Social Media and Public Lands Recreation Travis Mason-Bushman, Alaska Region USDA Forest Service RLM/SCA

An emerging set of mass communications platforms distinguished by the following features: User-created content Inherently interactive Symmetrical relationships Simple, easy to use Frequent content updates Short, concise messages Mobile-optimized

Source: Google Analytics/Quantcast, Dec (U.S.)

22 percent of all online time is spent on social media (Nielsen) Facebook accounts for 25 percent of all U.S. Internet pageviews (comScore) In today’s world, being engaged with social media is as critical as having a Web site or a phone number

Nobody uses every possible social media outlet Pick the best platforms for specific needs Reaching the most people with the least effort Media-centric sites (video, photos, etc.) Connect with diverse populations Bottom line for us: follow the crowd We’ll focus on three dominant platforms: Facebook YouTube Twitter

Or, how the National Park Service is drinking our milkshake when it comes to social media

NPS has embraced multi- platform social media Even small sites have major presences Units authorized to use the following, and more Facebook YouTube Vimeo Resources, staff have been committed to development

Promoting science and research Announcing related local events Answering visitor questions Delivering safety and resource protection messages to the public

If the Forest Service doesn’t want to be left behind, social media policies and priorities need to start changing Units need decentralized authority to create Facebook pages, develop and post YouTube videos, etc. Staff should be empowered to connect on these platforms, share what they’re doing, reach out to build relationships with visitors and stakeholders

“If you really can’t trust your employees with social media, you have a hiring problem.” –Amber Naslund, VP Social Strategy, Radian6

The most revolutionary part of social media is how really easy it is to use Creating a Twitter account takes about 30 seconds Updates should be regular, but need not be hyperactively-frequent. Quality: Good enough, really is People watching YouTube videos don’t expect technical brilliance or world-class special effects The substance of content trumps its presentation

Social media is just that – social This means staff using social media must be encouraged to engage in community conversation Invite discussion and feedback on issues Respond to questions and comments from followers Build a diverse, interested, active constituency Trying to do social media without the “social” aspect is worse than useless – it breeds distrust/mockery along with slow or negative network growth

Building an audience requires making people aware that you exist Create a network by “following” related sites, agencies, organizations, local media outlets, partners, etc. Establish links on unit Web sites KEEP CONTENT FRESH

Include sharing options on Web pages to encourage social media users to spread your links around Retweet relevant tweets from other sources Participate in #FollowFriday Include in tweets Be patient! Like anything else, it takes time to build a following

We can learn about our sites by seeing who’s talking about them Social search also helps find related people and organizations for network-building

It’s not breaking news that Mendenhall Glacier is awesome - but here we have direct visitor feedback Everyone network just heard about, and was linked to, a picture of the glacier

The use of social media platforms for natural resources interpretation and communication is an emerging field with few boundaries yet surveyed Little to no detailed research has been done to determine best practices and quantify effectiveness, etc. (I hope to rectify that!) So… don’t be afraid to try something new, because all of this is new, even for those of us who have been tweeting and Facebooking since the beginning

Questions? Comments? Brickbats? Thanks to Jeff Miller and the Student Conservation Association for making it possible for me to be here.