The secret of the White House digital team running social media

Goury Surman, the White House director of digital media for online interaction, revealed the behind-the-scenes operation of the first dedicated digital team in the history of the White House in an interview with the media. From this interview, we can learn that even the White House digital marketing team is daily planning how to make effective use of social media, focusing on creative ways of communicating with the public, and expanding the audience of the White House Web site, interacting with them where people are already familiar with consumer information. Some of their ideas and practices in social media are also suitable for our small and medium-sized enterprises.

Social media has become an important public relations tool for the U.S. government. Facebook and Twitter are as important as television.

Talking about the job responsibilities of the digital team, Shulman a few examples. In an effort to publicize President Obama's plan to help homeowners refinance, the team worked with the real estate website Zillow.com to discuss property owners ' financing across the country. Zillow also invited the U.S. Housing and Urban Development Minister to interview Google Hangout, more than 70,000 people watched the live broadcast.

During the Christmas holiday, a Pinterest account was created to invite some map users to the White House, to visit the White House in person, and to participate in the material project with the White House gardener. At the end of the event, they shared their experiences online. By leveraging social media, it has contributed more to the creation of the most open White House in history.

No two days are the same, Shulman said. Each morning, the team comes together to discuss the work that will be done that day, and to report on the progress of the long-term projects. During the day, I might do all kinds of work, such as posting social media content, or working with economic advisers on Twitter, or planning the next online event. Now, with the inauguration and the State of the Union address approaching, we will provide people with a variety of ways to engage in discussions on Obama's second term.

The Obama administration is the first government in American history to set up a digital team, and our team has grown steadily over the past four years. I am involved in almost everything, including updating content for whitehouse.gov and online interactive business. Although some of us have worked for the Obama campaign in 2008, the White House is new to everyone.

Initially, we built the foundation of a strong network project. Our focus in 2009 was to launch whitehouse.gov and build basic social media coverage on Facebook and Twitter. Today, we are more focused on how to use tools that facilitate public participation, answer questions from ordinary people, or promote policy issues. This is our social idea and the idea behind our launch of the White House Mail project and our arranges petition tool.

Shulman also said that today's social media and technological environment are very different from those of four years ago. We are now focusing on meaningful public interaction, using social media and technology every day to communicate more effectively with the public and respond to their most important concerns. The way social networks are used has been evolving. For example, President Obama last month called on people to share 2000 of dollars in Twitter, Facebook and whitehouse.gov about what it means for them to continue to cut taxes for the middle class. Hundreds of thousands of people participated in the event. 135,000 people share their stories on whitehouse.gov, and Twitter has more than 350,000 tweets labeled #my2k. But the event did not end – President Obama personally travelled to a popular home where wh.gov shared stories, while the vice president had lunch with a group of people who were partly concerned about the issue and made a sound online, and others were invited to the White House for discussion. We use social networks as a way for people to participate in government, we listen to their stories, and we continue to follow.

After launching the "We The arranges" petition tool, we are also able to listen more to the public voice and help solve a series of problems. If a petition gets enough signatures, policy officials will review it and issue an official response. The White House has responded to a number of petitions on key issues, including gun control policies and immigration, as well as petitions calling for the development of star darts and White House beer formulations. The tool now has 140,000 petitions and 9 million signatures, which have had a real impact on policy formulation.

Shulman that the greatest welfare is the opportunity to create direct communication with the Government for the whole nation. Whether it was a White House event for @whitehouse followers, or an invitation to the "We the arranges" petitioners to participate in the conference call, there has been unprecedented involvement in the White House business.

Some time ago, President Obama took part in a question-and-answer campaign on Twitter to expand tax cuts for the middle class. In the event, President Obama, in answering a question, noticed that a Twitter user's head had blue hair. In answer to the question, Obama deliberately mentioned that he likes her hair. This kind of sincere communication on Twitter is like chatting with a friend at home. From the president down to every ordinary government employee, the U.S. government is committed to interacting with the public and encouraging popular participation. Our team has built a bridge between the public and the government by using social media and technology, and I am honored to be part of this team.

Shulman also talked about the most memorable event of the 4-year period, the 2010 Civic Medal (the Citizens ' Medal) award ceremony. Although the medal has been in the history of more than 40 years, this is the first time we have appealed to the public to vote for a candidate online. In the end, we received more than 6,000 nominations, and the White House staff reviewed all the nominees. The winners are not those who have received national attention, but the ordinary citizens who have inspired relatives and neighbors, and President Obama personally awarded the Grand Civilian Prize to 13 outstanding Americans. Since that year, the civil medal candidates have been selected through the public nomination process.