More government agencies are taking advantage of social media. Photo credit: Automotive Social
Although many companies, celebrities and politicians have built large followings on social media and have clearly demonstrated its benefits, government institutions have been slow to adopt social media. Many government agencies are not sure how social networks can help them meet their objectives or how to integrate social media into their daily operations, according to a research paper from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).
While the paper “Social Media Use by Governments” by Arthur Mickoleit concentrates on government institutions, nonprofit organizations face many of the same issues and can learn from the paper’s findings.
What’s the real purpose?
Unclear about the specific uses and benefits of social media (and working with tight budgets), government organizations are hesitant to implement social media programs, even while many elected officials build large followings. Part of the hesitancy stems from agencies wanting constituents to interact with actual and identifiable individuals, the OECD paper asserts, but the reluctance to engage on social media also shows a lack of innovation and creativity.
Social media may be the logical next step for agencies to connect with the public in ways that are cost-effective, timely and favored by a large segment of the population.
Social media networks can offer many potential benefits to government institutions and nonprofit organizations. It can improve communication, deliver constituent services, optimize existing processes, enable new services, influence political agendas, organize interest groups, aid responses to emergencies, and “crowd-source” ideas and suggestions. “But the full potential and the risks of social media use for government are not yet fully understood, let alone proven,” Mickoleit states.
Government agencies testing social media are heading into uncharted waters. There are no templates or “one-size-fits-all” outlines for how to approach social media, and government organizations have a range of different purposes and goals. The different missions and goals will require different social media implementations.
The first step for many government organizations is to monitor social media for constituent sentiment about the agency or department. The monitoring is likely to provide clues as to outstanding issues and needs. The agency can then develop its social media strategy based on the identified constituent concerns.
To assist government agencies in implementing social media programs, Oracle has put together an initiative, known as the “Social Garage,” intended to work with government agencies on extending their social networking efforts to generate demonstrable returns. Oracle provides consultants and engineers as well as outside partners. The program is aimed at all levels of government: individual agencies, city, county, state, province, and federal. (The effort, of course, is not entirely eleemosynary.) Government agencies seeking to initiate a social media program may wish to issue an RFP to solicit outside expertise.
Limits of Social Media
Social media has limits, the research points out.
It can make the political process more inclusive and improve public polices and services. However, doing that requires dedicated resources.
It can empower groups largely left out of the political process but all groups are not empowered equally.
Characteristics of social media users and non-users can be very different from country to country, as well as within countries. In many countries, social media use is limited largely to the well-educated.
It does not guarantee more attention or participation of the young and disenchanted.
Issues to Ponder
Government agencies and nonprofits, the paper advises, should consider these issues when considering the use of social media networks to advance their missions.
Beware of risks involved in protection of privacy, quality of information and public perception.
Make sure social media programs are directed towards producing tangible benefits.
Consider how they integrate with the organization’s core mission.
Think about social media guidelines for the organization’s members, including guidelines for personal use.
Ask about specific legal and regulatory provisions that may have an impact on how your institution uses social media.
Decide if social media will be covered or excluded from official record-keeping.
The report suggests organizations build communities around their social media experiences. For example, the U.S. GSA supports the Social Media Community of Practice for government agencies.
“Such communities help overcome some of the hesitation and uncertainty that individual ministries or agencies express when it comes to questions about if and how to take up social media in their work.”
The SocialGov Community consists of more than 800 federal managers working together to advance digital engagement across government in data analysis, integration of public services into digital devices, the Internet of Things, crowdsourcing, customer service and data for decision-making.
A National Survey of Social Media Use in State Government indicates that many state agencies are moving toward digital and social media solutions to meet the needs of the public.
Examples of Success
Some federal and state agencies have implemented social media strategies to provide better services to the public and to hear what constituents are saying. Many of the efforts tie in to “open government” initiatives.
Federal Student Aid, for instance, meets its audience in the 21st century public square at monthly #AskFAFSA sessions. During the live Twitter chat, students, parents and the general public can submit questions about financial aid using the #AskFAFSA hashtag.
Another example: The Federal Social Media Community of Practice (COP) brings together more than 500 Federal social media managers in a community dedicated to identifying and solving shared challenges. Working together, COP members produced a toolkit on Improving the Accessibility of Social Media. The kit includes general accessibility tips, platform-specific tips, and additional resources.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration combined social media with traditional outlets like the Federal Register to encourage public comment on the new proposed nutritional facts label.
At least some nonprofits are putting social media to good use. The ALS Ice Bucket Challenge raised millions of dollars and focused attention on the disease. A Bloomerang article by Chasity Cooper, community relations coordinate at UNC School of Government, cited several other examples of nonprofits fundraising through social media.
UNICEF stated on its Facebook page: “Like us on Facebook, and we will vaccinate zero children against polio.” In other words, donations are more important than Facebook likes.
In addition, Water Aid used the hashtag #thebigdig in a successful fundraiser through Twitter. The hashtag linked campaign-specific blog posts and kept followers updated on fundraising.
Bottom Line: Government agencies and nonprofit groups that align social media efforts with their core mission and integrate them into daily operations can achieve substantial benefits.
William J. Comcowich founded and served as CEO of CyberAlert LLC, the predecessor of Glean.info. He is currently serving as Interim CEO and member of the Board of Directors. Glean.info provides customized media monitoring, media measurement and analytics solutions across all types of traditional and social media.
Great post. Thanks for sharing.