THE RURBAN FRINGE

Connecting With Social Networks: 3 Ways Rurban Municipalities Can Use Social Media to Their Advantage

Posted on | June 26, 2009 | 3 Comments

HandshakeHave you been tagged?  Are you sending tweets?  Do you vlog?

If you know what these terms mean, then you’re one of the millions of people using social networking sites for information sharing and connection.

 As social media sites become essential avenues for information, a growing number of municipalities are using them to connect with their citizens.

The opportunities social media can provide to municipalities includes:

  • early-warning issues management;
  • monitoring reaction to information and announcements;
  • direct citizen-to-citizen communication rather than going through the filter of traditional media;
  • putting a face on the organization;
  • emergency management (e.g. to get information out quickly);
  • raising awareness of resources; as well as
  • identifying specific resources and information.

For the first time in history, individuals around the world are freely sharing their ideas and expectations of how relationships – with organizations, community groups, elected officials, etc. - should be.  

Citizens increasingly want – and expect – municipalities to exist in their networked world.  But many rural and rurban councils lag behind on the technology front and remain uneasy about connecting in an online environment.

So how can municipalities use social media to their advantage?

1.  Start small and explore.

With most rural and rurban municipalities already working with stretched resources, it’s important to bite off only what you can chew. 

Determine which social media sites might add the most value for your municipality and ensure whomever will be responsible for that site’s management is able to invest the time to do it properly.

For instance, a Facebook page might be a great way to stay connected and gather feedback from community groups.  A YouTube channel might be a fun way to document and share a special community event.  And having a local politician agree to engage via Twitter might be a good way to share information and make announcements.

Social media is based around the concept of community. 

If information is not shared regularly or updated frequently, there will be no online community to maintain.

  • Establish links from the municipality’s website to social networking sites. 
  • Commit. 
  • Consistently interact and regularly update information … even 20 minutes a day can create an impact. 
  • Provide ways for people to subscribe and participate. 
  • Keep it interesting and think outside your organizational box. 
  • Don’t be afraid to learn by doing.

2.  Borrow from others to develop policies … and stay flexible.

A municipal social media policy should outline the rules for engagement and what the organization, or an employee or councillor, should do and not do. 

The policies, as guiding documents, should be drafted – or at the very least, include the input of – those familiar with social media and its applications.

Even if your municipality does not actively utilize social media for its purposes, what about its employees?  And elected officials?  Chances are, many folks are online, and guidelines about what is appropriate provides clear ways to address any problems that might arise. 

Don’t be afraid to ask around to find out how other municipalities have addressed this … and remain flexible.  The technologies that support social media are constantly changing, and any social media policies should periodically be reviewed to ensure they remain relevant.

3.  Share.

There’s an old adage that suggests … give, and ye shall receive.  And it’s true.

When exploring social media and its potential applications, be generous and share best practices and policies with others.  If appropriate, feel free to share specific tools, data, or code to assist other municipalities use this media to their advantage.  Speak up at inter-municipal meetings,  events, and conferences. 

Freely sharing social media knowledge and expertise with others practically guarantees goodwill for your municipality, and sets the stage for your community to be viewed as a progressive, vibrant place to be.   

 ***

From emergency management to engaging in meaningful conversations, there are many benefits for municipalities to gain through the use of social media.

Keep in mind, however, that social media sites are simply tools that municipalities can use to help share information and stay connected.

And just as no tool is perfect for every job, no social medium will be perfect for every occasion.  But with more tools in the toolkit, the better prepared the municipality to communicate in an increasingly inter-connected world.

It’s about finding the right fit for the message.

And feeling good knowing your municipality is actively promoting civic engagement … for generations to follow.

Related Posts:

Category: Government
Tags: > > > > > >

Comments

3 Responses to “Connecting With Social Networks: 3 Ways Rurban Municipalities Can Use Social Media to Their Advantage”

  1. Connecting With Social Networks: 3 Ways Rurban Municipalities Can Use Social Media to Their Advantage
    June 26th, 2009 @ 3:27 pm

    [...] Original post by The Rurban Fringe [...]

  2. Zeeshan Hamid
    August 4th, 2009 @ 3:34 pm

    That is a wonderful idea! Imagine getting tweets from the town about council meetings or facebook polls to get public input. I should suggest it to my town staff :)

  3. Jennifer
    August 4th, 2009 @ 6:11 pm

    @Zeeshan – Thanks … and please do! I’d love to hear more about how your community engages its citizenship using tried & true + new tools!

Leave a Reply