This is a response to a request for help posted in a discussion forum over in the Gov’t 2.0 Club group. If you would’ve commented on this, please do it over there so we can keep the good ideas in one place.
Hi Amanda. Have you heard of the “social media release”? The concept is to reformat a news release in ways that make it easier for bloggers and others to pick up and share. usa.gov did one for their blog’s one-year anniversary.
In a similar vein, we at EPA are starting to post news to multiple channels at once. For example, when our new Administrator issued a statement after being confirmed by the Senate, we put it on our home page (you can still see it at this moment), on Twitter (275 followers), and on our Facebook page (200+ fans), in addition to the usual news release. The beauty of those other channels is that they’re going to people who have actively chosen to get news from you, so they’re more likely to care and share it with others.
If you’re talking about emergency-type health messages, I’d encourage you to look at Twitter. The LA Fire Dept., for example, issues alerts about every call they get. Again, you’ll end up with followers who very much want to hear what you have to say.
Aside from formal news, there are powerful ways to share messages with key audiences, like hosting video contests on YouTube (let THEM make videos YOU can use). An office in EPA held a contest to create videos around testing and eliminating radon gas. The prize was $2500, and the winner was very high quality.
The best thing you can do is learn about all of the various tools, choose one or two, and try them out. Learn by doing.
Finally, I want to alert you to webcontent.gov, a repository of gov’t web best practices and supporting docs. It’s also the home of a gov’t employee social network (sign up over on the right side) that has monthly speakers. I co-chair a social media in gov’t group, and we’re going to be developing all kinds of helpful materials for people just like you. Nothing yet, but it’s coming.
Good luck!
Great advice, Jeffrey! I think this is really the key – “The beauty of those other channels is that they’re going to people who have actively chosen to get news from you, so they’re more likely to care and share it with others.”
Tip: If you’re starting a new Twitter account, you can use Twitter Grader to find active Twitter locals and introduce yourself. This is an active media space.