District of Squamish (DOS) council and staff need to embrace opportunities to communicate with citizens through social media, not be fearful of it, members of council said during a recent Committee of the Whole meeting.
During a 45-minute discussion of the district's communications strategy on April 24, Coun. Susan Chapelle said using Twitter and other social media the same way Vancouver Mayor Gregor Robertson does could help Mayor Rob Kirkham specifically and the DOS as a whole communicate more effectively with Squamish residents and the outside world.
"Most of the mayors in this country are on Twitter," Chapelle said, "and they are communicating positive messages and interacting with citizens.
"We're entering this game really late, so I think a Twitter account for the mayor would help," she added. "We should get in touch with Gregor Robertson, who is acknowledged as a master of using social media to get positive messages about Vancouver out there."
Kevin Ramsay, DOS chief administrator, said that times DOS officials have been "extremely challenged with misinformation through social media." He said there have been times when incorrect information obtained through social media has reached the mainstream media and created false impressions needlessly.
"We want to find ways to manage that and get the correct information out there," he said.
Coun. Patricia Heintzman said that in spite of a few caveats that officials need to be aware of when engaging with the public through social media, Twitter, Facebook and the blogosphere can and should be used more effectively to get positive messages about Squamish into the public realm.
"We're kind of reacting to the scary side of it and I agree that we need to be sure we don't misstep, but I think we need to embrace the opportunities presented by blogging or micropinions or Twitter to get our message out there," she said.
Heintzman, who has worked in the media herself, said that when news about Squamish breaks, DOS officials need to have clear and timely protocols in place to fill the information void with the correct data.
"We just need to be sure we are filing that void with the right information and the positive information, otherwise people are just going to fill that information void themselves," she said.
Mayor Rob Kirkham, who made improved communications a priority for this term after he was elected last November, said any suggestion that he is fearful of the media - either the traditional variety or the electronic tools known as social media - is false.
"I'm not afraid of the media," he said. "I think the media is a great asset and a partner in helping to facilitate the flow of information.
"I just think we need to manage that flow of information and try to get it out there in a timely manner."
Christie Smith, the former Telus and RBC communications specialist who was hired as DOS communications manager in February, said the staff report she laid out last week aimed to build on the work put into a new DOS communications strategy a year earlier.
The plan laid out by Smith includes five "core pillars" - media relations, external communications, internal communications, social media and council relations. While the mayor is acknowledged as the media spokesperson, that strategy does not restrict councillors' use of social media as long as they make it clear that they are communicating on their own behalf and not that of the district as a whole.
As well, Smith said, "Interim social media guidelines are being developed to help staff recognize the potential pitfalls associated with sharing information through social media."
The social media policy - which Smith acknowledged as "one that the district really needs to get on board with now" - includes a redesign of the District of Squamish website, a district Facebook page and an effort to protect and enhance the DOS's image through an initiative to build the mayor's "brand" and media training for councillors. The latter would come with a $2,500 price tag, according to the staff report.
