Information Technology Division Executive Office for Administration and Finance

Social media case study: The #BostonMarathon

Geoffrey Kula, Mass.gov Director Geoffrey.Kula@state.ma.us

10/25/2013 2

Agenda/Contents

• Overview

• Mass.gov efforts

• Takeaways

10/25/2013 3

Overview

• On Patriots’ Day, two bombs exploded near the finish line of the Boston Marathon on Boylston Street

• Mass.gov spent the week updating a single blog post outlining closures, etc., tweeting safety information and responding to constituent questions

• This is an instance where the editorial calendar goes out the window; it’s there for “business as usual” times • Agencies/departments need to be nimble

• Leverage IT to innovate & transform government services.

10/25/2013 4

Mass.gov – blog (4/15-20)

Mass.gov updated this

blog post at least

once/day and tweeted

out each update

Central location

for updates on

constantly evolving

situation;

easier to manage

Most read blog post:

~6,500 views

Most commented-on:

12 comments

471 “Like”s on FB

10/25/2013 5

Mass.gov – Twitter

Establish Mass.gov Twitter “handle” as an active, relevant instrument for

receiving information about services the government offers,

as well as a two-way communications channel for constituents.

Promote other agencies, their news & services Mass.gov sends 1 tweet/secretariat/day (plus State Offices & Courts)

Put their info in front of our followers; expand their audience

10/25/2013 6

Mass.gov – Twitter (4/15-20)

99 tweets [~50 avg]

2,000+ new followers (+12%)

98 agency tweets RT’d by us (closures, delays, etc.) [~6 avg]

2,150+ RTs of our content by others [~70 avg]

250+ mentions [~50 avg]

20 constituent concerns addressed (donations, aid, etc.) [~4 avg]

10/25/2013 7

Mass.gov – Twitter

Most popular tweet (4/16):

RT @massgovernor:

official statement

http://ow.ly/k6R40

1,355 clicks

(5x next most-popular)

10/25/2013 8

Mass.gov – Twitter

20 constituent concerns addressed

(donations, assistance, etc.)

For some, however, it was still

“business as usual”

and we had to address

their concerns as well.

Eventually, the Governor’s office

requested a moratorium on

non-emergency related info.

10/25/2013 9

Mass.gov – Twitter

Most RT’d tweet

(sent ~9p Thursday):

View photos & video of the 2

#BostonMarathon bombing

Suspects at Mass.gov -

Tips? 1-800-CALL-FBI

Mass.gov – Twitter

10/25/2013 10

Friday morning Mass.gov

began RT’ing information

being broadcast by

MEMA, EOPSS, MassDOT, BPD &

others to keep citizens updated

10/25/2013 11

Key takeaways

• Post useful information • …and people will help spread the word

• Use #hashtags for trending topics

• Make your content easy to find for people looking for it

- Twitter search & trending topics can help

• Social media = legitimate “news” source • Incentive to keep content stream current & relevant