2.1. Use of social networks

Social networks are the most immediate and accessible channels that the institution can offer the public. In recent years its growing use makes it essential to be there to bring public service information, establish a conversation with citizens and be a mean of solving doubts.

In the field of direct democracy, social networks help to announce the processes of direct decision making that are opened, to explain the tools of participation and how to use them. To create user communities around these networks, useful and attractive content must be added frequently.

It is advisable to alternate the announcement of institutional news (such as the beginning of a process or its results) with didactic content and external information on participation of the platform itself or of other parts of the world.

Practical advice: in order to make content attractive, it is necessary to resort to the use of audiovisual material, images, GIF, videos, etc. Sometimes it is difficult to find photos that illustrate what we want to communicate. You can create templates that combine the use of photos, flat colors, texts, quotes, icons, etc., that follow the graphic line of our corporate image and that identify and distinguish us in social networks. Inspiring tools in this sense are Canva, Pablo, Genially or Piktochart, among others.

It is also advisable to address the comments and requests of users. Among the constructive criticisms that we receive, we will surely find clues about what information they are claiming, such as knowing the execution status of a participatory budgeting project, or knowing when certain processes begin and end.

In order to give consistency to our communication in social networks, it is advisable to establish a style guide that defines the editorial line, the tone of the communications, the way of communicating with the users, questions of style, how it will be animated and interacted, as well as the protocol of action, before any negative comment or error that we can commit, to face an online crisis.

Practical advice: for the day to day it is very useful to create an editorial calendar that allows you to plan weekly the messages and the topics that you want to communicate, the types of content and through which channels it is more appropriate to distribute them.