Using X to Engage Residents [2020 Updates]

X (formerly Twitter) is a microblogging platform utilized by an estimated 330 million people worldwide. Do you feel confident leveraging X to engage with residents? We have what you need to help you familiarize yourself with the blue bird’s role in the realm of special media and eight best practices for utilizing social media posts to #engage with residents.

The X Value Proposition: As-it-Happens News Updates

X’s primary role in the social sphere is to serve as a breaking news outlet, making news one of the top reasons that users engage with the platform. In fact, nearly a quarter of all verified accounts on X belong to media members.

For local governments, X allows civic leaders to tap into this utilization of the platform for breaking news to share immediate community news and gauge resident reactions and feedback. X is also valuable to local government leaders in providing as-it-happens coverage and commentary on live community events.

Posting Community Examples

Here are two examples of communities leveraging X to keep their the public informed:

Athens-Clarke County, Georgia, leverages its official X account as an additional channel to share important community news and updates.

The Town of Banff in Canada also uses its X account to share news. It adds popular local hashtags and links to additional content available on its website to maximize the reach of its messages. In the example below, during the first major storm fall of the season, the administrators in Banff included a link to their civic website’s available traffic cameras to prepare residents for dangerous road conditions.

Eight X Best Practices for Local Governments

If you’re ready to start leveraging X to update your community on breaking local news, follow our eight best practices:

1. Be active. Post frequently as you create and share news content on your civic website—plan to post at least three times per week.

2. #Hashtag. Add relevant hashtags so that residents who don’t already follow you but are interested in a specific topic can find your posts. For example, add a hashtag of your community name to the end of posts so that community members are more likely to find and follow your account.

3. Repost. Repost or forward a post by another user. Repost relevant news and information from other regional news sources or community partners, such as your local school district. Reposting is an excellent way for prospective new followers to find you.

4. Be Responsive. Engage with residents by responding to their direct posts. Seventy-seven percent of X users feel more positive about a brand when they post at that brand and receive a response. If an X user sends a direct message to your account or mentions your profile by name in one of their posts, respond promptly.

5. Share breaking news. Post whenever there is breaking news in your community, whether the news is election results, power outages, or anticipated inclement weather approaching. Since you only have a maximum of 280 characters per post, add a link to your municipal website’s blog for more information.

6. Include photos in every post. Photos are impactful and will better engage users scrolling through their lengthy feeds. For example, residents used to winter weather disruptions may disregard a winter weather advisory text communication as just another routine update, but seeing a photo of the major highway they travel to get home buried under snow, with cars crawling in a single lane, will get their attention, enabling them to make alternate, safer travel plans.

7. Post about upcoming community events. Link to your municipal website’s community calendar for more information.

8. Post the resolution. When posting about breaking news, remember to post when an issue impacting your community has been resolved. Your residents will want to know not just that the light at a four-way stop is out but that it’s been restored.

Time-Saving Tip: Save time and optimize the reach of your messages by utilizing a subscription-based multi-channel communication distribution system. If news is breaking, you won’t be able to rely on social media alone to notify your community. For maximum reach, you’ll want to send updates via social media, email, text message, and your municipal website.

Save time by using a system that will allow you to craft one message and distribute it to multiple channels. The most powerful systems will integrate with a subscription service so that residents can opt-in to your communications by content type and choose their preferred communication method (e.g., email, text/SMS, phone).