2012

7. What We Found
• Social Media is growing despite tight budgets
• Cities use Social Media to meet core operational
goals
• Cities are actively managing and monitoring
Social Media
• Cities are grappling with social media
measurement
Fels Research, 2011

8. Local Government Use of Social Media
Twitter and
Facebook lead
the pack …
but mobile
applications are
gaining speed
0 20 40 60 80 100
Percent Adopting Social Media Tool
Fels Research, 2011

9. Polling Question 1

10. Government Management of Social Media
81% of cities report time spent managing Social
Media has increased since 2009
• “Fewer than 1% of cities have an employee
who exclusively handles Social Media”
• Cities have adopted two predominate
strategies:
• Centralized management
• Decentralized management
Fels Research, 2011

11. Two Predominate Management Strategies
Centralized Decentralized
Management Management
One dept. Multiple depts.
Cohesive Tailored
More accuracy More diverse
Less creative Hard to track
Fels Research, 2011

12. Polling Question 2

13. Managing Workflows
“61 percent of cities interviewed reported have a set approval
process for posting information to social media pages.”
• The Approval Process
• To launch new social media pages
• Determines what content is posted and when
• Gatekeepers
• Social Media Teams
• Coordination across Departments

14. Management Promising Practices
• Social Media Index
• Lists and links to all official social media pages
on main website
• Social Media Policy
• Helps avoid social media pitfalls
• Clear but flexible
• Outlines approved online tools, content and
procedures
• Complies with Federal & State Laws

15. Social Media in Emergency Situations
• Cities increasingly rely on social media tools
during emergency situations
• Designate responsibility for the message
• Place accuracy before speed
• Spur action when needed
• Google.org- a tool for emergency and crisis
response

16. Polling Question 3

17. Measuring Social Media Activity
“Most cities interviewed are uncertain how best
to measure the effectiveness of their social
media activities”
• Cities track: # of followers, comments, reposts,
likes, web traffic & media hits
• Only 52% say quantifying social media activity is
part of their overall reporting process
• 84% believe this is a coming requirement
Fels Research, 2011

18. Measuring Social Media Activity
“It’s not enough to measure the number of
followers. You need to measure the level of
engagement.”
• Qualitative measures growing in popularity
• Measurement to demonstrate transparency
• Online measurement tools
Fels Research, 2011

19. Recap: Promising Practices
Management Measurement
• Organizational • Measure levels of
strategy engagement
• Approval process and • Ask benchmarking
gatekeepers
questions
• Social Media Policy • Experiment with
online tools and
• Emergency Situations metrics

20. Q&A

21. THANK YOU
CONTACT INFORMATION
Katherine Parker, Associate Consultant
kpparker@sas.upenn.edu / (617) 921-7681
Lauren Hansen-Flaschen, Associate Consultant
l.hansenflaschen@gmail.com / (610) 639-6051
KEY WEBSITES
2009 Fels Social Media report:
https://www.fels.upenn.edu/sites/www.fels.upenn.edu/files/
PP3_SocialMedia.pdf
Fels Research & Consulting Website:
http://www.fels.upenn.edu/social-media-second-edition