Picture this scenario. Staff have worked for a year to bring a project or initiative to the finish line. There have been public meetings and notices, multiple discussions at council meetings, and even some news articles published in the local paper.

Out of the blue, a handful of vocal social media commenters start lighting up the city's social media page and local news groups are atwitter as these critics misrepresent the facts of the project and attack the council for not being transparent and seeking feedback from residents. This results in a dozen or more residents attending the next council meeting with four of them attacking the council and staff under the guise of simply seeking transparency.

Then the council, caught off guard and reeling from the "onslaught" of public comment decide to table or postpone the issue. Then they direct the city manager and staff to re-engage the public and seek feedback.

It's demoralizing and time consuming. It sucks the life out of employees.

Sam Toles of CiviSocial joins me on the program to talk about a future initiative aimed at educating and training elected officials about social media, how to interpret criticism, and how to raise these concerns with staff in a healthy and constructive manner. If you are interested in learning more, please fill out this brief survey so we can get your feedback: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdBe7LOFFXi2C_ezW4haJJqU-iPk7_n61sgKelfnLQDDgMK1w/viewform

SHOW NOTES

Claim your FREE copy of "The Social Media Playbook for City & County Managers" at this link: https://civisocial.com/the-social-media-playbook

Sam Toles' LinkedIn profile

Link to CiviSocial website

Sam previously appeared on the following episodes:

Episode 67: Your City is Doing Social Media Wrong

Episode 68: Keyboard Warriors & Social Media Terrorists

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