Why Your Local Government Doesn’t Always Need a Designated Social Media Coordinator
JaysonPhotography / Shutterstock.com
It may take a ‘leap of faith,’ but a decentralized approach can empower employees and boost public engagement at the same time.
SEATTLE — It might not be surprising that an International City/County Management Association conference session on Tuesday titled “Daring to Engage Electronically” might have attracted fans of social media engagement from local governments. The packed session was livetweeted. It was also livestreamed via Periscope.
Such communication is entirely natural for digital natives with strong social footprints who might be blessed with incredibly engaged communities and networks.
But social media can also be a monumental struggle for many local governments, especially in fiscally-strapped jurisdictions that might not be able to afford a social media coordinator when there are competing budget interests, like paying for police officers and firefighters.
However, one of the messages about social media engagement that came out of the session might seem initially counterintuitive: A local government doesn’t always need a social media coordinator.
In fact, centralized social media operations in local governments can be bogged down by process, procedure and sluggishness. If there’s one person in an organization who vets social media posts before they’re published, that’s a choke point.
“That’s not really realistic in this day and age,” said Clay Pearson, the city manager in Pearland, Texas, who said he’s never hired anyone to deal specifically with social media.
Instead, session panelists recommended that social media be a shared responsibility across municipal departments. That social media approach is, well, more social.
“The decentralization is what matters,” said Wally Bobkiewicz, the city manager in Evanston, Illinois.
But unlocking official social media accounts for more employees can necessitate a “leap of faith,” Pearson said. It requires trust, guidelines and expectations for what’s appropriate.
But if a local government that’s struggling with social media is willing to take that leap—and they really should—where should they get started?
Look at existing staff.
Chances are there’s somebody already within a local government’s ranks who is using social media regularly and relishes digital engagement.
Empowering them to take on additional duties, especially public-facing responsibilities, can in some ways boost individual morale and social media output at the same time.
“That’s a good way to dip your toe in the pool and then jump in,” said Kirsten Wyatt, the assistant city manager in West Linn, Oregon, and co-founder of Emerging Local Government Leaders. (While Wyatt’s city government does have a social media coordinator, she said there are “decentralized administrative rights for Facebook and Twitter” across departments.)
An audience member during the session, Kansas City, Missouri, Communications Director Chris Hernandez, echoed those statements following the formal presentation in comments to the panel and audience: “You have to identify them. They’re already there. … Why not tap that energy?”
Still, with social media integration, you want to be mindful of what staff members are capable of. So starting small and growing organically in important. Building an elaborate, cumbersome social media strategy can be taxing and be counterproductive for staff.
“Before you bite off more than you can chew, know what your staff can handle,” Wyatt said.
One social media management strategy that works well in one jurisdiction might not work well in another. “Every community is different,” Bobkiewicz said.
But every local government should do something in the social space, experiment and see what works best.
These days, simply writing a press release or printing a hardcopy newsletter to disseminate information to the community really won’t cut it anymore. In most communities, the conversation has shifted to various social channels. City halls and county administration buildings have a vested interest in having a proactive communications approach utilizing various social tools, especially as younger residents turn their back on more traditional forms of media.
As Hernandez succinctly put it: “If ... you don’t have anyone telling your story, nobody is telling your story.”
(Photo by JaysonPhotography / Shutterstock.com)
Michael Grass is Executive Editor of Government Executive’s Route Fifty.
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