NASWA Leveraging partnerships to increase social media engagement 80th Annual Conference Leveraging partnerships to increase social media engagement Janelle Guthrie, APR Communications Director Washington Employment Security Department

3 Three ways The evolution of ESD’s collaborative efforts WorkSource & Workforce Development Councils YesVets: Cross Agency WorkSourceWA.com & Monster

Getting started Working with agency leadership & workforce partners

What social media should (and shouldn’t) be Embracing social media in Washington’s workforce system has taken some time… What social media is– A collection of tools to use to reach your communications goals What many think it is – An overwhelming world full of moving targets & chaos

WorkSource Career Centers on Facebook - 2014 That’s why we started with Facebook– and why only a few sites were active in 2014. Adjacent counties that are the same color denote a shared Facebook page.

Our strategy Social media collaboration requires Mutual respect Accountability Innovation Team support Mutual respect: Working together Accountability: Step 1: Determine the business need. With the approval of a manager, determine whether there is a business need. Answer the following questions to assess and identify potential social-media solutions. What business problem or initiative does your request address? Does the agency already sponsor a tool that could meet your needs? If not, which social media tool do you think best meets your needs? Why? Who will benefit from the services or information provided via the social media tool? Are staff prepared to manage the tool now and in the future? What type of information do you plan to share using social media? Step 2: Prepare a social media authorization request Submit a social media authorization request form to the Communications Office.  Step 3: Submit the form to the Communications Office. Innovation: Sharing ideas on monthly calls and across sites Team Support: Sharing and liking each other’s information

? Where are we now?

WorkSource Career Centers on Facebook - 2016 Adjacent counties that are the same color denote a shared Facebook page.

Success measures… 2014 Now Facebook in five areas + ESD 3,384 Likes Long response time Low engagement Now FB across state (including first Spanish language page) – King County 10,500 likes Posts reached 48,448 last week engaged 2,830 last week As of 9/18/2016

Solutions Challenges Coordination Regular teleconference calls Work Accounts vs. Personal Staying fresh Power struggles Regular teleconference calls Demonstrate why Share ideas On-going outreach

Engaging with other state agencies YesVets hiring initiative In the 2015 legislative session, State Rep. and business owner Gina McCabe worked with ESD and WDVA to develop a bill that would achieve her goal of helping veterans find meaningful employment within existing resources. Out of this YesVets was born! Once an employer finds out about the YesVets project, they visit the www.YesVets.org website to join. ESD’s local veteran’s employment representatives (LVERs) are notified when a business near them registers so they can help them hire a qualified veteran. Washington employers who sign up for the program and hire a veteran receive a YesVets decal and recognition on our YesVets Facebook and Twitter sites.

Partnership Brainstormed name Designed logo Developed communications plan Built web site Launched promotional campaign

Collaboration Created YesVets Facebook page Launched YesVets Twitter channel Developed SharePoint site to coordinate Urged businesses to like & share

Success! Pilot went statewide in less than 4 months 305 employers involved to date 372 veterans hired through this program

Partnering with the private sector In May, Washington launched WorkSourceWA.com, its cutting edge labor market exchange site built in partnership with Monster.com. Washington is the second state to work with Monster to build a statewide platform using its industry-proven technology. WorkSourceWA.com offers employers vastly improved recruitment tools, including: An award winning talent-management software to find qualified candidates faster. Unlimited job postings for free. The largest talent database in the state, including Monster’s candidate pool for all of Washington and bordering cities in Oregon, Idaho and Montana. Automatic ranking and side-by-side comparison of resumes.

The plan Easy-to-use Facebook and Twitter posts Sharing, tagging and liking across system Work through alternate platforms, such as LinkedIn Supplement with social and search ads

The execution Some posted too early Others not at all Struggles with brand/roles Negative posts Mostly successful

Success metrics for August Paid Content 9,010 clicks to WorkSourceWA .com 6,000 unique actions: Clicking on, liking, or sharing the ads More than 80,000 reached 360K+ total impressions – people have encountered the ads an average of 4x.

Overall success Every Workforce Development Council –except one– used the scheduled posts ESD posted 108 Facebook/Twitter posts between July 5-Sept. 19 Organic reach: Average 424/day Total (including paid: Average 6,000 per day Video > than photos or posts

Top Tips Be patient Have a plan Be open to innovation Track metrics Be gently persistent Have fun!