SocialGov

Arc 3 Founder Patrick Burns recently received the honor of presenting on #SocialGov at this year’s SouthWiRED conference in Atlanta. Formerly Digital Atlanta, SouthWiRED is one of the Southeast’s largest and longest running digital conferences. Patrick presented on opening day of the conference which included the brightest stars from the digital community sharing their knowledge for the Social Media Track.

Patrick’s presentation “Social Gov: How Local Governments Can Engage Citizens Through Social Media” gave local government PIOs, non-profit and agency marketers examples of the social media platforms most helpful in reaching constituents and provided unique strategies and tactics in using these channels for civic engagement. During his presentation, Patrick provided helpful tips on how Facebook, Twitter, Google Plus, Foursquare, Instagram, Yelp and NextDoor can be utilized by local governments to inform, educate and engage citizens. Patrick also shared with session attendees data on why these social media platforms were important for promoting the involvement of milliennials in civic life.

Session attendees were most interested in utilizing new tools, techniques and tactics such as the employment of Instameets to promote community landmarks, historic buildings and parks and Twitter’s alerts service for local government agencies to inform constituents in an emergency. There was also discussion of the recent availability of the NextDoor platform to local government agencies nationwide for neighborhood specific public safety and emergency alerts.

The energy from the sessions of the SouthWiRED Social Media Track was so enthusiastic that #SouthWiRED14 was able to be the #9 trending topic on Twitter that day. Other rising social media stars from notable companies such as Cox Communications, AirWatch, IHG, Home Depot, and ScoutMob also presented sessions as a part of the social media track.

Are you a local government PIO or elected official and want to learn how social media can promote civic engagement in your community? Please contact Patrick Burns at pburns@rare-light.flywheelsites.com for customized social media training for your local government.

The Cherokee County Board of Commissioners is the local governing body of one of the fastest growing counties in Georgia and the Southeast. The county is home to one of the lowest tax rates and the highest SAT scores in the state.

One of the fastest growth segments of Cherokee County’s population was an influx of the first wave of the millennial generation who were purchasing homes and building families. Increasingly, these millennials were turning to online and social media as a primary resource for news about local issues and events. The county felt that their traditional marketing efforts were not reaching and informing this audience.

In addition, county leaders were becoming increasing concerned about the county’s digital and social media presence online and the impact that it may have been having in the economic development competition with other local communities across the country in attracting new businesses and large employers to the county.

Arc 3 Communications worked with Cherokee County Board of Commissioners to develop a plan for creating content for their website and social media networks to educate and inform stakeholders, constituents, businesses and c-level executives.

Through the development of a content marketing plan which included an identification of key messages, audiences and content buckets, the county was able to launch a new website and social media program that reached key audiences. Training was provided to county department heads and staff on key social media channels and tactics; content tips and the content marketing ideation process.

Cherokee County’s new content marketing and social media program has resulted in a 53% increase in fans on Facebook; 241% increase in followers on Twitter; and 40% follower growth on LinkedIn. Cherokee County has also established a strong presence on Instagram in anticipation of the visual growth in social media. Cherokee County has seen its Klout Score, a measure of social media influence, increase by 300%.

However, a successful content marketing and social media campaign is not just measured by the number of likes and followers. More importantly Cherokee County has seen an increase in citizen engagement and civic reporting, greater citizen awareness about their local government, and more economic development leads. Cherokee County was just recently awarded the location to the county of Inalfa Roof Systems, an economic development win that was recognized by Governor Nathan Deal and the Georgia Economic Developers Association as the “Deal of the Year” for 2013.

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