Managing Out of This World Social Media Efforts at NASA

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National Aeronautics and Space Administration

Stephanie Schierholz, Office of Communications

http://www.nasa.gov/connect

Who are we?Stephanie L. Schierholz Social Media Manager and Public Affairs Specialist, Office of Communications, NASA Headquarters

@NASA@NASATweetup@schierholz

Col. Douglas WheelockNASA Astronaut,Johnson Space Center

178 days in spaceSpace shuttle mission STS-120International Space Station

Expeditions 24-25@Astro_Wheels

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@Astro_Wheels: NASA Explorer

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Managing Social Media

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National Aeronautics and Space Administration

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• Assess your organization's use of social media within its structure and culture

• Move from organic to organized social media use (or start organized!)

• Coordinate your organization's social media use across departments and locations

• Create thriving social media and engagement with fans with limited resources

Where does Social Media fit?

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• Where does social media belong within your organization? Who is going to own it?

• Tends to be either Web/IT or Communications• Who is responsible for engagement with:

– The public– The press– Key stakeholders (legislative, investors, etc.)

Social Media Foundation at NASAAccording to the National Aeronautics and

Space Act:• Sec. 203. (a) The Administration, in order to

carry out the purpose of this Act, shall—– (3) provide for the widest practicable and

appropriate dissemination of information concerning its activities and the results thereof

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Integrating Social Media at NASA• The Office of Communications manages social

media:– The purpose is to engage the public– Communications officers are trained to know

what information is releasable and what is not– It gives the Communications team feedback and a

better sense of what messages are communicated effectively

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Connect and Collaborate with NASA

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Organizing Your Social Media

• Untamed star-forming cloud• Dive in to social media with

few constraints• Trial and error

• An orderly planetary system• Measured social media use • Guiding strategic plan

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Why Order a Social Media Universe?

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• Clarity of voice and message• Protecting your brand• Avoiding duplicative efforts

and use of resources• Capture the creativity• Synergy: sum of the whole is

greater than that of the parts• What will you do in a crisis?

How Do You Create Order?

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• Give to get: provide an incentive in exchange for registration information, such as an official listing http://www.nasa.gov/connect

• Create a support or working group – most people doing social media on their own want to do it better

• Become the expert• Build allies and pool resources• Use the authority you have

An Orderly Social Media Solar System

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• Determine the desired structure and processes • Where will the center(s) of authority lie?• Who can establish accounts and how?

Creating Order: Things to Consider

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• Terms of Service Agreements• Purpose of the account• Audience for the account• Why social media and not something else?• Does a similar account already exist?• Who will be responsible?• How familiar are the users with this platform?

More Things to Consider

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• How frequently do you plan to post to the account?• What is your plan for managing the account outside

of working hours? Who is the emergency contact?• Is there a likely date after which content will no

longer be updated? If so, what happens to it? • What existing company policies apply to the use of

social media (officially and for private accounts)?• What guidelines does the company have for the use

of social media?

Coordinating Across Centers

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Coordinating Among Groups

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Tools for Managing Social Media• Get tools to meet your

needs: sharing accounts, assigning comments, timed updates, reporting, etc.

• Many free tools are available

• Decide if everyone will use the same tool

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Use Social Media to Engage• Provide GREAT content that will get people talking.• Social media is a conversation – spend as much time

listening as you do speaking.• If you start a conversation, participate in it;

don’t start it and walk away.• Ask for and enable feedback – respond to mentions

on Twitter, comments on blogs, Facebook, etc.

National Aeronautics and Space Administration

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Where Does Engagement Start?

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• Build upon what you already have– NASA TV becomes http://www.nasa.gov/ntv – Videos become http://www.nasa.gov/video

• Make it easy to find your social media accounts• Make it easy to share your content• Recognize the unique value you offer• Take it offline

Rules of Engagement• Don’t “buy” likes; quality is better than quantity. • Quantity will result from quality interaction. • Find your amplifiers. Notice WHO is retweeting and

sharing your information. • Notice HOW people are sharing your posts. Their

edits and comments can tell you what they find important.

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Keep it Simple: Twitter Chat

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Take it Offline

• NASA has had great success with inviting our social media fans to in-person, behind-the-scenes opportunities at NASA centers

• Events range from two hours to two days in length

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Make Events Special and MemorableProvide unique or exclusive:

InformationSpeakersAccess Setting

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Successful Events Rock LogisticsShort, interactive sessions

Connected (WiFi)

Your Online AudiencePowered

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Registration open now until 5 p.m. ET

Registration open Wednesday at noon ET through Friday at noon

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