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Information Technology Division Executive Office for Administration and Finance Social media case study: The #BostonMarathon Geoffrey Kula, Mass.gov Director [email protected]
Information Technology Division Executive Office for Administration and Finance
Social media case study: The #BostonMarathon
Geoffrey Kula, Mass.gov Director [email protected]
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
