Experimenting on Social Media and Adapting from Failure
Rebecca Matulka, Interior Department
Rebecca Matulka
Deputy Director of Digital StrategyInterior Department
@USInterior on Instagram and Facebook
@Interior on Twitter
Agenda1. Why do people share?
2. Defining success and failure
3. Tips for experimenting
4. Getting leadership buy-in
Why do people share?
ContagiousWhy Things Catch On
1. Social currency
2. Triggers
3. Emotion
4. Public
5. Practical value
6. Stories
From the book:
Examples:
Defining success and failure
Defining success
● Why are you doing what you do?
○ Education
○ Positive association
○ Take action
○ Engagement
○ News coverage
○ Correcting misinformation
Defining failure
● Not reaching your goals
○ Post is a dud
○ Negative engagement
● Technology doesn’t work
When mistakes happen ...
The response:
Tips for experimenting on social media
Tip 1: It’s not all about you
Tip 2: Listen
Tip 3: Be fans of your
community
Tip 4: Know your audience
Tip 5: Be human
Tip 6: Use humor
(when appropriate)
Tip 7: Get inspiration from others
Tip 8: Watch trends
Tip 9: Tag on to current events
Tip 10: Test content on differentsocial media platforms
Tip 11: Admit a mistake
Getting leadership buy in
All about building trust
● Walk before you run
● Open communications
● Give examples of others doing something similar
● Start small
● Point to past results
Warning: There will always be detractors
The response:
Questions?