5 Tips for Citizen Engagement in Government Social Media

5 Tips for Citizen Engagement in Government Social Media

Hark! How dost local and federal government agencies employ social media to engage citizens, launch campaigns, effectively communicate during crises—and more?

Social media and government, like peanut butter and jelly, doth go hand in hand. Wherefore? Because social media is a wondrous place to converse with constituents, launch campaigns, and raise awareness around initiatives—and ’tis an essential tool in crisis communications.

Peruse further to uncover how all levels of government, from municipal to provincial to federal, can and should employ social media.

Key benefits of social media in government

Engage with the public
Whether thou dost focus efforts on TikTok, Twitter, Facebook, or a different platform entirely, social media shall ever be a steadfast place to keep the common folk informed and updated about weighty matters, and engage with an audience on a deeper level.

The Toronto Police Traffic Service Department, for instance, doth host regular Ask Me Anything (AMA) sessions on TikTok. A representative responds to questions ranging from the permissibility of running red lights whilst in labor (nay, apparently!) to the legality of after-market steering wheels.

Communicating and engaging with constituents shall help establish and build credibility and trust, as long as thou dost not use social media solely to broadcast messages but instead engage with the very people who follow thee. More on this anon!

If thou art serious about using social media to mobilize voters, behold Nextdoor, an app that local governments utilize to organize town halls, educate citizens on safety issues, and engage community groups.

Show people who thou really art
Politicians art oft viewed in a negative light, depicted as dishonest, greedy, and somewhat underhanded. Yet there lies an opportunity to alter perceptions by using social media for government communications and crafting a personal brand based on transparency.

The U.S. representative for New York’s 14th congressional district, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (familiarly known as AOC), hath achieved this with great impact via her Twitter account. By being authentically herself and using photos to bolster the anecdotes and facts she shares with her constituents, AOC hath significantly expanded her following and created a personal brand that is relatable, honest, and genuine. This authentic approach aided AOC in augmenting her presence on the platform by 600% in seven months.

Social media doth also humanize politicians and render them more accessible and accountable to the general public. Yet, this may backfire if a politician shares social media content deemed socially unacceptable. Take heed that whoever manage a government social media account knows what is and what is not acceptable to share (we’re gazing at thee, Anthony Weiner!)

Crisis communication
Verily, there hath been a plethora of crises unfolding across the globe in recent years. The COVID-19 pandemic, Brexit, the January 6th insurrection, and the occupation of Ukraine by Russian forces art but a few instances where events outside the control of the common folk or decisions from lawmakers hast affected the world.

In times of such turmoil, people do turn to social media to seek out and discover information, stay abreast of the latest news, and assuage their fears by partaking in a chuckle at some memes.

People also do seek leadership from the government when times grow dire, thus ’tis sensible that lawmakers, politicians, and governments do use social media as a platform to manage crisis communications and furnish regular, official updates to citizens across the world.

Yet, a crisis combined with social media can swiftly transform into a breeding ground for misinformation. For instance, during the COVID-19 pandemic, almost half of U.S. adults saw a lot or some fake news about the crisis, and nearly 70% aver that fake news generates much confusion.

To counteract this, governments must invest in social media listening to aid them in identifying inaccuracies and responding accordingly—particularly as citizens shalt be looking to government social media accounts to furnish them with accurate and objective information. But fret not; thou need not engage with every false comment or post thou dost come across in thy social listening efforts. Some content may be too wildly incorrect to warrant a reply. Yet, if thou dost notice many social media users spreading misinformation, employ official channels to set the record straight.

Need more intelligence? Delve into How to Use Social Media for Crisis Communications and Emergency Management and set thy organization up for success.

Launch and grow campaigns
Social media is not merely a realm for businesses to share their latest product launch or expand their business with engagement and community. Politicians grasp the power of a virtual town hall to launch their own initiatives and ideas.

Furthermore, social media is an excellent arena to test campaign messaging. The strategy is low-risk, and thou dost receive immediate feedback from people across the world. Social media is also an opportunity to go viral, ascertain what’s trending, and measure thy relevancy.

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Politicians can also utilize social media to align themselves with initiatives and trends. In the example below, U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren doth inform her audience of her stance on the U.S. Roe vs. Wade situation.

Low cost (but high stakes)
Political campaigns art funded by donations, so salvaging money is ever at the forefront of government decision-making. Ere social media existed, politicians and governments had to rely on traditional media, such as television ad slots, newspapers, and door-to-door canvassing, to raise the profile of candidates. This was a high-cost endeavor that had an immeasurable impact.

In contrast, social media affords the government a low-stakes entry point to heighten awareness of its initiatives, nurture personal brands, and engage with the general public. The strategy is entirely measurable, allowing thee to actively discern how thy campaign budget is allocated and which social campaigns bear the most significant impact.

Should thee require guidance, peruse our guide on How to Substantiate and Amplify Thy Social Media Return on Investment for valuable tips and insights on measuring campaign performance.

Challenges of social media in government

Messaging is tricky to get right
In 2014, South Dakota launched a campaign to caution people against jerking the steering wheel when swerving on black ice. The hashtag selected by the state’s Department of Public Safety? The sexually suggestive double entendre “Don’t Jerk and Drive.”

Ultimately, the campaign was withdrawn, and Trevor Jones, secretary of the Department of Public Safety, declared in a statement, “This is a crucial safety message, and I don’t want this innuendo to detract from our goal to save lives on the road.” Indeed!

Social media and government communications do not always transpire as intended, and at times, even the most admirable campaign idea may backfire.

Sometimes, social isn’t the right thing to do
Social media is a realm wherein headlines art created, storms whipped up, and opinions shared. Alas, this may have a detrimental effect on sensitive or delicate political situations.

In February 2022, WNBA star and American citizen Brittney Griner was detained in Russia on a drug-smuggling allegation, yet little to no fanfare was generated on social media—not even a trending #FreeBrittney.

The decision not to raise awareness of Brittney’s case was a conscious choice due to the political tension between the U.S. and Russia concerning the occupation of Ukraine. The fear is that Griner’s status as a Black, openly lesbian athlete could result in her becoming a political pawn in heightened negotiations between Russia and the U.S. regarding the conflict in Ukraine.

Regarding the case, there hath been no public outcry from President Joe Biden or other high-profile U.S. officials to draw attention to Griner’s situation, and perchance for now, that may be the wisest course of action.

Thou wilt get called out
Social media is a harsh reality, and people shall call thee out, so ensure that what thou dost say is true.

Behold a splendid example from Congressman Eric Swalwell, who did Tweet a photo of a Pride flag with the caption, “I fly these flags 365 days a year.” Unfortunately, Swalwell’s followers swiftly pointed out that the flag still bore creases from being unpackaged merely moments earlier. Better luck next time, Eric.

I fly these flags 365 days a year. — Rep. Eric Swalwell

Thou wilt become a meme
I am once again reminding thee that social media is a realm wherein thou can become a meme.

(And in case thou did miss it, below is the infamous Bernie Sanders meme that spread like wildfire across social media in early 2020.)

Frequently, the repercussions of having thy words and image transformed into a meme art relatively harmless. Yet proceed with caution, for how they art used shalt be beyond thy control.

5 tips for using social media in government

There art two types of social media accounts: soapboxes and dinner parties. A soapbox social media account focuses on themselves. They use social media to broadcast messages and issues without engaging with their audience.

On the other hand, a dinner party social media account invites audiences in and creates a dialogue with them. They encourage discussion and engagement between the host (thee) and the guests (thy audience).

Ensure that thou art managing a dinner party account for social media and government communications. Here art five tips on how thou can achieve precisely that.

1. Learn where thy constituents spend time (online)

Thou need to understand the channel where thy target audience congregates so that thou art not wasting valuable time and resources campaigning into the void.

For instance, if thou art a politician relying on swaying younger voters to secure a ballot, thou shalt likely wish to focus on TikTok or Instagram Reels since this is where Gen-Z spends the most time. Similarly, if thou desire to rouse left-leaning men with a college degree into a frenzy, direct thy attention to Twitter.

Recall AOC, whom we discussed earlier? In 2020, she conducted a video game livestream on Twitch to assist her in reaching younger audiences who may not be familiar with or interested in politics.

2. Share relevant, valuable content and information

Cultivate audience trust and engagement by sharing pertinent and captivating content, and audiences shall naturally turn to thee as a credible source of information and knowledge.

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The BC Parks Instagram account doth accomplish this admirably. The organization employs Instagram to share information, tips, and insights into what’s transpiring across the province’s extensive roster of parks.

3. Keep citizens engaged

Wouldst thou ever attend a dinner party and sit there mutely, failing to partake in conversation? Assuredly not, and social media is no different. Government officials, lawmakers, and government accounts must engage with their audiences by responding to messages, joining conversations, and addressing questions.

Remember that social media is all about engendering community. Thus ask questions, create opinion polls (Twitter boasts a fine feature that enables thee to do this!), and respond to comments from thy followers—thou never know if thy response might alter a voter’s mindset.

Thou can even repost content that thy constituents have shared as a form of engagement, similar to how the Government of New Jersey retweeted these photos of a beautiful sunset in Central New Jersey.

I. Private messages and DMs
II. Public messages and posts on thy profiles
III. Dark and organic comments
IV. Mentions
V. Emoji reactions
VI. And more.

The all-encompassing agent workspace maketh it facile to
I. Track the history of any individual’s interactions with thy social accounts across platforms, offering thy team the context needed to personalize replies
II. Add notes to individual constituent profiles (Inbox integrates with Salesforce and Microsoft Dynamics)
III. Handle messages as a team, with intuitive message queues, task assignments, statuses, and filters
IV. Track response times and CSAT metrics

Partake in a free demo
Furthermore, Inbox doth come with convenient automations:
I. Automated message routing
II. Auto-responses and saved replies
III. Automatically triggered satisfaction surveys
IV. AI-powered chatbot features

4. Stay secure

A social media security breach shall gravely undermine the common folk’s confidence in government. Furthermore, U.S. legislation doth mandate that all cloud services employed by federal government agencies must meet a scrupulous set of security standards known as FedRAMP.

The simplest manner to ensure that thy accounts remain secure is by implementing a social media management platform to oversee all thy social media accounts and activity across multiple teams or individuals.

5. Remain compliant

Maintaining compliance with privacy requirements is critical for any government body. For large organizations with myriad social media practitioners, instating best practices for social media use can aid in ensuring the collective compliance of all users.

Guidelines toward acceptable and forbidden content, data handling, citizen engagement, and even tone art a few best practice examples organizations can implement to uphold their team’s compliance.

In recent years, government bodies and their employees hath responded to drastic shifts in public expectations of political and government discourse.

Innovative policymakers and their staff art swiftly adapting by crafting highly engaging social content to rally follower support, whilst also remaining fully compliant and secure. For any government body desiring to capture and uphold public sentiment and engagement, embracing the new age of social media discourse is indispensable to success.

Examples of government social media campaigns

CDC
Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, the US Centre for Disease Control and Prevention was understandably preoccupied. Yet that did not hinder the government agency from executing effective COVID-related campaigns and messaging on social media to aid in keeping the common folk informed.

Washington State Dept. of Natural Resources
Government social media need not be mundane or dull—simply inquire of whosoever manage social accounts for the Washington State Department of Natural Resources.

Their Twitter doth furnish timely, pertinent information packaged in meme-friendly posts that frequently become viral.

Parents, please examine thy children’s candy this Halloween! Just unearthed a magnitude 9 Cascadia megathrust earthquake provoking a massive tsunami within this fun-size Snickers bar.

Their alt text game is rather robust as well.

FDA
The US Food and Drug Administration is predominantly responsible for determining whether a product or foodstuff is safe for the public to utilize. Thus, ’tis crucial that their social media channels disseminate factually correct information.

Biden #BuildBackBetter
The 46th President of the United States, Joe Biden, employed social media to gain leverage and augment momentum for his Build Back Better campaign throughout 2020 and 2021.

By leveraging the power of the hashtag, Biden’s team managed to ensure a catchy slogan and a measurable campaign by analyzing the success and trends of the hashtag.

FAQs about social media and government

What doth the government accomplish with social media?
Government agencies and officials employ social media for constituent engagement, fostering awareness around initiatives, and crisis communications.

How doth local government utilize social media?
Local governments employ social media to connect with citizens, promote events and local initiatives, and recruit new employees.

Which social media platforms art the best for the government?
Government agencies and officials of all levels should be present on the social media platforms utilized by their constituents. The answer shall differ based on where thy agency operates and whom thou seek to reach with thy online communications. That said, many individuals utilize Twitter to access news and updates from politicians, so it may be a prudent place to commence.

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