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follow, and can °eminent right away on what they see, hoar and read — they can have a <br />conversation in real time, <br />Should the city use social media? Determining whether social media is a good way for the city to <br />communioate with residents is an individual city deoision, Factors that may impact a city's <br />deoision could !neiude staffing levels, communications needs, overall city goals, technology <br />support, staff interest (or lack of interest) in social ►nedia, and other unique considerations, <br />In Sotne Instances, soolal media may oomplement current communications vehicles Buell as <br />newsletters and the city web site, moil audiences the city otherwise wouldn't connect with, or <br />partially or fully repiaoe some existing communications tools, It might even help the city gather <br />valuable input from residents about programs and services, or cornrunioate emergency messages, <br />When considering how to integrate social media, the city should oonsider whether electronio media <br />can aotually replace print media, It's likely that not all residents have access to eleotronio forms of <br />communication, so eliminating some of the city's existing communications tools oould aotually <br />decrease its ability to connect with residents, It's also important to think about what types of <br />oommunioation to distribute via social media as each is developing a niche, Currently, microblogs <br />are emerging as a tool for making announcements suoh as for upcoming meetings and events, <br />communicating with people in real time and on the go, learning what others are doing or saying; <br />biogs are being used as places for information more subjective in nature; and sites suoh as <br />Facebook are being used for sharing information and photos. <br />When should the city use social media? There are many opportunities for a city to use social <br />►nedia in an offioial manner. Ultimately, the answer depends upon moll city, <br />Some cities might choose to use social media to announce upcoming changes to services such as <br />swimming pool hours or additional ball fields; provide updates an projects suoh as street <br />improvements and skate park construction; announce oity-related festivals; provide in.depth <br />information on policy deoisions on topios suoh as assessments, zoning; gather feedback and Input <br />from residents on projects, services and ordinances; or any number of other city -related topics. <br />What social media tools should the oity use? i'he tools a city chooses to use will depend upon the <br />type of information the oity wants to communicate, Generally speaking, different tools work well <br />for different types of things, <br />• lV kwoblogs such as Twitter work well for talcing the pulse of current events such as breaking <br />news and legislative polioy issues. Mioroblogs also work well for sharing announcements <br />about projects such as a street being closed for resurfacing, reminding residents about parking <br />rules during snow emergencies, and registration opening for parks and recreation programs. <br />The value of microblog comments is enhanced when links are included to more information <br />about the projects, policies and programs that already is posted on the oity website, Mioroblogs <br />also can work well for getting a snapshot of what people are thinking about at the moment, in <br />other words, to get a sense for a trend, Carefully cultivating who a city follows can help <br />increase the visibility of the city among groups such as the media, political leaders, and <br />residents. <br />Palo 3 of 12 <br />