Using Social Media in Government

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How to Implement

Social media tools present unparalleled opportunities for collaborative government—but implementing these tools in government comes with unique challenges. Become familiar with relevant policies, and take advantage of the many good examples across government to help you implement these tools.

You can help the public keep track of your agency's official social media accounts and manage your agency's accounts by adding them to the Social Media Registry.

Policies and Guidance

• OMB Memorandum 10-23, Guidance for Agency Use of Third-Party Websites and Applications
  (PDF, 9 pages, June 2010)
• OMB guidance on Paperwork Reduction Act and use of Social Media
  (PDF, 7 pages, April 2010)
• Guidelines for Secure Use of Social Media by Federal Departments and Agencies
  (PDF, 233 KB, 19 pages, September 2009)
• Records Management and Recent Web Technologies—National Archives
• Terms of Service Agreements - Federal-compatible agreements with social media providers

Best Practices & Examples

• Coordinate with Federal Agency Records Officers
• Social Media Outlet Authentication—How to establish your official agency brand
• Web 2.0 Governance Policies Examples—Compiled by the Federal Web Managers Community of Practice
• Social Media Policies database—Policy examples, sorted by industry
• USA.gov & GobiernoUSA.gov Social Media Guidelines—Making Content Sociable
  (PDF, 8 pages, January 2011)
• CDC Social Media Tools Guidelines & Best Practices
• CDC eHealth Metrics Dashboard—CDC web and social media metrics
• New Media Across Government—Open Government YouTube video

Resources

• USA.gov URL Shortener
• Timeline of U.S. Government use of Social Media/Gov 2.0
• Government 2.0: Federal Agency Use of Web 2.0 Technologies, 111th Congress, 2010, statement of David McClure, Ph.D.
  (PDF, 22 pages, July 2010)
• Open Government, Transparency, and Social Media Presentation
  (PDF, 87 pages, April 2009)
• Barriers and Solutions to Implementing Social Media and Web 2.0 in Government Federal Web Managers Council Recommendations
  (PDF, 4 pages, December 2008)
• Social Software and National Security: An Initial Net Assessment
  (PDF, 42 pages, April 2009), DoD research paper
• 7 Ways to Promote Your Offline Event Using Social Media

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Content Lead: Justin Herman
Page Reviewed/Updated: October 29, 2012