There are a few key areas that need to be addressed before starting a Government Facebook marketing campaign. Whether your government or public sector organisation is looking to run ad campaigns or use the platform to speak with users about specific topics you will need a secure, credible and informative page.
I have looked at three areas that all government pages should follow before embarking on a targeted campaign.
If you are a Government department or public sector agency and you feel that Facebook is not for you, then you should really think again!
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Facebook Marketing Tip #1 Two-step Authentication
There is currently a lot of talk regarding interference in foreign politics through social media platforms, and this has led to strict account authentication procedures. Facebook has a two-step authentication set up where political and government accounts can be thoroughly vetted before being able to set up advertising campaigns, getting your account authenticated will make it simpler to run campaigns targeted to specific demographics.
Two-step authentication will make all your pages and accounts less vulnerable to manipulation and adds an extra layer of security to your pages and accounts, and this ensures that you only publish, like or comment in line with your organization’s viewpoint.
Creating a trustworthy, credible account is essential before you start to post and comment online.
Facebook Marketing Tip #2 Create Meaningful Content
Social media is an invaluable tool for any organization to speak to the public and let them know of new initiatives and proposals that will be of interest to them or affect them directly.
It is prudent to construct good quality content to highlight what your organization does and what you want it to do in the future. Publishing good video’s, photographs and content regularly will help engage with the public and keep your initiatives in everyone’s mind.
The main goal should not be the hard sell, but instead to give the audience a view into what you are promoting whether that is recruiting for the police, armed forces or making political points.
People use Facebook to talk about current events so try to share and publish content that is topical and timely for the best user engagement.
To keep the page relevant, you should aim to publish at least three times per week as this will keep you at the top of news feeds, over time this should be increased to daily posts which will lead to higher user engagement.
Facebook Marketing Tip #3 Engage with Users Directly
One of the key features of Facebook is giving users a chance to speak directly with individuals and organizations. It is essential to interact with the public before embarking on a targeted Facebook marketing campaign for government agencies.
Make sure you set aside enough time to reply to questions and comments from users, providing the personal touch will increase credibility for anything you are trying to promote, never use third person vocabulary as this adds another layer between your organization and the users you are trying to engage.
Facebook Live is a unique platform that allows you to publish video content and can increase engagement with the use of interviews, Q&A sessions and town hall meetings.
Giving the public the chance to speak with the key people at your organization directly will help to get questions, that many people may have, answered. Building Facebook groups are a great way to ask for feedback and collaborate on new initiatives that your government or public sector organisation is currently working on.
Conclusion
Any campaign you decide to run should never be judged purely on likes or comments, but on whether your government or public sector organisation has achieved the objectives.
The most successful campaigns use collaboration to understand what the public wants and act upon this, which creates a trustworthy campaign along with additional supporters for your page, this naturally, will increase user involvement for future campaigns.
