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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? More than 76% of U.S. households have Internet Access
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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? • 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.
Social Media – What sites should you use? • 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? • 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? • Plan • Branding • Content
How to develop a policy • Internal resources • County manager • County attorney • IT • Public Information Officer • Emergency Management • External Resources • www.nacio.org
What the policy should address • 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 • 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 • 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 • 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
Steps to becoming a multimedia sensation • 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 • 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 • 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)