By David W. Burns
July 2, 2012

As more and more cities develop a sophisticated Internet presence and others are starting to establish theirs, a panel of mayors and experts shared their thoughts on how cities can embrace social media in their cities. This forum, which took place June 15 during the 80th Annual Meeting, discussed platforms used and ways mayors are using them from Facebook to Twitter to Foursquare.

The panel, hosted by the Membership standing committee, was kicked off by its Chair, Piscataway Mayor Brian Wahler, and moderated by Conference of Mayors CEO and Executive Director Tom Cochran.

The first set of speakers on the panel was comprised of mayors, including Tampa Mayor Bob Buckhorn, Columbia (SC) Mayor Steve Benjamin, and Allentown Mayor Ed Pawlowski. Each took the time to share what they are doing in their cities to connect with constituents.

Buckhorn, referred to as "Mr. Foursquare" by Cochran, shared how his city is using the location-based social network Foursquare. The mayor shared what he's doing not only to engage citizens but to use Foursquare's platform and data to benefit the community. "I have my own personal tour on Foursquare," said Buckhorn. "I talk about my favorite restaurants, talk about my favorite rides at Busch Gardens, and places in the community to go to." In addition to sharing with citizens what he's up to, Tampa is also using it for urban planning. "We're in the midst of our master plan for downtown and we setup a [Foursquare] heat map so we can tell where people are logging in on Foursquare," Buckhorn continued. "It shows the movement of downtown patrons so we can tell where people are actually going."

The check-ins Foursquare users make on the service are turned into data for the city on this map which shows graphically where people are spending their time.

Benjamin followed up by discussing social media penetration in his community and it's attractiveness to supplement services, such as helping folks find jobs. "Sixty-five percent of adults are online using social media, much greater with the creative class," Benjamin remarked when stressing the importance of using it as a tool to attract folks to your city. "Social media is the easiest way to engage citizens," he continued. "We use it to maintain an active dialog."

Pawlowski concluded the mayoral presentations with his own stories. As a veteran blogger, Facebook user, and Twitter user, Pawloski outlined some basic rules of the road that helped to encourage mayors who don't yet have a presence to get started. "Studies, pictures, videos, testimonials, everything, I post on my Facebook page," said Pawlowski, who manages his presence himself.

Two experts, Philadelphia Mayor Nutter's Director of Communications and Strategic Partnerships Desiree Peterkin-Bell and Facebook's Public Policy Manager Katie Harbath, also shared antidotes and tips for maintaining a successful presence online.

"We took videos of the mayor working, interacting with residents, out late at night playing basketball with kids," said Peterkin-Bell stressing her team's strategy in showing how the mayor is a regular person.

"You've heard a lot about how Facebook and Twitter can help tell the story of your city, of you as mayor," said Harbath. "Numerous studies show that imagery gives the first impression about you rather than what they read about you." In essence, content should always have a picture and a "cover photo" on your Facebook Timeline is important when engaging users.

This forum, sponsored by TweetMyJobs.com, allowed for a question and answer period after the panelists were done that allowed mayors in the audience to engage their fellow mayors along with our experts. A full video recap of the forum is available online at http://www.usmayors.org/80thAnnualMeeting where you can watch the panelists and the post'session Q&A.