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As the world watched the recent presidential elections, political strategists were abuzz with how campaigns leveraged social media to build large and energized supproters.  While national elections proved a useful example of the power of a social media campaign, state and federal government agencies are leveraging social media to enhance public relations. 

The government is very different than the private sector when it comes to identifying and utilizing technology and the barriers to change to create those opportunities. The difficulty for government 2.0 marketers is the bureaucracy and entrenched special interests make collaboration between agencies difficult. Social Media therefore remains an effective tool for promoting agency specific goals and missions. Social media campaigns tend  to build social awareness of their missions while reducing costs significantly.

Some uses of Government Social Media Campaigns Include:

20. Vary Methods and Techniques (blogging, podcasting, wikis, etc.) strategy to drive performance-based government communications
19. Improve Government Agency Branding
18. Boost the Impact of Government Direct Marketing
17. Engage your stakeholders and the public by connecting them to your organization's goals and strategic plan for the future
16. Collaboration with senior management support for your social media programs
15. Integrate government 2.0 social media tools into your internal and external communications practices
14. Develop Government 2.0 policies and guidelines
13. Communicate more effectively and efficiently through the use of government 2.0 social media (blogs, podcasts, Real Simple Syndication (RSS) feeds, video podcasts)
12. Measure the effectiveness of your social media strategy and determining its value within your organization
11. Understand how government 2.0 social media can be vital during an emergency, such as an earthquake or fire
10. Monitor government 2.0 social media for your organization, see what others are saying
9. Learn how to easily communicate to the public through external blogs, podcasts and video podcasting and social networks such as Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook and many more.
8.Assimilate cutting-edge social media 2.0 online techniques and tools presented by other agencies
7.Utilizing social networking tools as sources of information that the public can use and trust
6. Demonstrate the Return on Investment (ROI) of your social media program
5. Operate social media tools and campaigns within the boundaries of government restrictions and firewalls
4. Gain inside knowledge of social media and why it is a crucial addition to your communication arsenal
3. Use social media tools, such as, blogging, podcasting and RSS
2. Maximize awareness of your agency’s mission to the public
1. Get the Message Out Faster – and to More People