Social media and government go hand in hand like peanut butter and jelly. Why? Because social media is a great place to connect with voters, launch campaigns, raise awareness of initiatives, and an important tool in crisis communications.
At Hootsuite, we work with many levels of government and fully understand how social media has come to play an important role in the communications strategies of governments, politicians and legislators around the world.
Read on to find out how all levels of government, from municipal to provincial to federal, can and should use social media.
Public Relations
Whether you focus on TikTok, Twitter, Facebook, or another platform, social media will always be a trusted place to inform and update the general public on important issues and engage with your audience on a deeper level.
Communication and interaction with constituents will help establish and build credibility and trust if you are not using social media to broadcast messages and are actually interacting with people who are following you. More on this later!
If you’re serious about using social media to mobilize voters, check out Nextdoor, an app that local governments use to organize meetings, educate citizens about safety, and engage community groups.
Show people who you really are
Here we will catch up with you. .. politicians do not have the best reputation. The stereotypes of dishonest, greedy and slightly sloppy people provide an opportunity to change perceptions by using social media to connect with government and building a personal brand based on transparency.
US Representative for New York’s 14th congressional district, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (commonly known as AOC), did so with huge success via her Twitter account.
By being herself and using photographs to back up the anecdotes and facts she shares with her constituents, AOC has greatly expanded her following and built a personal brand for herself that is related, honest and conscientious. This authentic approach has helped AOC increase its presence on the platform by 600% in seven months.
Social media also humanizes politicians and makes them more accessible and accountable to the general public. Of course, this can backfire if a politician posts content that is considered socially inappropriate. This is your warning that whoever is in charge of a government social media account needs to know what can and cannot be shared (we’re looking at you, Anthony Weiner!)
Crisis Communication
There have been more than enough crises in the world over the past few years. The COVID-19 pandemic, Brexit, the January 6 uprising, and the occupation of Ukraine by Russian troops are just a few examples where decisions out of the control of the general public or decisions by lawmakers have affected the world.
When events like the ones mentioned above happen, people turn to social media to search and get information, keep up to date with the latest news, and quell their fears by laughing at a few memes.
People also turn to government for guidance when times get tough, so it makes sense that lawmakers, politicians, and governments are using social media as a platform to manage crisis messages and provide regular official updates to citizens around the world.
On the other hand, a crisis and social media can quickly become a breeding ground for misinformation. For example, during the COVID-19 pandemic, nearly 50% of American adults have seen many or few fake news stories about the crisis, and nearly 70% say fake news causes a lot of confusion.
To counteract this, governments should invest in social media listening to help them spot inaccuracies and respond appropriately, especially as citizens will look to government social media accounts to provide them with accurate and unbiased information.
But don’t feel like you have to engage with every false comment or post you come across in your social media eavesdropping efforts. Some content may be too inappropriate to require a response. However, if you see many social media users spreading misinformation, use the official channels to bring clarity.
Need more information? Read how to use social media for crisis communication and emergency management and set your organization up for success.
Launch and develop campaigns
Social media is not just a place for companies to share their latest product releases or grow their business with engagement and the community. Politicians understand the power of a virtual town hall to launch their own initiatives and ideas.
In addition, social media is a great place to test campaign messages. The strategy involves low stakes and you get instant feedback from people all over the world. Social media is also an opportunity to go viral, see what’s trending and measure your relevance.
Politicians can also use social media to join initiatives and trends. In the example below, US Senator Elizabeth Warren tells her audience how she feels about the Roe v. Wade situation in the US.
Low cost (but high stakes)
Political campaigns are funded by donations, so saving money is always at the forefront of government decision making. Long before social media existed, politicians and governments had to use traditional media such as TV commercials, newspapers, and door-to-door leaflets to boost candidates’ credibility. It was expensive and had an immeasurable effect.
In contrast, social media provides the government with a low-stakes entry point to raise awareness of their initiatives, develop personal brands, and engage with the general public. The strategy is fully measurable, so you can actively monitor how your campaign budget is being spent and which social campaigns are having the most significant impact.
If you need some advice, check out our How to Prove and Improve Your Social Media ROI guide for valuable tips and tricks on measuring campaign performance.
Messaging is hard to do right
In 2014, South Dakota launched a campaign to warn people against steering jerks when turning on icy roads. A hashtag chosen by the state Department of Public Safety? Sexually suggestive double entendre “Don’t twitch and drive.”
The campaign was eventually abandoned and Trevor Jones, secretary of the Department of Public Safety, said in a statement: “This is an important safety message and I don’t want this insinuation to detract from our goal of saving lives on Earth.”
Social media and government communications don’t always work properly, and sometimes even what seems like the best campaign idea can backfire.
Sometimes communication is not the right thing to do
Social media is a place where headlines are created, storms are stirred up and opinions are shared. Unfortunately, this can have a negative impact on sensitive or sensitive political situations.
In February 2022, WNBA star and US citizen Brittney Griner was detained in Russia on drug smuggling charges, but there was little to no buzz on social media — not even the #FreeBrittney trend.
The decision not to publicize the Britney case was a conscious choice due to political tensions between the US and Russia over the occupation of Ukraine. The thought is that Griner’s status as a black lesbian athlete could lead her to become a political pawn in tense negotiations between Russia and the US over the conflict in Ukraine.
As far as this case is concerned, President Joe Biden or other senior U.S. officials have not called for public attention to Griner’s situation, and for now, that may be the best thing to do.
You will be called
Social media is a harsh reality and people will call you, so make sure you’re telling the truth.
Here’s a brilliant example from Congressman Eric Swalwell, who tweeted a photo of the Pride flag with the caption, “I wear these flags 365 days a year.”Unfortunately, Swalwell’s followers were quick to notice that the flag still had creases from unpacking moments ago. Good luck next time, Eric.
You will become a meme
I remind you once again that social media is a place where you can become a meme.
(And in case you missed it, below is the infamous Bernie Sanders meme that went viral on social media like wildfire in early 2020.)
Often the results of turning your words and images into a meme are pretty harmless. But proceed with caution, as how they are used will be out of your control.
There are two types of social media accounts: soapboxes and dinner parties. Soapbox social network account focuses on itself. They use social media to convey messages and questions without interacting with their audience.
On the other hand, a social media account at a dinner party invites the audience and creates a dialogue with them. They encourage discussion and interaction between the host (you) and guests (your audience).
You want to make sure you have a social media and government post dinner party account. Here are five tips on how you can do just that.
1. Find out where your audience hangs out
You need to understand the channel your target audience hangs out on so you don’t waste precious time and resources on a campaign into the void.
For example, if you’re a politician who relies on young voters to carry ballots, you’ll probably want to focus on TikTok or Instagram Reels because that’s usually where Gen-Z spends the most time. Likewise, if you want to drive college-educated men on the left into a frenzy, focus your attention on Twitter.
Remember the AOC we talked about earlier? In 2020, she hosted a video game live stream on Twitch to help it reach a younger audience who may be unfamiliar with or interested in politics.
Marketing on Twitch may not be right for every political candidate, so it’s up to you to decide if you think the streaming platform is the right place to engage with your audience. And if you need help understanding how to uncover your target audience on social media, check out How to Find and Target Your Audience on Social Media to get started.
2. Share relevant, valuable content and information
Earn your audience’s trust and engagement by sharing relevant and interesting content, and your audience will naturally turn to you as a trusted source of information and knowledge. NASA’s Instagram account does this very well for its audience of over 76 million worldwide.
The BC Parks Instagram account follows a similar trend in Canada and gives its audience tips, information and insights into what’s happening in the province’s extensive list of parks.
3. Engage with your followers
Would you ever attend a dinner party and sit there silently, not engaging in conversation? Obviously not, and social media is no different. Government officials, legislators, and government accounts need to interact with their audience by responding to messages, joining conversations, and answering questions.
Remember that social networks are meant to create a community. So ask questions, create opinion polls (Twitter has a great feature that allows you to do this!), and respond to your followers’ comments – you never know if your answer will change the voter’s mindset.
You can even repost content posted by your constituents as a form of participation, like the New Jersey government retweeted these pictures of a beautiful sunset in downtown New Jersey.
4. Stay safe
A security breach on social media would seriously undermine the general public’s trust in the government. The easiest way to keep your accounts secure is to connect a social media management platform to manage all your social media accounts and the activities of multiple teams or people.
Hootsuite comes with two-factor authentication for an added layer of security and gives you full control over how posts are reviewed and approved, logging all actions and interactions, and configuring post-post review and approval.
If you need more information, read our social media security step-by-step guide for more tips on how to secure your organization online, whether you use Hootsuite or not.
5. Stay obedient
Compliance with confidentiality requirements is critical for any government agency. In large organizations with multiple social media professionals, establishing social media best practices can help ensure collective compliance by all users.
Guidelines for acceptable and prohibited content, data handling, citizen engagement, and even tone are some of the best practices that organizations can implement to ensure their team is compliant.
If you manage social media for a government or agency with Hootsuite, our partners’ social media archiving integrations make it easier to comply with the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), and other public records laws.
In recent years, public authorities and their staff have responded to dramatic shifts in public expectations of political and public discourse.
Innovative politicians and their staff are adapting quickly, creating engaging social content to garner support from followers while maintaining full compliance and safety. For any public body wishing to capture and sustain public sentiment and participation, embracing the new era of social media discourse is critical to success.
CDC
During the COVID-19 pandemic, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has understandably been a bit busy. But that hasn’t stopped the government agency from running effective COVID-related campaigns and social media messaging to keep the general public informed.
FDA
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is largely responsible for determining whether a product or food product is safe for the public or not. Therefore, it is important that their social media channels share reliable information.
Here are some examples of how the FDA has used social media to achieve this goal.
Biden #BuildBackBetter
The 46th President of the United States, Joe Biden, has used social media to build influence and build momentum for his Rebuild Back Better campaign throughout 2020 and 2021. Using the power of the hashtag, Biden’s team was able to create a catchy slogan and measurable publicity. campaign by analyzing the success and trends of the hashtag.
Inform and engage on social media with Hootsuite. From a single dashboard, you can schedule and post content on each network, track relevant conversations, and measure public opinion about programs and policies with social media listening and real-time analytics. Try it for free today.