Feel the social media fear (and do it anyway) Jo Smith Communications manager Argyll and Bute Council September 2011
About Argyll and Bute
Our social media situation January 2011
Overcoming hurdles No-one uses it No-one will do any work Our network cant cope Its dangerous What if were inundated? How will we cope with negativity? Social medias just for kids Its just for fun 11,200 Argyll Facebook users Like saying we dont have enough paper. Management issue – remember telephones? Those 11,200 are over 18s Design new systems Its a business tool – channel shift The same way we deal with other negative coverage
It shouldnt happen to a council... Hapless Forensic Inexperienced Intelligent but lazy
Blog response assessment flowchart Assessment Discover blog posting about the council. Is it positive? No TROLLS Is it a site dedicated to bashing the council? RAGER Is this a rant, joke, ridicule or satire? MISGUIDED Are the facts incorrect? UNHAPPY CUSTOMER Is this the result of a negative experience form one of our customers? FINAL EVALUATION Base response on circumstances, influence of blogger and prominence of stakeholder. Will you respond? No TIMING Take time to create a good response. Dont respond in anger. SOURCES Include or state your evidence eg links or other references TRANSPARENCY Make sure council connection is clear TONE Make sure your tone reflects the councils professional approach INFLUENCE Focus on the most influential blogs – dont respond to all Evaluation Respons e yes Concur A factual and well cited response may agree or disagree with the post, provided it is not negative You can agree with the post, let it stand or provide a positive review Do you want to respond? No Let the post stand – no response SHARE SUCCESS Share the blog with other yes MONITOR Dont respond to specific posts FIX THE FACTS Respond on the comment board with correct facts RESTORE REPUTATION Rectify the situation, respond and act on a solution Response considerations
Nine months later... Releases automatically tweeted Live tweets from council meetings Emergency announcements Using analytics 24 hour tweet – right now! #whatwedo Tall ships winner Budget consultation 1195 followers and rising
Nine months later Secured Argyll And Bute Council account – just in case Team accounts Spy accounts Service specific pages and groups in the pipeline – starting with our public halls. Council-wide image library
Nine months later... Dunoon web cam Budget consultation
Top tips? Get personal Use analytics Find a champion Be bold