Social Media and Government: Five Mega-Trends

Five Megatrends:Government and Social

MediaMark W. Schaefer

@markwschaefer

www.businessesGROW.com

TRANSPARENCY

TRANSPARENCY

• “This is a terrible time to be a control freak.”• 48% of adult Internet users have looked for

information about a public policy or issue• 41% have downloaded government forms• 35% have researched government documents or

statistics• 25% have received online advice from a

government agency

ENGAGEMENT

ENGAGEMENT

The opportunity of social media and government is not economic or technological. It’s emotional.”

Aneesh Chopra, CTO of the U.S. Government

The positives

• Creates better decisions by capturing local knowledge

• Increases capacity of society to understand complexity of problems

• Increases public support by legitimizing the solutions

HUMANIZEGOVERNMENT

HUMANIZE

“Social media is not a second website, it’s a community.”

— Tristram Perry, U.S. State Department

Humanize

– Spark discussion and give people a reason to belong.

– Know your market and customize your information for your audience.

– Develop unique, engaging content.– Post regularly.– Set goals and reassess them periodically.

CRISIS

REAL-TIME COMMUNICATION

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