DigitalGov University Social Media Event Series: Multilingual Social Media Strategy for Government

1. DigitalGov UniversitySocial Media Event Series: Multilingual Social Media Strategy for Government Laura Godfrey Manager, GobiernoUSA.gov October 17, 2012 Office of Citizen Services and Innovative Technologies

2. Agenda • What is GobiernoUSA.gov • Federal Multilingual Mandates • Hispanics and Social Media • GobiernoUSA.gov Social Media Strategy • Social Media Registry • Discussion Office of Citizen Services and Innovative Technologies

3. What is GobiernoUSA.gov? Official portal of the US government in Spanish • Provides easy access to information, programs and services to over 5.5 million Spanish speakers • A result of Executive Order (EO) 13166 • Required federal agencies to provide meaningful access to information to people with limited English proficiency (LEP) • EO reaffirmed by Attorney General Eric Holder in 2011 • Federal agencies to conduct language assessment needs and develop a Language Access Plan to serve LEP populations Office of Citizen Services and Innovative Technologies

4. Hispanics and Social Media Two main reasons Hispanics are very active in social media • Culturally – Hispanics are social • These platforms allow them to stay in touch with family and friends in their own countries • Lack of relevant content • Hispanics were among the first group to blog (the blogueros). No content? No problem, we create it. Office of Citizen Services and Innovative Technologies

5. Hispanics and Social Media Numbers speak for themselves (000's) Millions Reach Total Hispanics Online 26,869 100% Facebook 8,774 70% YouTube 15,946 59% Twitter 4,348 16% LinkedIN 3,700 14% MySpace 3,690 14% Tumblr 3,046 11% Pinterest 1,779 7% Source: comScore Office of Citizen Services and Innovative Technologies

6. Hispanics and Social Media Hispanics spend more time than other groups on social media sites Source: http://www.emarketer.com/Article.aspx?id=1008877&R=1008877#SdRGG8Cc0YCYDGpv.99 Office of Citizen Services and Innovative Technologies

7. GobiernoUSA.gov’s Social Media Strategy Researched to understand the platforms before choosing • Considered possibilities and limitations • Twitter: Immediacy, brevity • Facebook: Visual medium that allows for more interaction with the message • YouTube: Visual medium to disseminate information while entertaining (hopefully!) Office of Citizen Services and Innovative Technologies

8. GobiernoUSA.gov’s Social Media Strategy GobiernoUSA.gov adopted these four principles • Tone • Friendly, yet authoritative • Timeliness • Relevant messages • Plain language • Easy to understand, no governmentese • Informal voice • Tú not Usted • Developed social media guidelines Office of Citizen Services and Innovative Technologies

9. GobiernoUSA.gov’s Social Media Strategy Early adopter of social media • Chose Facebook and Twitter and launched both channels in late 2008 • Started daily messages through both channels • Adopted Measured Voice as a tool to schedule and send messages automatically in 2009 • Coined the term Facetweet (same message for both platforms) • Launched YouTube channel in 2010 Office of Citizen Services and Innovative Technologies

10. GobiernoUSA.gov’s Social Media Strategy Today • Facebook • We have over 8,900 likes • We directly answer 30 questions a month • Twitter • We have over 131,000 followers • Conducted 3 Twitter Live Chats • YouTube Channel • Increased channel views by 700% since last year to over 175K • Partnered with USCIS to produce video series – 4 videos 160K views Office of Citizen Services and Innovative Technologies

11. GobiernoUSA.gov’s Social Media Strategy We answer common questions through Facebook Hi, I’d like to know where I could find financial help. I am a low income person and lost my job. I don’t know what to do. Hello Edd: Thanks for your message. The federal and state governments have financial aid programs. Answer the questions in this questionnaire to find out which programs you are eligible for. Office of Citizen Services and Innovative Technologies

12. GobiernoUSA.gov’s Social Media Strategy • 2012 Partnerships to hold live chats • Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) • Federal Trade Commission (FTC) • Social Security Administration (SSA) • Promoted the chats through MSN Latino and Univision • Results: • 67 questions answered on the spot by experts in each field • Repurposed chat questions and answers as content for our website • Translated this content to English and shared with the USA.gov team • Partnership with Department of Education (Twitter) • Promoted app referred 25% of traffic • Promoted town hall and contributed 20% of 5.7 M impressions Office of Citizen Services and Innovative Technologies

13. GobiernoUSA.gov’s Social Media Strategy Adjust Adjust Adjust New research shows best engagement times for posts • Facebook • 14% more engagement between 8pm and 7am • Lowest engagement day: Wednesday • Highest engagement day: Sunday • Twitter: • 17% higher engagement on weekends than on weekdays • 30% during busy hours 7am to 8pm • Tweets with links have are 86% more likely to be RT than tweets with no links Office of Citizen Services and Innovative Technologies

14. GobiernoUSA.gov’s Social Media Strategy Did you know? New tool to verify official social media accounts Social Media Registry Register your accounts and help the public find YOU not an impostor in social media platforms Office of Citizen Services and Innovative Technologies

15. Multilingual Social Media Strategy for Government Thank You! Contact: laura.godfrey@gsa.gov Office of Citizen Services and Innovative Technologies