Social media has redefined how people, organizations and government interact. How can federal managers use social media technologies more effectively to change how they carry out their work, fulfill their agency’s mission and broaden how they communicate and engage with the American public? That is what the Partnership for Public Service and Booz Allen Hamilton set out to understand in the new report, "#ConnectedGov: Engaging Stakeholders in the Digital Age."
Booz Allen Hamilton and the Partnership for Public Service interviewed 26 people from 12 Federal agencies to learn how they use social media to accomplish important public policy and program goals. The report looks at how to engage audiences, examines misperceptions about using the technology, and explores ways to overcome potential problems and pitfalls when employing social media.
The report found that the most successful programs go beyond providing a great public service – they are rooted in careful planning and relate directly to specific agency goals. Indeed, there are several case studies in the public sector arena that demonstrate the power of social media done right.
- The State Department’s use of a language app to teach English to people in developing countries through their cell phones.
- The Department of Energy’s internal Powerpedia site, which helps geographically dispersed groups of employees work together and share ideas.
- The Federal Emergency Management Agency’s social media effort in Alabama, which gave people real-time disaster information and made it possible to correct misinformation and respond quickly to urgent questions in the aftermath of one of the deadliest series of tornadoes in history.
- The Air Force Medical Service’s social media project for improving health service delivery.
- The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s reporting system for monitoring influenza nationwide.
- The National Archives and Records Administration’s use of an existing wiki site to recruit volunteers with valuable expertise.
As agencies work to identify specific program and policy goals they would like to accomplish using social media, one tendency they exhibit is hesitation about engaging the public, for fear of triggering negative comments and other feedback. However, the agencies interviewed in the report found that most of the comments they received from their social media forays were positive. Furthermore, they discovered that users often helped answer each other’s questions, saving valuable staff time.
After digesting all the case studies and interviews, the report found three common keys to success for government agencies looking to employ social media technology:
- Agencies are much more likely to reach their program and policy goals with social media if they strategically plan how to use such tools to specifically support their mission and programs.
- Agencies can create a better user experience by understanding common problems and solving them during the introductory phase of social media initiatives.
- The process should be one of continually learning and changing the social media program to incorporate feedback.
As the public demand for real-time, digital interaction with government services and benefits continues to rise, federal agencies must move to create an environment in which government employees, citizens and elected officials engage seamlessly across the web, social media and mobile, as well as in person.
Download the free report to read the complete case studies and details on the three success factors.
