Social media 303, final session review and organization

This slideshow is from the final of four sessions on Social Media for the Arizona Game & Fish Department. In this session, I reviewed the three previous ones and then outlined some ways organizations structure their social media teams.

Social Media 303, final of four sessions

View more presentations from Robin J Phillips

Government works better with Social Media

Government entities all over the world are feeling their way along as they change internal culture and begin interacting more socially with the public via social media. 

This is a good thing.

It's important to define your goals, make the best use of your resources and social media tools and to recognize that this sort of culture change does not happen quickly. 

In encourage you to find other government bodies or non-profits who are doing a good job at sharing and listening to their public, the community, their customers. Meet the people leading those efforts and learn as much as possible.  Share your successes and learn from each others failures. 

There are lots of resources out there. 

FedScoop |  GovFresh  |  HowTo.gov 

Here are some basics from the GAO Social Media Navigator: 

It’s a Smart Idea to Engage Regularly and Respond Quickly

In social media, conversations take place over minutes or hours, not weeks or months. If you decide to engage in conversation using social media, be sure that you are able to respond quickly and with all the facts. Even if your reaction is “we can’t provide an answer yet,” providing some response quickly is part of the excellent customer service all citizens should receive when talking to a GSA employee. If you host a blog, be sure you dedicate the resources needed to provide new content on a regular basis.

Don’t Be Afraid to Ask For Input When You Need It

It’s great to involve citizens in the governing process by asking for ideas or input. Before you do, make sure you’re asking about an issue where you can actually be responsive to outside suggestions. For example, you may want to ask whether your visitors would find a new website feature helpful, but you would avoid asking whether another Agency’s website should be redesigned. Citizens expect us to operate Government effectively, and part of doing that is asking for feedback when appropriate.

Try to Be as Transparent as Possible

It’s great to share as much useful information as you reasonably can, so that citizens understand what their Government is doing and why. However, every day, GSA employees are trusted with information that isn’t appropriate for sharing with the public, such as the status of an ongoing procurement or negotiations over a building lease. If you’re unsure whether something can be shared, talk to your supervisor or security manager.

Remember to Engage for Accuracy, not Argument

Because of the many important issues GSA handles, there’s a lot of conversation about us online. (For example, head to Twitter.com and search for “General Services Administration” to see what people are saying about us right now!) If you see misrepresentations made about GSA in social media, you can certainly use your social media site or someone else’s to point out the error and provide correct facts. Make sure your position is factual, and not disparaging or argumentative in tone.

Don’t Hesitate to Admit Mistakes Quickly

Part of honestly engaging with citizens is admitting when you’ve made an error. If you make an error, be upfront about the mistake and correct it quickly. If you choose to modify something you said earlier, make clear what you are modifying, and make it clear that you have done so (e.g. by using strikethru strikethrough text). Nobody expects you to never make a mistake; we do expect you to be honest and upfront about it when you do.

A Good Rule of Thumb About Social Media Communication

Say to citizens on social media only that which you would say on the phone or in other official communications. There are always consequences to what you write.

And a few more resources:


Case studies:  5 ways government works better with social media 
Government gudelines:  General Services Administration updated Social Media Navigator

GovFresh: Citizen 2.0 white paper highlights 17 examples of government social media innovation

And call me if you need help.   


Robin J Phillips 
@RobinJP