Archives for September 2011

Social Media for Parks & Recreation – Back to the Basics

Enough can’t be said for how social media is changing the way people use and search for information on everything from travel to buying a ball point pen.  For parks and recreation organizations social media is an integral aspect for conveying to the community all that is offered in terms of city parks, youth programs, sports, special events, etc.

It is imperative though for park and recreation departments that a social media strategy be put in place before a single post or tweet goes out because you must first answer the question “why are we on Twitter/Facebook/YouTube?”  If you can’t describe how your Facebook page addresses an overall communication objective then you’re not yet prepared.

This presentation, created for the 2011 Minnesota Recreation and Park Association Annual Conference, will hopefully help you prepare for online social interaction by providing a framework for a social media strategy and demonstrating some useful tools for managing your organization’s social presence.

I’ve also included some useful articles that can help better craft your social strategy.