Cities and towns across South Carolina are using social media to build greater resident engagement and share important messaging. Platforms like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube and LinkedIn have expanded their influence to diverse audiences, and can serve as effective resources for sharing information and opening conversations — especially when they forgo a formal tone.
Lexington Town Council tasked the town’s staff with reconceptualizing its social media presence in 2019 because of low engagement levels and participation from its community.
“Council really wanted to develop a way to connect with the people of the [town] and they saw a huge opportunity with social media,” said Communications Manager Laurin Barnes, who began in her role in 2019 with a background in social media management and broadcast journalism.
At that time, the town’s existing Facebook page was strictly formal, with posts consisting of press releases, meetings agendas, and other day-to-day government operations. Communication was a one-way street, Barnes said. To inspire more conversations, the town found success by transitioning to a friendlier tone.
“What works is seeing things that people want to interact with and share with their friends — things that people can relate to,” said Barnes.
Agendas and heavy black-and-white text didn’t work, she added, but more lighthearted content like dogs, parks and people crafting plans, did.
Barnes, along with Marketing Assistant Kaylee Cuthbertson, handle posts and respond to engagements and interactions in real time, even after business hours. In four years, the town’s Facebook page following has grown 267%, from 9,673 to over 26,000 followers.
“It’s not an 8-to-5 kind of thing. We keep our phones on us and we try to respond immediately if we know the answer, and if we don’t, the next business day or whenever we can get the answer for people,” said Barnes. “We keep it engaging in that way.”
Barnes recommends communicating among staff to handle social media, and not being afraid to take risks.
“You can tell by the numbers whether it works or not; so, it’s just basically seeing what works and continuing that from there,” she said.
In Greer, Alison Rauch heads a department of one as the public information coordinator for the Commission of Public Works. Only the second person ever in the role, Rauch has served for the past seven years, overseeing communications between the utility provider and its customers. With a background in broadcast journalism, Rauch attributes social media skills she used in her former career to the work she does currently, where public works information can be highly technical and complex, requiring synthesis and explanation so that it has meaning for those who aren’t experts.
“I try to ‘dumb down’ the information so that I understand it, so I can then transfer and translate that over to our customers. I think that’s the advantage of me being in the position that I’m in,” she said.
Rauch said that when she was first hired, the CPW’s social media consisted of a lot of liking and sharing of content, so she tied content in with special calendar days to get the message across. Using the first day of summer as an example, Rauch indicated that she may do a giveaway online of summer pool toys for kids, but contestants must be CPW water customers.
“I’m trying to engage with our customers but also playing off of special holidays on the calendar that also tie back into our utilities,” she said, adding that in order to be entered, customers must first like the page and share the graphic.
Other examples of engagement include giveaways of trees around dial 811 messaging, “Greeropoly” board games, and partnering with Cole’s Bait Shop & Kayak Rental for kayak passes to Lake Robinson, the source of the city’s drinking water.
“I just try to think creatively for things that customers would be interested in, and that way I can capture more followers and continue to educate them,” said Rauch, noting that Greer CPW often picks up followers during inclement weather or power outages. “I try to maximize when I get those followers so I can continue educating them about special messages and things that we have going on at Greer CPW.”
In addition to special messaging like “call before you dig,” to highlight the importance of avoiding damage to utility lines, Rauch also noted other educational messages like reasons for not pouring grease down the drain or flushing baby wipes.
“I feel like there’s a good balance of a lot of fun that’s on our social media but then there’s also that, ‘hey, let me educate you about something,’ too.”
Over in the City of Tega Cay, Social Media and Information Specialist Gretchen Kalar is busy managing four Facebook pages, as well as Twitter and Instagram accounts and a YouTube channel. Now just a few months into the job, Kalar filled a new position for the city.
Although the social media accounts were already established before her arrival in Tega Cay, Kalar manages all posting schedules and has successfully grown the city’s Facebook page to more than 12,000 followers — a number which compares to the city’s population of 12,832.
“The council meetings are livestreamed on our YouTube channel and, for the social media side, we make sure people can see the link in case they weren’t able to go,” Kalar said, adding that she recognizes many people from the council meetings for their work and dedication with shout-outs on social media. “We want to showcase that on our social media for the respective departments that [that] needs to go out on.”
Another interesting facet of Tega Cay’s social media presence is its regular showcasing of municipal employees.
“Usually when we have a new employee, we share them, say a little about them, where they’re from, what their background is, and that’s always nice to show their faces to the community, but I really want to hone in on this new project of, ‘why Tega Cay?’” Kalar said. “[The employees] have great stories, so I’m working on putting those videos together.”
Kalar said that photos perform very well in building engagement.
“[Photos] can also tell a story; I know a lot of police departments have officers that will change tires on vehicles; not a call for service but, you know, somebody just needs help,” she said.
Striking the right tone on social media is an ongoing process.
“[There] has been a lot of trial and error of trying to figure out what I’m comfortable with posting that is “funny” versus information that needs to get out to the public,” Kalar said. “Just try it out. If it doesn’t work, you learn, and if it does work that’s awesome, keep doing it. It’s all a learning curve.”
As municipalities recognize the need for greater engagement across their social media platforms, many are harnessing the platforms as tools for disseminating government information and public works messaging using a warmer and friendlier tone, and one that is worth a like.