Scott Burns presenting on social media's role in cost effective digital communications at the 2012 Annual Conference for the California Association of Public Information Officers (CAPIO).

1. Social Media’s Role in Cost-Effective
Digital Communications
Scott Burns
CAPIO
April 19, 2012
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2. Maximizes direct connections with
the public through digital Knowledge network across all
communications. levels of Government
• More than 500 public sector • Prominent in the U.S. and
organizations manage their digital International
communications though GovDelivery
• 50,000+ Members
• More than one billion messages
are sent quarterly by government • Specialized Communities with
agencies through GovDelivery 6 different topics: i.e.
Communications and Technology
• 30,000 people sign up every day
through GovDelivery to receive digital
messages from the government
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3. If Facebook was a country...
Population: 850 million
It would be the world’s 3rd largest country
Bigger than North and South America combined
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4. If Twitter was a country...
Population: 200 million
It would be bigger than Russia, Ukraine and Kazakhstan
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5. If Email was a country. . .
It Covers Continents
It would be an empire: 2.9 Billion users
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6. What does social media have to do with puppies?
… even when they are free, they are a lot of work.
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7. Social Media in Government 2008
“We should try this!”
“Have you heard of Twitter?”
“Are we allowed to use Facebook?”
“Our department will never allow this?”
“My boss told me to put up a YouTube channel,
but YouTube is blocked on my work computer.”
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8. Social Media in Government 2012
“We need to justify everything.”
“We have no funding for this.”
“We are getting real value from…”
“We have really figured this out.”
“If we’re trying to reach that group, we know
where they are.”
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9. IMPACT
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10. 10

11. ND FSA trims, shifts costs
Savings to the state FSA could be significant.
Statewide mailings to farm operators alone are $8,000
in postage and a state office newsletter with program
deadlines and eligibility requirements. The state sends
at least six of these a year to all farm operators, or
25,000 to 30,000 recipients.
Once or twice a year, that goes to all owners and
operators, about 90,000 per time at 22 cents per
mailing, or $19,800 per time.
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12. What if
only this
guy
cares?
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13. 13

14. Leverage the
trust that this
guy has been
building up for
years.
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15. “I’m worried about you. I think you
should check out this article from the
CDC with links to resources on
dealing with depression. You have
some good options.”
-Dad
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16. 16

17. MAKING MESSAGES COUNT
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18. Speak with an Authentic Voice
While NASA is run
by some very
smart people, their
Facebook posts
aren’t essays on
space technology.
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19. Consider the Delivery of your Message
• You have one shot at
delivering your
message, so
enhance what
you’re posting with
a pithy title or
headline.
• San Francisco’s
descriptions and
titles are short and
to the point.
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20. Top 11 Shared Updates of 2011
• Offering generic updates is not enough
• Citizens are most likely to share compelling, specific information
that is timely and relevant:
o Small business tax credits
o Keeping state parks open
o Public safety alerts in your city
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21. Be Timely and Informative
The City of
Minneapolis uses their
Facebook page to
remind and alert
citizens when snow is
forecasted and
provides them with
more avenues to get
up-to-date
information.
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22. Regularly Post Content
• Washington
Department of
Transportation(@
wsdot) keeps
citizens updated
with traffic and
road closings.
Their active and
engaging Twitter
feed has attracted
over 24,000
followers.
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23. Post a Variety of Content
A quick glance at
Mayor Rawlings-
Blake (@MarySRB)
Twitter feed shows
that she posts about
a variety of topics,
from Farmers
Markets, Huffington
Post Links and even
responds to her
followers.
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24. Pinterest
• Pinterest is currently
the 17th most
visited website in
the US and 81st
worldwide. Over the
last 3 months, site
traffic has grown by
226%!
• Pinterest is driving
more referral traffic
than Google+,
LinkedIn and
YouTube combined!
Source: Shareaholic’s Referral
Traffic Report
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25. THINK LIKE MCDONALDS
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26. “Would you like fries with that?”
Deploy the age-old art
of cross promotion in
every thing you do,
within every channel,
and across your entire
organization.
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27. Grab the Subscriber at the Time of Greatest Interest
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28. Quick Signup with “Upsell” of Other Options at City
1 3
2
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29. Gather More Information, If You Need It
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30. “Upsell” Content and Collaborate to Increase Reach
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31. Impact of Working Together to Reach More People
• 114,247 new subscribers in first half of 2011
• Accounts using the network got 47% of new
subscribers from the GovDelivery Network
17 Texas Agencies
use GovDelivery
1.5M total subscribers
• The Governor of TX gets over 90% of new
subscribers from the GovDelivery Network
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32. USING COMMUNICATION TO
DRIVE RESULTS
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33. Can this all fit together?
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34. What Matters to Your Agency?
Clicks, Opens, Mission
Subscribers, Results
Page Views
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35. “You can’t manage
what you don’t "Most people I've known in the private sector
are just much too accustomed to linear
measure.” processes where they're clear decision makers
and they make a decision and things more or
less then happen. In government, the
decisions you make very often are much less
direct in their effect."
Robert Rubin
Former U.S. Secretary of Treasury
“Our ROI is more lives saved and less property
and fewer homes destroyed or damaged.”
Eugene Luke, Emergency
Management Specialist, FEMA
You can’t measure everything
in $
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36. The Scientific Formula for Measuring Mission
Value from Digital Communications
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37. Where to Start?
Engagement:
Effectiveness:
What is the value of
What is our total Value Created
each connection we’re
reach?
making?
Efficiency:
What was the total cost Net Value
of the communication?
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38. What is that we’re trying to do here?
What matters most to my agency  Improve public health
 Provide for secure
and the public? retirement
 More people get flu
What are the specific outcomes shots
this program is looking for?  More people apply for
benefits online
What are realistic contributions  Awareness of benefits
of flu shots, clinic
that communication can make to locations, and free shot
the outcomes? programs
 Awareness of benefit
application form online
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39. The Impact of Better Communication Translates to
Real Value for Agency & Public
 Better health
 More flu shots
Upstream Metrics  More exercise
 Less smoking
Easy to measure, but only  Better screening
the communications and
Web team care… clicks,  More efficient and consistent
opens, subscribers, compliance with regulations
 Lower administrative costs
followers, friends, visits, etc.  Higher revenue
 Lower compliance costs
for business / public
 Lower costs
 Fewer inbound calls
 Lower enforcement costs
 Citizen involvement in
building mobile apps
 Better mission results
Downstream Metrics  Catch criminals
These really matter, but they  Get more grant
are super hard to measure. applications so funds go to
higher quality applicants
 Improve recruitment
 And more…
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40. Connecting Upstream to Downstream…
Start with Logic
More Rain Upstream…
Means Deeper Water Downstream
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41. Private Sector, Non-Profits,
Politicians use Simple $ Metrics
“ The value of an email address to a
knowledgeable marketer is $118. ”
-Stan Rapp, former CEO of McCann
Relationship Marketing
“ Online revenue per usable email address for a
non-profit is $3.36 - $27.56. ”
Source: Convio Benchmarking Study
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42. Mission (im)Possible in Public Sector
• Use targeted surveys online:
– “Did you take a flu shot after visiting our website?”
– “Did your experience on our website impact your decision to get a flu shot?”
• Use them offline:
“What sources of information caused you to get a flu shot?”
• Find other points of correlation. Example: “Do you trust the information
you see on Healthagency.gov?”
• Use logic!
Why?
Judge outreach in real-time based on upstream metrics that can be tracked
because you know they impact downstream metrics that drive mission value.
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43. Go Back to Real Objectives in Everything You Report
and Share
From Nerd Metrics To Mission Results
We are increasing flu vaccinations by
Page Views are Up getting >25,000 people/day to view flu
information online
We are improving regulatory compliance
Subscriber #s Just Passed
by directly reaching 100,000
100,000
stakeholders with each new regulation
We responded directly to comments
We have 5,000 Followers on
through social media and redirected
Twitter and 2,000 Fans in
responders to where they were most
Facebook
needed
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44. Creating mission value: U.S. local examples
Connects directly with over 1.3M people Communicates with residents on more than 90
unique subscription topics
Higher renewal revenue and >$100K in cost savings in '511 Notify’ alerts deliver accurate and timely
the first 3 months through reduced print costs alerts on more than 220 distinct roadways
Eliminating traditional print, fold and mail Grown from 200,000 messages per year in 2006
resulted in an annual savings of $265,000 to more than 10.7 million annually in 2010
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45. “Our ROI is more lives saved and
less property and fewer homes
destroyed or damaged.”
Eugene Luke
Emergency Management Specialist, FEMA
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46. Digital Communication Management Value
Goal of maximizing direct connections with the public through digital
communications. We accomplish that in three ways:
Effectiveness – Reach More People
Dramatically increase the number of people you reach
directly
Efficiency – Automate Complex Communications
Streamline communication across email, SMS, social media
and other channels
Engagement – Create Mission Value
Drive users to the online and offline activities that
create the most value for the public and your agency.
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47. Lessons Learned on Opportunities for Better Results
Reach Matters
If you are able to communicate with many relevant people on the issues that matter to
your organization, your odds of success are high.
The B+ Rule
You shouldn’t have to be a genius or an expert to get a “B+” in your communication if the
tools are doing their job.
It’s Okay to be Greedy
You want to do amazing things. You might want and need 90% automation and want
most things going on autopilot, but when you want to step back and make a stunning
newsletter or send a targeted message to the people who opened your last message, you
need a system that can do that too.
Nothing Stands Alone
Systems need to be open in every respect so they can work together and be easily
customized to fit different needs and missions.
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48. Areas of Functionality We’ve Found Critical
Messaging Reach more people
GovDelivery Network Cross-promote for more impact
Social Drive deeper engagement
Automation Enable tight integration
Mobile Communicate anytime, anywhere
Analytics & Filtering Measure the impact
Emergency Notification Keep the public safe and informed
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49. Summary & Actions
Social Media’s Role in Cost-Effective Digital Communication is:
Help build audience / reach to drive effectiveness
Encourage content sharing and trust
Enable user interaction with content
Reach users that will not otherwise signup for updates or
visit website
Actions:
1. Increase focus on the #s that drive value (#1 is reach)
2. Get your organization thinking “Would you like fries with that?”
3. For GovDelivery Clients: Schedule time with us to review your
challenges and needs as well as new capabilities available to you
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50. Contact
Scott Burns – CEO & co-Founder
scott.burns@govdelivery.com
(651) 726-7303
@smburns
Visit us at Booth 3 to pick up your copy of Social
Media Best Practices.
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