INTRODUCTION
According to Statista, more than 300 million people in the United States are currently active on social media. That number is expected to exceed 330 million by 2029.
When managed appropriately, municipalities of all sizes can use social media to inform and engage their citizens. It also can be used to establish meaningful two-way communications with the public, which can help you identify what’s working and what could be improved within your community.
Following are some tips on how your municipality can manage and monitor its social media accounts.
ASSIGN A DEDICATED SOCIAL MEDIA MANAGER
Depending on the size and staff structure of your municipality, you may have multiple people currently managing your social media. Assign a dedicated social media manager to maintain and oversee your channels whenever possible.
While this individual could potentially delegate responsibilities to other staff members, they should have the final say in content approval. They also should enforce social media best practices, policies and procedures for your municipality.
If the position exists, give this role to your public information officer or communications director. This is the most logical choice, as social media falls under the communications umbrella. If your municipality does not have that position, consider giving this responsibility to someone who has a leadership role and is well-connected to all your departments. This could be your deputy administrator, for example.
USE A SOCIAL MEDIA MANAGEMENT TOOL
Oftentimes, municipalities have separate social media accounts for their primary accounts (e.g., official city account) as well as different departments. For example, your municipality may have accounts for public works or parks and recreation. Monitor and manage all these accounts with a central social media management tool to streamline your efforts and add a layer of security.
If your municipality is on Facebook and/or Instagram, you can use the free Meta Business Suite tool to manage all your accounts. Create and use one Meta Business Portfolio to claim all the associated assets (e.g., Facebook profiles, Instagram accounts, Meta ad accounts). From there, you can assign administrators to manage specific accounts and assets through Meta Business Suite. For instance, you’ll likely assign the social media manager to all the assets, while limiting the Director of Parks and Recreation to their specific account(s).
Meta Business Suite allows you to schedule posts, save drafts of posts and monitor insights. Plus, it has a dedicated inbox where you can monitor or respond to public comments and private messages, among other features.
If your municipality is also active on other channels (like X or LinkedIn), or has a large number of accounts, you may want to consider using third-party social media management software like Hootsuite or Sprout Social. These tools support most major social media platforms and have various management tools. For example, Hootsuite allows post scheduling with an exportable calendar. Plus, you can collaborate with others and establish an approval hierarchy before a post is published.
Of note, third-party social media management tools can be a bit pricy (more than $10,000 per year). Make sure to compare costs and benefits before determining which method is best for you. In most cases, you can set up a demo with a sales representative and request rates to consider for your annual budget.
CREATE STANDARD OPERATING PROCEDURES FOR SOCIAL MEDIA
Develop standard operating procedures to eliminate any confusion about how social media should be managed. Create a step-by-step order of operations for how to curate content, get post approval and publish information to the designated social media channel(s). In some cases, you may need procedures for overall social media execution, as well as individual accounts.
Include relevant timelines (when applicable) and assign each task to a specific job title or member of your staff. For instance, you should outline how department heads can submit content requests to your social media manager and add an appropriate deadline (e.g., one week in advance).
You also should create policies and procedures for changing account roles, adding access to new employees and removing access for outgoing employees. You don’t want to get locked out of your social media accounts or risk a security breach if you have staff changes.