Creating Vibrant Social Communities

Creating Vibrant Social Communities

For today, we will discuss: • Why build a social infrastructure • Benefits • Initial steps to create a vibrant social community • Effective propagation plans • Ways to ensure your city’s propagation plan is a success • Examples of social media engagement • The 5 C’s of Social Media

Why Build a Social Infrastructure Facebook Stats Active monthly users total 1.2 billion 751 mill users on FB mobile using 7,000 different devices 23% of users check accounts 5 times or more daily To date, 17 billion location-tagged posts and check-ins were logged 80% of social media users prefer to connect with brands through Facebook

Why Build a Social Infrastructure Twitter Stats 175 million tweets sent daily 32% of all internet users are using Twitter 1 million accounts are added daily 50% of Twitter users are using the network via mobile

Why Build a Social Infrastructure Instagram Stats 80 million users and counting Average of 7.3 millions daily users Nearly 4 billion photos have been shared since launch In a 6-month span, Insta’s average daily mobile visitors jumped from 886,000 to 7.3 million (724% LEAP)

Why Build a Social Infrastructure Google + Stats Google + button is used 5 billion times daily 625,000 new users daily 68% of users are male 42% of G+ users are single, 27% are married

Benefits of Social Media Communicate in a timely manner Communicate in a cost effective way Increase Public Participation Encourage Social Activism Garner Support for Municipal Projects Publicize Meetings and Hearings Distribute Public Safety Information Network Rely on yourself to distribute info---nobody else

So, how do you create a vibrant social community with all of this floating around?

It’s simple. You tell a story. But before you do: You strategize. You organize. Begin with your city’s story. You repeat steps one and two over and over again. Keeps your city’s story interesting and fresh.

Should your city take a Decentralized or a Centralized approach to social media?

Decentralized v. Centralized Approach • Decentralized Approach--Multiple social media users • Benefits? • Allow experts to talk about municipal matters • Less time consuming for city staffers • Downfalls? • Different tones of message • Increased Exposure to Error

Decentralized v. Centralized Approach • Centralized Approach--1 or 2 social media users • Benefits? • Official city voice • More controlled, consistent social media presence • Downfalls? • Workload (maybe)

So, what’s your official city voice? Time for a Propagation Plan

First step, announce a propagation plan for your city: Gather department heads and request feedback. List annual events by department and season. List less relevant events by department and season. List of FAQs by respective departments. Include the answers. Be sure to throw in volunteer appreciation. Include volunteer profiles and stories to motivate potential volunteers.

Second step, create a propagation plan for your city: Organize week-by-week of the year. Combine all activities from every department. Prioritize events. (what trumps what, boosts) Formulate questions to engage citizens based on FAQs submitted.

Third step, in releasing your propagation plan keep in mind: • Make humor a part of your plan. • Ask questions of your citizens. • Pictures, pictures, pictures. • Time your plan with the season. A well thought out propagation plan is invaluable!

What does an effective propagation plan look like?

Make the League’s Educational Initiative a Part of Your Plan

Great Cities Great State Educational Initiative www.greatcitiesgreatstate.com The deliverables of this initiative are highly effective.

Ways to ensure your city’s social media plan is a success • Make sure your goals are solidly in place • Use Analytics • Respond to folks • Make sure your platform fits your message • Invest enough time in social media • Sufficiently post info • Use visual content • Curate content from other sources • Use SEO-Optimized key words*** • Post at the right times

Successful Posting

Examples of “Boosted” or “Promoted” Posts

Questions you must answer to cultivate a vibrant social community • What are your objectives? • Who is your target audience? • What’s their online behavior? • What’s their language? • How will you measure success?

Examples of social media posts

The 5 C’s of Social Media • Conversation • Contribution • Collaboration • Connection • Community

Vibrant Social Communities… Become the “HUB” of your community for information.

Whitnee Bullerwell Communications Director Arkansas Municipal League 501.978.6105 wvb@arml.org www.arml.org

Creating Vibrant Social Communities