Privacy Policy

Social Media Program Strategy and Policy

City of Carlsbad

Economic Development Division

Effective: January 2015

Updated: February 2019

I.       Introduction

The Social Media Program Strategy contributes to the larger marketing and branding campaign for the City of Carlsbad Economic Development Division. This strategy outlines the guidelines that will be used for all social media platforms including Instagram, Twitter, Facebook (@carlsbadbiz) and LinkedIn (/Carlsbad-life-in-action). Through these platforms, we hope to expand our commitment to supporting Carlsbad’s economic growth and talent attraction through Life in Action®, while also providing valuable information to Carlsbad’s business community. This strategy will be used to track and plan social media engagement and create a positive social media presence. Utilizing these strategies will work to ensure the development of a successful talent attraction marketing campaign for the City of Carlsbad Economic Development Division. Social media presence for Twitter and Facebook was established June 2014. Instagram was launched in February 2018 and LinkedIn in September 2018.

II.    Purpose

  • Promote the Life in Action® talent attraction brand
  • Highlight lifestyle elements that would attract talent to work in Carlsbad companies
  • Show the benefits of working in Carlsbad, including displaying the unique and creative office spaces our companies provide
  • Show the scenic beauty and the physical and natural amenities in Carlsbad that would be of interest to prospective talent
  • Listen and respond to prospects, talent and industry leaders
  • Foster relationships with those who are looking to live and work in Carlsbad
  • Grow existing business interaction and cultivate new business relationships
  • Share company information, industry news and relevant topics within our industry clusters
  • Promote events, workshops, trainings, seminars and resources to assist in business retention, growth and expansion
  • Foster the growth of a robust network of followers, email subscribers and brand ambassadors
  • Drive traffic to our website (www.CarlsbadLifeInAction.com)
  • Engage with our industry partners to create a thriving community of economic developers within the San Diego region
  • Promote cultural and recreational events within Carlsbad
  • Engage active social media community including “digital ambassadors” and media partners interested in following Carlsbad businesses and sharing success stories

 

III. General Content Strategy*

  • The Economic Development team will oversee providing professional and relatable content for all social media platforms.
  • All content will follow the guidelines labeled in the City of Carlsbad’s social media terms and conditions.
  • A weekly content calendar will be created to organize content. Mondays will be used to create a basic social media content plan for the week.
  • The plan can be subject to change based on events or news occurring during the week.
  • A third-party application (currently Hootsuite) can be used to schedule the content posting in advance.
  • Content will remain respectable, polite, professional and will always acknowledge the customer’s voice. Customers include residents, business owners, prospective talent, educational institutions, regional organizations, etc.
  • Content will be developed to build a steady increase in followers across all social platforms.
  • Content posted to Twitter will also be available from a live stream on the Economic Development website (www.CarlsbadLifeInAction.com).

 

IV. Social Networks

Twitter (@carlsbadbiz)

Objectives

Primary

  • Share updates about the state of business in Carlsbad and the major achievements of local businesses
  • Share relevant articles that provide advice and guidance for the local business community, especially startups and new, growing, and expanding companies
  • Promote events of interest to the local business community, either hosted by Carlsbad Economic Development, Innovate78, or our regional partners

Secondary

  • Share original blogs, resources, lifestyle amenities, and news stories which direct readers to the website CarlsbadLifeInAction.com
  • Share high-earning career opportunities within our major industry clusters
  • Share lifestyle, recreational, cultural amenities and Life in Action® themed content, only when there is an image or news story to go along with the post

Audience

  • Regional partners (example: San Diego Regional Economic Development Corporation (SDREDC), San Diego North Economic Development Council (SDNEDC), San Diego Workforce Partnership, etc.)
  • Startup community and influencers (example: San Diego Venture Group (SDVG), Startup San Diego, Tech Coast Angels, etc.)
  • Potential talent for companies in our industry clusters (#CarlsbadCareers)
  • Carlsbad companies and local businesses

Content Creation

  • Staff will use the weekly media tracking table to generate ideas for content for original posts about Carlsbad businesses.
  • Staff will monitor Twitter and other social media sites for news, resources, lifestyle articles, or photos to share or retweet with comments.
  • Staff will promote events, workshops, trainings, etc. provided by our partner organizations including Innovate78, SDREDC, SDVG, SDNEDC, etc.
  • Staff may use “Twitter Lists” to browse news and posts specific to Carlsbad companies, startup partners, Active Ambassadors, etc.

Frequency

  • Staff will develop at least one original content tweet per business day (not a retweet or a mention). This may include:
  • an originally drafted tweet tagging a business, resource, or other partner organization; or
  • a retweet with a comment other than expression of congratulations or thanks.
  • Staff will post or retweet high-earning job opportunities in Carlsbad’s industry clusters using the hashtag #CarlsbadCareers at least twice a week.
  • If staff is low on content for original tweets, an additional #CarlsbadCareers post can be used in place of an original content tweet that day.

Strategies

  • Staff will make every effort to include a photo or image associated with the tweet (e.g. provided in a news article) to increase the chances of engagement.
  • The photo does not need to be from an external source, rather one that is provided within the article or news story. Social media planning platforms like Hootsuite will display “suggested images” which can be used. If no image is available after attempting this, no image is needed.
    • Staff will tag as many additional organizations and resource providers within tweets to increase engagement and the likelihood of increasing impressions.
  • For example, for startup related accounts, tag: @startupnoco, @tcasandiego, @startupsandiego, @sdstartupweek, @nealbloom, @mkrenn, @sdvg, etc.
    • The #LifeInAction hashtag will be used when relevant to trend the Life in Action® brand.
    • Staff will use relevant hashtags when possible to increase engagement and visibility of posts to a larger audience.
  • For example, startup related hashtags to use include: #startups, #startup, #startupsd, #startup78, #entrepreneur, etc.
    • Following as many influencers and organizations as possible can help to promote the social media goals of increasing followers and engagement.

Measurement and Analytics

  • Basic success will be measured by a steady increase of followers over the course of implementation of this strategy.
  • As of February 25, 2019, @Carlsbadbiz twitter had 957 followers.
  • By February 25, 2020, @Carlsbadbiz will seek to have at least 1,250 followers.
  • @Carlsbadbiz will seek to gain an average of 24 additional followers per month to reach this goal.
  • Monthly followers can be found by going to the “Analytics” section from the main menu of the Twitter profile.
  • Staff will seek to attain at least 20,000 tweet impressions and 1,300 profile visits per month.
  • Increased tweet impressions and profile visits correlate with increase in followers.
  • This data can be found by going to the “Analytics” section from the main menu of the Twitter profile.
  • Staff will seek to attain an engagement rate above 1.5 percent for each month.
  • Engagement rate is an important measurement to analyze return on investment, as it indicates how responsive an audience is to the content.
  • This can be found by going to the “Analytics” section, then clicking on “Tweets”, and then finding the engagement rate using the calendar feature to account for the month of data.
  • Within Twitter, staff will review “Top Tweet”, “Top Mention”, “Top Follower”, “Top Media Tweet” per month to analyze which tweets are successful, and how strategy can be implemented or revised to advance social media goals. This can be found in the “Analytics” section.
  • Staff will also review the engagement rates of the top five and bottom five tweets each month to further analyze successes and areas in need of improvement of the overall Twitter strategy.

Instagram (@carlsbadbiz)

Objectives

Primary

  • Instagram will be used as the primary platform specifically used to engage the talent needed to work in Carlsbad’s major industry clusters.
  • Instagram will be used as a tool to show why Carlsbad is a great place to live and work using engaging images, videos, and stories.
  • Instagram will also be used as the primary platform to share images and profiles of the Life in Action® Active Ambassadors program.

Secondary

  • When feasible, and with the availability of an image or video, Instagram will be used to promote events hosted by Carlsbad Economic Development, Innovate78, or our regional partners.
  • Instagram will be used as a tool to engage our existing businesses through interaction with their posts and content (likes, commenting, reposting, etc.).

Audience

  • Potential talent for Carlsbad’s industry clusters (also identifying areas outside of San Diego where our messaging is getting traction).
  • Carlsbad companies and local business (can be used as a reference source for talent attraction)
  • Regional partners (to share the Life in Action® brand to their followers)
  • Digital ambassadors and “influencers” interested in following Carlsbad businesses and sharing success stories

Content Creation

  • Photos will be used from the existing stock of photos in the Economic Development shared folder (Q drive).
  • Staff will actively take photos of landscapes, active lifestyle activities, businesses, office spaces, business events, city-sponsored events, festivals, etc.
  • Staff will also actively seek interesting venues, offices, business openings, restaurant openings and other newsworthy events to visit and take photos.
  • Staff will repost (using the repost app) from other accounts which directly relate to the Life in Action® brand messaging.
  • Staff will engage with our Active Ambassadors to request photos and video promoting the Life in Action® brand messaging including active lifestyle, workspaces, or office activities.
  • Staff will make an effort to take video for the stories feature within Instagram. Once a story is posted, staff will save story to the relevant “Highlights” category within the Instagram (for example: Village, Startups, etc.).

Frequency

  • Staff will generate at least two original Instagram posts per week. When low on content, staff will allow for one day between each post.
  • Staff will repost from other accounts once a week, assuming relevant content is available. Repostable content is saved in the “Saved” folder within Instagram.

Strategies

  • Content will focus on being within one of the following categories:
  • Active Lifestyle
  • Example: photos of people working out or playing sports
  • Active Ambassadors
  • Any activity related to our Ambassadors including photos they provide
  • Notable places in Carlsbad
  • Locations or destinations in Carlsbad that the public could access including beaches, trails, stores
  • Office spaces
  • Carlsbad businesses either outside or inside
  • Events
  • Includes flyers or photos of events
  • Outdoors
  • Any photo outside; unlike places this includes non-descript outdoor scenes, and active photos of people outside
  • Staff will put a high priority on having one office space or business-related photo per week.
  • Internal research shows that these posts get the most likes, impressions and reach.
  • Staff will seek to frequently post content (as available) related to our Active Ambassador program.
  • Internal research shows Active Ambassador posts perform very well in reach and percent of account reached which are not following @carlsbadbiz.
  • Staff will seek to frequently post content about notable places (popular beaches, the Village, the Carlsbad sign, landmarks, etc.) in Carlsbad.
  • Internal research shows that this category performs very well in terms of generating likes and likes per reach.
  • When low on content, staff will seek out stock photos of natural landscapes, active lifestyle or outdoor scenes to post.
  • Staff will use the promotion feature on content specifically designated to drive traffic to the CarlsbadLifeInAction.com website.
  • Staff will use the promotion feature to enhance strong talent attraction messaging, particularly when it can be used outside of the San Diego area.
  • Specific parameters (locations, topics, etc.) of the promotion will depend on the goals of the reach of each post.
  • Staff will use at least eight relevant hashtags per post. #LifeInAction and #carlsbadbiz are to be used on every post.
  • Staff will tag the location as “Carlsbad, California” unless there is another specific location available within Instagram corresponding to the specific location.
  • The best times to post are Thursday, Friday, and Wednesday. The worst are Monday and Tuesday. Mondays are best days to plan content for the week.
  • 9am-3pm is the best range of hours to post on weekdays.

Measurement and Analytics:

  • Basic success will be measured by a steady increase of followers over the course of implementation of this strategy.
  • As of February 25, 2019, @carlsbadbiz Instagram had 770 followers.
  • By February 25, 2020, @carlsbadbiz will seek to have at least 1,300 followers.
  • Posts on @carlsbadbiz will seek to reach at least 300 accounts. This data can be found in the “View Insights” feature under each post.
  • Reach refers to the number of unique accounts that looked at a post. It does not include accounts that look at a post multiple times.
  • Staff will update suggested reach per post based on growth of the Instagram following.
  • Posts will seek to attain at least 300 impressions. This data can be found in the “View Insights” feature under each post.
  • Impressions refers to the total number of times a post has been seen.
  • Staff will update the suggested impressions based on the growth of the Instagram following.
  • Posts will seek to reach at least 15 percent of accounts not currently following @carlsbadbiz. This data can be found in the “View Insights” feature under each post.
  • Staff will update the suggested percentage of reach to accounts not following us based on the growth of the Instagram following.
  • Posts will seek to attain at least 50 likes per post.
  • Staff will track the number of likes on each post based on the categories outlined above to develop strategies that assist in the growth of the Instagram following.
  • Staff will seek to attain a follower growth above 6 percent month to month.
  • Staff will seek to achieve an engagement rate no lower than 6 percent for each post
  • Engagement rate can be calculated by the sum of the likes and comments divided by the number of followers at the time of the post.

Facebook (@carlsbadbiz)

Objectives

  • Facebook will be used as a secondary platform for outreach, using posts previously generated from Twitter and Instagram.
  • Facebook will be used to keep our current followers updated on Carlsbad company news and events of interest to the Carlsbad business community.
  • Facebook will also be used to highlight lifestyle and recreational elements which would attract potential talent to Carlsbad companies.
  • Facebook posts will be used to drive traffic to the CarlsbadLifeInAction.com website when possible.

Audience

  • Carlsbad companies and local businesses
  • Regional partners
  • Carlsbad residents interested in the business community
  • Existing followers and Facebook community

Content Creation

From Instagram

  • All Instagram posts will be automatically shared to Facebook using the share feature within Instagram.
  • An exception will be made when an event promotion is shared on Instagram, a separate dedicated post will be shared on Facebook, instead of linking the Instagram post.
  • An exception will be made when an Instagram post indicates a message to click “link in bio”, a separate dedicated post will be created on Facebook.
  • Reposts on Instagram will not be added to Facebook.

From Twitter

  • Tweets about events hosted by Carlsbad Economic Development, Innovate78, or our regional partners will have a corresponding post on Facebook.
  • Tweets about business resources, workshops, trainings, and seminars will have a corresponding post on Facebook.
  • Tweets about major company news or awards will have a corresponding post on Facebook.

Frequency

  • As content for Facebook is generated from Instagram and Twitter, frequency will depend on the amount of posts generated on those platforms.
  • In order to maintain a consistent presence on Facebook, staff will post no less than twice a week.

Strategy

  • When posting to Facebook, staff will attempt to tag as many relevant businesses and organizations within the post.
  • Hashtags are not relevant on Facebook. They will only appear when sharing posts from Instagram.
  • Posts on Facebook will always include an image, photo, or logo associated with the piece being shared to increase the likelihood of engagement.

Measurement and Analytics

  • As Facebook’s algorithm makes it difficult to grow company or group pages, less resources will be devoted to tracking the growth of the @carlsbadbiz Facebook page
  • Staff will seek to increase the number of followers on Facebook.
  • As of February 25, 2019, the @carlsbadbiz Facebook page had 1,470 followers.
  • Staff will seek to increase the reach, engagement, and clicks on each post.
  • Staff will observe Facebook and make recommendations as to how to best use the platform among others to achieve the social media goals.

 LinkedIn (/carlsbad-life-in-action)

Objectives

·         Promote job opportunities within Carlsbad’s major industry clusters, using the #CarlsbadCareers hashtag

·         Provide information what it’s like to work at jobs in biggest industry clusters through blog posts and content from the www.CarlsbadLifeInAction.com website and other relevant content

  • Connect with talent and professionals interested in working in jobs in Carlsbad’s major industry clusters
  • Encourage Carlsbad companies to showcase the LinkedIn page on their site to aid recruitment efforts

Audience

  • Potential talent and recruits for companies in our industry clusters
  • Carlsbad companies, especially in our major industry clusters
  • Professionals within Carlsbad’s major industry clusters who can help leverage and share our message on their LinkedIn pages

Content Creation

  • Staff will search LinkedIn, Indeed, Google, and other job search sites for positions to promote as part of the #CarlsbadCareers initiative.
  • Staff will promote events, workshops, trainings, etc. provided by our partner organizations including Innovate78, SDREDC, SDVG, SDNEDC, etc.
  • Staff may use content from our other social media platforms which promote the objectives for LinkedIn outlined above.

Frequency

  • Staff will share news or resources of interest to our target audience at least twice a week.
  • Emphasis will be placed on content from the website including blogs and profiles of the Active Ambassadors.
  • Staff will post high-earning job opportunities in Carlsbad’s industry clusters using the hashtag #CarlsbadCareers at least twice per week.

Strategies

  • Staff will use relevant hashtags when possible to increase engagement and visibility of posts to a larger audience.
  • Staff will seek to tag as many companies, partner organizations and individuals as necessary to increase engagement and visibility of the page and content.

Measurement and Analytics

  • Basic success will be measured by a steady increase of followers, impressions, and engagement over time. The policy will be updated as data from the LinkedIn showcase page is analyzed after at least three months.
  • As of February 25, 2019, the Life in Action Carlsbad, CA profile had 268 followers.
  • By February 25, 2020, the Life in Action Carlsbad, CA profile will seek to have 550 followers. This is an average of 23.5 new followers per month.

V.   Staff & Training

  • The Economic Development Team will be the staff in charge of all social media accounts, this includes:
    • Joseph Stewart, Management Analyst;
    • Christie Marcella, Economic Development Manager; and
    • others appointed by Joseph Stewart and Christie Marcella.
  • Staff will be trained on terms and conditions pertaining to relevant content allowed on sites.

 

VI. Comments

  • Economic Development staff will oversee comments made by other parties.
  • If negative comments arise, Economic Development staff will always respond when appropriate in a professional manner and never insult the customer.
  • All negative comments will be used as a means of education and will be acted upon as quickly as possible.
  • It will be a priority to answer all questions in order to increase credibility.

VII.         Terms & Conditions

The City of Carlsbad Economic Development Division uses social media as a way to provide information of interest to the Carlsbad business community about city services, issues, news and events pertinent to doing businesses in the city. Social media is also a great way for the community to learn about businesses in Carlsbad.

In the spirit of transparency in city government, the city does not retain any social media content. All social media sites that the city participates with are owned and operated by third party entities not affiliated with the City of Carlsbad. Therefore, the public is encouraged to contact city officials and staff through their city email addresses and phone numbers.

To help ensure our platforms are safely and productively used, it is important to be familiar with the following terms of use.

 

Discussion Topics

The city’s Economic Development presences on social media sites serve as moderated online information exchanges about city services, issues, news and events related to doing business and working in the city and are not intended as a public forum. The city reserves the right to delete submissions if they:

  • do not directly relate to city services, issues, news and events relating to businesses, economic development and jobs located in the city;
  • promote specific causes, products, or candidates for office or political organizations (NOTE: Commercial sale or direct promotion of products is not permitted);
  • infringe on third party intellectual property rights, including copyrights, trademarks or the social media site’s terms of use; or we receive notice that a submission may infringe on the intellectual property rights of third parties;
  • include personal attacks on any individual or entity;
  • contain profanity, erotica or pornography;
  • convey discriminatory, racial, political, or religious views; or
  • promote illegal activity.

Ownership and Endorsement

The comments and posts expressed on our social media platforms by the members of the public do not reflect the opinions of the city, its officers or employees. The City of Carlsbad does not claim or assert any ownership interest in any of the material posted here by the public, but by the submission or posting of any materials on this site, the city is granted a royalty free, non-exclusive and perpetual license to display it on our platforms and, in the city’s sole discretion, capture the material for achieving it on a city owned server. To use or modify materials not posted by the City of Carlsbad, the owner of those materials should be contacted directly.

Please note that our social media platforms are administered by the City of Carlsbad, but the content on this site is not entirely controlled by the city. The City of Carlsbad does not endorse any link or advertisements placed on our social media platforms or its vendors or partners.

Public Records

The city has the right at all times to disclose any information to satisfy any applicable law, regulation, legal process or governmental request; and to edit, refuse to post or to remove or to store any information or materials posted. All information posted to the City of Carlsbad’s social media sites shall be deemed a public record which the city will disclose without any prior notice.

STATUTORY NOTICES

THE CITY OF CARLSBAD DOES NOT ACCEPT ANY STATUTORY NOTICE REQUIRED TO BE GIVEN TO THE CITY OF CARLSBAD BY ANY LAW, REGULATION OR CONTRACT ON SOCIAL MEDIA WEBSITES. ALL SUCH NOTICES SHALL BE PROVIDED AND DELIVERED TO THE CITY IN THE MANNER DESCRIBED BY APPLICABLE LAW, REGULATION OR CONTRACT. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION PLEASE CONTACT EITHER THE PERSON LISTED BELOW OR THE CARLSBAD CITY CLERK AT 760-434-2808.

Joseph Stewart, Management Analyst

[email protected]

760-602-2732