#PromoteOpenData

Usingsocialmediatopublicizeyouropendatapolicy

#PromoteOpenData
Usingsocialmediatopublicizeyouropendatapolicy
Togetyourpolicies,toolsanddatasetsinthepubliceye,meetyourconstituentswheretheyalready
are:onsocialmedia.Opendataandsocialmediaaretwosidesofthesamecoin.(Plus,somecities
evenputouto
pendataontheirsocialmediausage!)Releasinggovernmentdatatothepublic
empowersconstituents,bringingthemintotheongoingconversationabouthowourpublicpolicy
shouldfunction.Usingsocialmediatopromotethisdataensuresthatabroadrangeofconstituents
feelinvitedtothatconversation.Theirquestions,commentsandotherfeedbackwillonlymakeopen
datapoliciesmoreeffective.Plus,bringinguserstoyourdatatoolswillshowhowvitaltheyare.

Thisguideisintendedtohelpcityofficialsdevelopnewideasforcontentandstrategyonsocialmedia
platformsincludingTwitter,Facebook,YoutubeandSnapchat.Thisguidedoesnotreplaceacitys
socialmediausepolicy,ifapplicable.Thosepoliciescontainguidanceonhowacityenvisionsa
cohesivesocialmediaoutput,andmayincludecontentrestrictions.Forahelpfulexample,see
Seattlesp
olicy,aswellasitspostingguidesforT
witterandF
acebook.Forfurtherexamples,see
samplepoliciescuratedbytheInstituteforLocalGovernment.

Remember,thetimetopromotecomestowardtheendofamultistepprocess.Itbeginswithdefining
goalsandsettingobjectives.Socialmediapostsshouldservethoseends.SeeSunlightsP
ublic
PolicyforPublicDatac hecklistforastepbystepguide.

TheBigPicture:6easywaystoengage
1.Announce
2.RT
3.Whatcanitdoforyou?
4.Thesearetheirstories
5.Talktous
6.Eyeonevents
PuttingtheWWCnetworktowork
TheNittyGritty:Tipsforeveryplatform
Twitter
Facebook
Instagram
Youtube
Snapchat
Tumblr
That'sitfornow!

TheBigPicture:6easywaystoengage
1.Announce

Thesepostsfollowthegoldenrule:Keepitsimple!Announceyourcityspolicywithalinktoyour
website.Thelinkshouldgotoablogpostorwalkthroughthatexplainsthenewpolicyinaway
thatseasytounderstandforeveryone,especiallyiftheyreunfamiliarwithopendatapolicy.
Emphasizewhatitmeansforyourconstituents:openness,transparencyandequality.

2.RT

Spreadthenews!Retweet,repost,orsharearticlesaboutyouropendatapolicyfromlocalnews
outlets,interestedorganizationslikeSunlightorCodeForAmerica,andcivichackinggroupsin
yourcity.Thisisaneasywaytobuildbuzz.

Bill Peduto, mayor of Pittsburgh

3.Whatcanitdoforyou?

Nowitstimetogettangible.Whatdoesopendatameanforeverydaypeopleinyourcity?
Whatkindofinformationandtoolsarenowavailabletothemtomaketheirliveseasier?Linkto
examplesofuseful,coolorinterestingopendatatools.Postsliketheseareripeforretweeting.

4. Thesearetheirstories

Opendatapolicyisaboutpeople:connectingyourcommunitytoitsgovernment,allowingyour
constituentstobuildtoolsthatworkforthemandfortheirneighbors.Usesocialmediato
spotlightpeople,suchasadeveloperwhohasmadeanexcitingapporacityemployeewhois
workinghardtomakethesepolicieswork.AnddontforgetthephotothinkH
umansofNew
York.Agreatphotocanmakepeoplestopscrollingandengage.

GregFischer,mayorofLouisville

5.Talktous

Dontbeafraidtostartadialogue,especiallyonTwitterandFacebook.Afteryouhave
announcedyourpolicy,createanopportunityforconstituentstoaskquestions,offer
suggestionsorgivefeedback.Andwhentheydo,respond!

BillPeduto,mayorofPittsburgh

6.Eyeonevents

WhatWorksCitiesemphasizesengagementandsoshouldyoursocialmediacampaigns.
Postphotosandvideosfromrelevantevents,likehackathons,hearings,andmeetingsto
increasepublicityandupattendance.

PuttingtheWWCnetworktowork
What Works Cities is a community, and you should share your news and accomplishments with the
members! Tag relevant partners and fellow cities when appropriate. Participate in conversations
through replies.

TheNittyGritty:Tipsforeveryplatform

T
witter

Animportanttool:Twittercanprovideaneasy,accessiblewaytoreachandengagewithyour
residentsandotherstakeholders,especiallyifyourresourcesareconstrained.Forexample,
Naperville,Ill.,s olicitedfeedbackonitsdraftopendatapolicythroughTwitter,providingalowlift
avenuetogarnervaluableinputfromthecommunity.

Hashtags:Thinkofahashtagasaninstantwaytojoinanongoingconversationandaneasymeans
foruserstofindtheirwaytoyourtweets.Herearegoodplacestostart:
#FollowFriday/#FF:ThisisaTwittermainstay.Youcansendatweetfromyourcitysmain
accountencouragingpeopletofollowpeopleorofficeswhoworkonyouropendatapolicy.
#OpenGov/#OpenData:Usingthishashtagwillmakeyourtweetsvisibletotheglobalopen
governmentcommunity.
#YourCity:Theresalwaysthebasic#YourCityName,butyoucanalsogetcreative.Use
hashtagsthewaythepeoplewholivetheredo.Theres#Austinbutalso#ATX,#DCbutalso
#DMV,#NewHavenbutalso#NHV,etc.

Golive:P
eriscopeisanappthatallowsuserstolivestreamfromtheirsmartphone.Youmayhave
heardofitrecentlywhenDemocratsinCongressu
sedittostreamlivefromtheHousefloor.Ifyou
startaPeriscopestreamtobroadcastameetingorevent,youcanpostthelinkonTwittersoyour
followerscanclickthroughtoviewit.

Thetakeover:InaTwittertakeover,apersonorofficetakescontrolofpublishingcontentforoneday,
allowingthemtocuratetweets,links,photos,andothermedia.Inyourcity,thepersonoroffice
responsibleforopendatacoulddoatakeoverandtakeusersbehindthescenes.Thetakeoverwould
alsoallowthemtodirectlyinteractwithconstituentsbytaking/answeringquestions.

Tone:Twitteristhemostconversationalsocialmediaplatformdontbeafraidtousealightertone
withalotofpersonality.Yourtweetscanstillbeprofessionala
ndfunny,familiarandlively.

Facebook

Golive:FacebookhasintroducedanewtoolcalledFacebookLive,whichallowsyoutostreamliveto
yourfollowers.YourofficecouldusethistoconductanopendataQ&Aorlivestreamahearingorwork
session.Moreinformationh
ere.

MakeaFacebookpage:Yourcitycouldmakeapagetohighlightyouropendatatools,especially
thosethataremostusefulforthegeneralpublic.Youhighlightonetoolperweek,forexample.Butbe
surethatyouhaveenoughhumanresourcesandrelevantcontenttokeepthepageupdatedand
freshbeforeyoudecidetocreateit.

Instagram

Thetakeover:InanInstagramtakeover,youcanallowapersonorofficetomanagetheaccount,
meaningthatforawholeday,theycanintroducethemselvestoyourfollowersandcuratecontent.In
themorning,theycanstartwithapostsayinghello,describingtheirworkonopendata,and
previewingwhattheyllshowusersduringthetakeover.Thatcouldincludepostsaboutusefulopen
datatools,picturesfromrelevantmeetings/hearings,videowhereteammembersdescribewhat
theyreworkingon,etc.MoreonInstagramtakeoversh
ere.(TakeoversarealsoperfectforSnapchat
andTwitter!)

Youtube

Explainers:Yourofficecancreateshort(around2minute)videosthatintroduceyourneworupdated
policy,showpeoplehowtoaccessyourcitysdata,orexplainthetoolsthatareavailabletothem.Aim
forfresh,crispgraphics.Forexample,Nashvillehasa
Youtubeplaylistfullofhelpfulexplainervideos
thatdelveintoeachdatasetthecityreleased.

Embed&share:IfyoumakeYoutubecontent,dontforgettoshareitacrossallofyourother
platformsforthemostvisibility.

Snapchat

Forthosewithextracapacity:Youshouldconcentrateyourresourcesontheplatformsabove,
especiallyFacebookandTwitter.Butifyourcityiscomfortablewithinteractivetoolsandhasroomto
experiment,trySnapchat.

Kidsthesedays:Snapchatispopularwithtweens,teensandtwentysomethingsforthreemain
reasons:Postsarefun,temporaryandintimate.Keepallthreeinmindifyourcitystartsanaccount.

Fun:Geotags,emojis,filtersandstickersarepopularonSnapchatandusingthemwillmake
yourcontentfeellikeitbelongsthere.Forexample,ifyoureplanningatakeover,youroffice
cancreateatemporaryopendatathemedfiltertoappearonallofyourposts.
Temporary:Youwilltakeaphotoorrecordavideo(10secondsmaximum)andthenpostitto
YourStory.Eachonewilldisappear24hoursafteryouhavepostedit.Keepthisinmind!This
lendsthecontentanairofspontaneity.

Intimate:Snapchatletsanyonebeaflyonthewalluseyouraccounttotakeyourfollowers
behindthescenesandtointroducethemtothepeoplewhomakeyourgovernmentwork.

Youreabroadcaster:Unlikeeveryotherplatform,Snapchatdoesnothavecommentsorencourage
abackandforthconversationwithyourfollowers.Instead,thinkofyouraccountasamediumfor
broadcastingaseriesofphotosandvideos.

ThecitygovernmentinProvo,Utah,usedSnapchattodocumentaribboncuttingatanewstore.
Viewerssawasnippetofthemayorsremarksandreceivedaminitourofthestore/communityspace.

Tumblr

Howthisgenerationblogs:Tumblrisabloggingplatformpopularwithteenagersand
twentysomethings.AccordingtotheP
ewResearchCenter,10percentofallinternetusersareon

Tumblr,soitisavaluableplacetoengage.OnTumblr,usershavetheirownblogandcanfollowas
manyblogsastheywant.Thefeedsfromthoseblogsappearintheirdashboardwhentheylogin.
UserscanalsopairaTumblrblogwiththeirexistingdomain.

Themetrics:Tumblrengagementcomesintwoforms:likesandreblogs.Theyfunctionthesameas
likesandretweetsonTwitter.

Thecommunity:Tumblrisaplaceforniches.Usersgetexcitedaboutfindingpeoplewholovethe
sametopics,betheyfansofthesameTVshoworactivistscommittedtosocialjustice.Thelatterisa
vitalpartofTumblranditsplaceinthesocialmediasphere.Yourofficecanbrainstormwaystotiein
youropendatapoliciestotheconcernsofthiscommunityandthenengageonTumblr.Forexample,
policerecorddataandarrestdataareoftopconcern.Yourofficemightpostalinktothatdataand
plugintotheongoingconversationonTumblrusinghashtagslike#blacklivesmatter,#prisondata,etc.

Tumblrinaction:ThecityofLasVegashasusedTumblrtog
arnerfeedbackonitsdraftopendata
policy,thenfollowedupwithitscommunitybypostingthefinishedversionafewweekslater.T
hepost
isbrief,clearlylistsouthowitwillbenefittheresidentsofthecityandperhapsmostimportantly
usesaneyecatchingGIFtopromoteit!

That'sitfornow!
Thanksforreadingalongwithourquickhowtoguideforpromotingopendatainyourcitywithsocial
media.Butthisisn'tcomprehensivenewplatformsandappsareappearingeverydaythatyoucan
leveragetospreadthewordaboutopendatainyourcity,sokeepaneyeoutfornewopportunities.