Breakout Session: Don't Be Afraid of Social Media

Editor's Notes

• #3: Introductions: I am Tracey Cantu. I have been a registered code enforcement officer since 2004. I am currently serving as the Zoning and Code Enforcement Administrator for Corpus Christi, Texas . I have previously worked for police departments in Euless, Texas and Montgomery County, Texas. I am the Executive Board Secretary for the Code Enforcement Association of Texas. For AACE, I am on the By-Laws, Awards, and Policies & Procedures Committees. I have been married for 13 years and have 2 beautiful and amazing little girls. Use social media platforms to promote and elevate your Code Enforcement Program. We will cover Facebook Basics, Twitter, and Instagram Basics. “How to tips” on managing and scheduling posts. Utilize various social media outlets to educate and inform the public of the positive impact code enforcement activities on improving the community. Celebrate wins via social media post to bolster public support and create transparency for code enforcement programs.
• #4: As you know, when we hear the public talk about Code Enforcement, they tend to cast it in a bad light. (click) Even though our intentions are good, what we do tends to rub people the wrong way. That makes it hard to change the popular opinion. Being part of a social media site lets you choose to create good exposure that you can regulate. Social media gives you the brush, it’s up to you to paint a good picture.
• #5: Don’t get overwhelmed by all the options. There are many useful social media outlets, this presentation will cover three of the most popular… First and foremost is to focus on forming a foundation site such Facebook or Twitter, then branch out to Instagram. Facebook is a social posting platform, Twitter is similar, only much more basic and the posts are restricted to a 140 character limit, Instagram is a mobile application solely for hosting images and 15-second-or-less videos, and the user must connect with an existing Facebook or Twitter account. To start your business Facebook page, you must have a personal Facebook page. You can either use your own personal page or create one very easily using a valid email address. We won’t be covering a step-by-step of how to make the pages, just touching on the most important details you should focus on to make sure your page does what you want it to.
• #6: First, update you information! And keep it updated! Address, phone number, email, website address, etc. People like to know they can contact you through as many avenues as possible. A short summary of information will be on the left side of your profile page. The description section is also a good way to touch on what exactly your Code Enforcement Program does for its community…your mission, purpose, goals, etc.
• #7: Add your profile and cover photos! You have the ability to customize both your main profile picture that appears next to your site name when you publish a post, and the cover picture that shows at the top of your page. Make sure both are utilized before posting your first update. These will be the first thing people notice when access your page. It is a good idea to have the photos be identifiable and recognizable with your code enforcement program and activities. These photos represent your “brand” and market your program.
• #8: As well as your images being customizable, you can also choose the Facebook Web Address for your page. Be creative to find a site name that is unique and again, represents your organization. One thing to note, though, is that once you choose a web address name for the page, you CANNOT CHANGE IT. So make sure to double check your spelling before submitting.
• #9: The next section will cover some helpful hints about what and how to post.
• #10: When people come to visit your page, (click) they don’t want to feel like they’re reading an essay. Keep your posts short and sweet, one to two sentences should be adequate for most posts!
• #11: Going over a screen full of nothing but words is exhausting. Break up it up with pictures and videos! Catch the reader’s eye with a compelling image that will make him want to read the post to learn more.
• #12: Put a spin on it! Be sure to utilize alliteration, wit, rhyming, and catch phrases to make your posts more interesting and your followers will be more likely to like and share the post.
• #13: Be sure to mix it up! The same types of posts over and over are boring. Be sure you to vary the topics you cover. But keep them relevant to your program’s mission and goals.
• #14: One of our most successful posts are videos. A 10 second of demolition gets people’s attention. The most views, likes, shares…total engagement. Demolitions get the attention of the media as well. Social media and Television News reports are free publicity for your program.
• #16: Being a presence on social media is all about give and take. While it is very important to post interesting, eye-catching content, it is equally as important to engage your audience. Promptly answer their posts. Follow-up on their questions and concerns. Invite them to contact you and report violations through proper channels. Continue the interaction as long as there is value. This is where you remember that you are in control of the content on your page. Negative comments are going to happen. There are people that dislike government and dislike code enforcement. If someone posts something disparaging then take it down. Delete the post, ban them from the page. The public has freedom of speech, but you are in control of the page. The majority of followers are in favor of code enforcement and are in support of your efforts.
• #17: People like to feel like they are being included in something. Make sure your posts are relevant to Code Enforcement, but also relevant to your audience. Try to avoid little-known acronyms or information that has to be explained to be understood. Post interesting and post often!
• #18: Use tools such as post scheduling to take advantage of peak times: when people are using Facebook. This is usually 8 am, 5 pm, and 10 at night, but you can also set it to post on weekends!
• #19: Name drop like crazy! Posts in third person make it immediately clear your audience is reading a Code Enforcement post.
• #20: Add milestones! Let people know how much their community is growing by keeping them updated on the latest member or milestones. Don’t make it a regular occurrence, but be sure to celebrate your 100th, 500th, and 1000th member milestones.
• #21: Engage your audience! Ask questions that prompt responses, and be sure to provide information for any questions that are asked. Draw people in by giving them the feeling that they are making a difference.
• #22: Before and after pictures are one of the most useful tools you can utilize on social media. They are a huge way to reinforce the difference Code Enforcement makes in the community. You and I know the effect Code Enforcement has on blighted conditions, but having that undeniable proof, that clear improvement, does wonders towards speaking our praises without saying a word. One of the additional benefits that comes with the before and after pictures is that not only do we get the boost from the post at the time we publish it, those pictures get added to our profile pictures permanently, so any visitors that idly browse our image will get to see immediately the hard work and effort that is exerted by our crew. You can use your pictures to recreate your image in the public eye, people will see you more and more as problem solvers with every B&A post you publish.
• #24: If you feel the need to extend a post’s reach to be seen by many more people, Facebook can promote that post for you for a small fee. You can just rely on your followers to promote your posts for you for free. If they share your content by reposting, it can be seen by all of their friends without any of them having to come see your page. Encourage employees, co-workers, friends and family to like your page. Their likes and shares are counted toward the overall engagement of your posts.
• #25: Possibly the best tool you can use to gain more views is your partnerships with other business pages. Reposts gets you name out to potential followers via pages of other organizations. The more engagement your page gets from others the farther the reach of your post. Sharing is free advertising for your program. We repost from and get reposted by our Corpus Christi Police Department; the Code Enforcement Association of Texas; Florida’s SWACE and AACE, which all helps to get our name out to potential followers.
• #26: Facebook offers features that allow you to evaluate how well you post are performing, specifically which posts receive the most engagement from the public. You can take advantage of “Insights”, which are automatically tallied statistics that can be accessed right on your page in one click. Page Likes – indicates a user comment that your page content is enjoyed. Post reach is the number of people who have seen your post. Your post counts as reaching someone when it's shown in News Feed. Engagement is the unique number of people who likes, commented, shared or clicked on your posts.
• #27: Google Analytics is another tool for tracking audience engagement with your sites. You track up to 50 accounts for free. A session is the period time a user is actively engaged with your website, app, etc. All usage data (Screen Views, Events, Ecommerce, etc.) is associated with a session. Users that have had at least one session within the selected date range. Includes both new and returning users. Pageviews is the total number of pages viewed. Repeated views of a single page are counted. Pages/Session is the average number of pages viewed during a session. (Page Depth) Repeated views of a single page are counted. Average Session Duration - The average length of a Session. Bounce Rate is the percentage of single-page visits (i.e. visits in which the person left your site from the entrance page without interacting with the page). % New Sessions - An estimate of the percentage of first time visits.
• #28: Once you are comfortable with one site, you can branch out to other social media platforms. To make managing your social media easier, you can now use add-ons that do your posting for you. You can set them to automatically post your publications from one site to another…such as your post on Facebook are instantaneously posted on Twitter. We use Hootsuite, but there are many other cross-platform posting services that you could choose from to see which would fit your goals the best. Hootsuite can manage up to 100 accounts…3 for free Socialoomph – Scheduling and tracking for Twitter…free & paid Buffer – similar to Hootsuite; specializes in scheduling TweetDeck – tracking, organizing for Twitter Bitly – URL shortener and helps drive links to your sites. IFTT – If This Then That…pronounces like gift without the G…automates poat sharing; will repost photos from Instagram to Twitter as photos not just a link SocialFlow – watches social media conversations to predict peak post time SproutSocial – Conversation Monitor…30 Day free trial CrowdBooster – Analytics & performance metrics
• #30: Twitter Logo; CLICK; Twitter Home Page; CLICK; Twitter Feed; CLICK; Twitter Logo; Instagram Logo; Instagram Login…mobile, but there are some desktop access versions; You can post a photo from Instagram to FaceBook or add from a account manager;
• #31: Linked in is primarily considered a business-oriented professional networking platform with 364 million users world-wide. Expand your network through “connections”. Connections can endorse your skills that in turn help update your profile. Maintaining an update to date profile serves as an online resume that the application matches with potential employers. Businesses and organizations such as AACE can host discussions among its members to gauge industry trends…
• #32: Tumblr – Blog posts; Pinterest – Shared content is driven by visuals or “pins”; Google + social sharing platform; Vine – similar to YouTube in that it is a video sharing site; Snap Chat is like testing with photos
• #38: A few things you should always remember: (click) Check your spelling; read over every post before you publish it; look over your pictures carefully before you add them to the page. If you misspell a word or you happen to upload a picture that has an official in the background picking his nose, that is all your fans will see. Never mind the wonderful abatement job, there will only be comments about the mistake. (click) Encourage your staff to like and share the page. Let them take pride in their work by showing it off to their family and friends. And always, always take the high road. (click) People will come on to the page and type at you in capital letters about the terrible job they think Code Enforcement does. Don’t get upset, don’t be tempted to leave a witty, biting retort. Let the professional in you shine through!
• #39: Don’t be afraid to get caught in the web. Now you can use social sites to allow people to celebrate your wins with you.
• #40: Don’t be afraid to get caught in the web. Now you can use social sites to allow people to celebrate your wins with you. After you make your own Facebook page, be sure to follow the Corpus Christi Code Enforcement page for helpful information and ideas!