The Massachusetts Governor Teaches Me a Lesson On Twitter
We at Soutter & Caolo are often interrogated about our love affair with Twitter. “What is Twitter?” our clients ask. “And how important can it really be for me?”
In short, Twitter is a broadcasting tool that allows you to post a 140-character message from your computer or your phone. Why is this important? Because it creates one gigantic global watercooler for us all to chat around. Sorting options like “following” and “listing” allow users to read the feeds of their friends, favorite name-brands, or movie stars. Master Twitterers generate massive followings and can routinely transmit 140 characters to tens of thousands of people.
The power of this tool is only just being understood, and we love watching people who really know how to use it.
For example, Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick’s office.
The first thing we like about this feed is that it is interactive. When you sign up to follow MassGovernor, you get followed right back within hours. MassGovernor then sends you a Direct Message with a link to the website that explains how the office uses its Twitter feed.
This is the second thing we like about this feed — it is transparent, which is a hallmark of excellent communications.
“.. we are using Twitter at the Governor’s Office as another way to keep citizens informed about what we’re doing and as another way to get feedback. The account is maintained and monitored by a combination of Governor Patrick (usually appends his tweets with “-D”), and members of his communications and constituent services teams.”
This is a feed with a stated purpose, and a clearly-defined authorship.
MassGovernor’s mastery of the interactive power of Twitter was demonstrated to me the day this Tweet popped up in my feed:
I saw the Tweet and was amused. I Tweeted about it:
I am often amused. Rarely does it rate gubernatorial input. In this case, however, it was a matter of minutes before this appeared in my direct message inbox:
MassGovernor it’s actually not a winking smiley, it’s his initial (as in “dash D”). you’re not the first who’s thought that, tho 
(that was one) ~Brad5:06 PM Nov 5th
Let’s take a hard look at this and see why it’s so good: First, it was a direct message, so it went to my inbox and not on the governor’s feed. My initial comment had been public, but the reply was completely private, ensuring that I did not feel embarrassed or singled out. This is particularly important because he is a governor and I am a constituent, and he must not bully me no matter how much I may have asked for it.
Second, it was signed so I knew exactly from whom in the governor’s office the note had come.
Last, it was funny. It mirrored the tone of my original Tweet, it was friendly and personal. It corrected misinformation in a pleasant non-aggressive way and did not tell me what to do about it.
I’m a good Twitterer with excellent social media manners. I replied to Brad’s direct message, thanking him for the clarification and promptly Tweeted the correction on my main feed before going to bed.
When I woke up in the morning, I found this:
The governor — or his staffer, Brad — had retweeted me. Why is this important? First, because Brad was getting the word out about the misinterpretation of the Governor’s original message, and he was doing it without being snide. Second, because Brad was also demonstrating excellent social media manners: repaying my Tweet with one of his own, getting my name out on the governor’s massive follower list.
It isn’t always possible to retweet everyone — patently impossible for big feeds like the governor’s. However, retweeting a sampling of the comments the governor gets makes the entire constituency feel listened to, it replies to important points, and it generates an interaction that makes the governor approachable to a large population.
What does this all mean to you?
1) Social media manners are important: be polite, be friendly, be non-aggressive. Pay back a good turn.
2) Twitter is a powerful way to reach your constituency — to communicate your message and demonstrate your willingness to solve problems. Use it to show your human side so that people feel they know you and want to do business with you.
The moral of the story for Brad? He’s an excellent social media manager and people should watch him to see how it’s done.
I still think they need to change the Governor’s signature, but I am finding it an increasingly minor point.
Elizabeth – Thank you kindly for the recognition and the compliments. Your blog offers some great advice and insight (not just saying that because you made me sound good).
Working in government has been interesting. I’m not from a political/governmental background at all, but in the almost three years I’ve been with the governor’s office, I’ve worked with some of the nicest, most passionate, hardest-working people I’ve ever encountered – not at all the way I think many people stereotype government employees. I think social media really gives a chance to let that show some, which ultimately creates a better environment for citizens and those in government to collaborate and get important work done.
I’m glad you mentioned the ReTweet. We just started doing that more recently. All of this has been a learning process for us just like everyone else. When we launched the Twitter account last January, we figured, “eh, we’ll tweet out our press releases. Won’t that be great.” The community quickly helped us realize it wasn’t. So, we started to @ reply when we can (thanks for recognizing it can’t be done all the time with a large account!), help people via direct message, etc.. It’s also been really helpful for us to see if we’re providing information people need in ways that are easy to understand. So, if Governor Patrick is out on the road and tweets after an exciting meeting about transportation reform and someone asks a question in an @ reply, it’s a great way for us to see if we can easily respond or if our website, press releases, etc, are too heavy-handed and not helping people understand what their government is doing.
Anyway – thanks again for engaging, even if it just began out of a bit of amusement. Just shows the power of this ’stuff’.
Thank you, Brad! It was entertaining but also informative. I was press secretary to a Congressman before there was Twitter so I am getting to watch how the current generation of government communicators handles it.
I share your experience of being surprised at how very passionate government workers are. The vast majority of people I worked with on Captiol Hill really cared. A lot. And felt pride in what they did. It is Americans’ job to be cynical about their government, but it’s also really great for them to know that real people man those offices and they really do care about the job they do.
Thanks again, and I’ll be looking for ya on the feed.
I think this is an interesting story because it’s about the power of human interactions.
You started to follow the Twitter feed of a governor, and instead ended up having a conversation with one of his employees…and this was not upsetting, you in fact were pleased. Even though the governor has someone else helping with his tweets, it feels good to know that there is a real live person there, not just automated DMs and re-follows.
This is a good example to show to CEOs or company managers who think that they should avoid Twitter since they don’t personally have time to tweet. This shows that they can have an impact even if it’s a collaborative effort.
Thanks!
Analissa — thanks for your comment. I think you’re right on. Communication is most effective when it’s: 1) straight from the top; 2) transparent. If you can’t do the first you get as close as you can, but you always do the second. Tell people who they are talking to and how they can reach you.
I think collaborative Twittering is fine as long as it’s revealed that it is collaborative.