How Government Agencies can Use Facebook to Connect with Spanish-Speakers in the U.S. – Part 2
August 30, 2011 :: Posted by: Carla Briceno
In our last blog, we shared some statistics on the number of Spanish-preferring Latinos using Facebook and shared some ideas on how government agencies could use Facebook to engage, educate and better serve this audience.
Dozens of Federal government agencies have Facebook pages in English. These vary widely in terms of the way they are used and levels of engagement and interaction. However, we were only able to find eight Spanish-language government Facebook pages. In this blog, we’ll review each of these pages and share some observations on use and level of engagement. Thereafter, we'll share our recommendations on how we believe that government agencies can make the most of Facebook to reach this growing audience.
CDC - CDC en Español
6,602 likes - The most ‘liked’ of the Spanish language Facebook pages. CDC posts regular links to Spanish-language articles. CDC seems to be using it as a distribution channel, as reflected in the mainly one-way nature of its communications (from CDC to constituents). While users frequently “like” articles, they seldom comment on them or ask questions. When they do, they generally do not receive a response from CDC. CDC is using a landing page to motivate users to “like” the page, and has also included a comments policy to inform users about acceptable use and participation.
GobiernoUSA.gov
5,554 likes - This is a very interactive Facebook presence that is run by GSA. GobiernoUSA regularly shares information and links to Spanish-language resources and interacts with its users, answering questions and quickly responding to visitors’ comments. GobiernoUSA also posts its policies, which are straightforward and sensible, and uses Facebook’s notes feature to share useful Spanish-language articles.
EPA - Agencia de Protección Ambiental de Estados Unidos (U.S. EPA en español) - EPA en español
1,647 likes - Less active than CDC and GobiernoUSA. Many of the posts are Spanish-language intros to English-language materials from the EPA blog, news releases, and references to important information.
National Cancer Institute - Instituto Nacional del Cáncer
1,081 likes - The National Cancer Institute has an active page with frequent postings. They regularly share Spanish-language links and are quick to respond to questions and comments. They also use their Facebook page to make their newsletter (Boletín) available and offer a resources (Recursos) page where they link back to key info on the Spanish website.
Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) - El Departamento de Vivienda y Desarrollo Urbano de los Estados Unidos
912 likes - HUD frequently posts general news announcements on its wall, and also shares tweets from its Novedades de HUD Twitter account. Frequently posts re-tweets on its wall as well as general news announcements. This page receives occasional questions and answers them promptly.
One interesting feature they’ve made available is the ability to do a search from Facebook page, on the Más Acerca de HUD (More about HUD) page. When a user enters a search term, they are taken to the search results in Spanish on the HUD’s Spanish-language website. They also provide direct links to information on some of the most common inquiries, e.g., I want to buy a house from HUD, avoid foreclosure, etc.
OnGuardOnline.gov - AlertaenLinea.gov
899 likes - The Spanish Facebook page supporting the FTC’s effort to help prevent online fraud. They post to their wall every week or two, but are not engaging in conversations. Posts are all in Spanish and are either links to the Alerta website, the FTC website, or original postings. They recently did a series of 10 tips on how to protect your laptop. The page has a video tab with five short, informative videos in Spanish.
IRS - IRS en español
296 friends - Currently using an individual profile as opposed to a Facebook page. The only activity here is reposting tweets from the IRSenespanol Twitter account.
Social Security Administration - Administración de Seguro Social
258 likes - The Spanish language Social Security Administration page is updated approximately once a week with updates that refer fans to information on the SSA website, including info on new programs and events, in Spanish and English. When fans comment, the SSA does not respond on the wall. When sending the user to an English-language resource, the SSA notifies them with “sólo en inglés” (in English only), a best practice on Spanish-language websites.
Recommendations for Setting Up and Maintaining a Spanish-Language Facebook Page for Government Agencies
- Use a Spanish-language Facebook page to complement your agency’s overall communications efforts. Don’t just create a Spanish-language Facebook page for sake of having one. Use it as a tool to further your key communication goals, e.g., providing in-language customer service, sharing useful information related to your agency’s mission in Spanish, and increasing awareness of your agency in the Hispanic community.
- Understand how Latinos are using and consuming information on Facebook by reviewing research that has been done, conducting surveys and focus groups with representative users, and setting up an online “listening” platform (using free or paid social monitoring tools) to track mentions or your agency or related topics in English and Spanish. Use this information to inform your Facebook strategy with this very diverse audience.
- Dedicate a bilingual resource with a good understanding of social media and strong Spanish-language writing skills to manage your Facebook page.
- Focus on having a two-way conversation with your audience. Don’t just use the page as a one-way distribution channel.
- Post regularly and respond promptly to questions AND comments. By responding to comments, you encourage others to join in on the conversation.
- Try to share links to Spanish-language resources rather than English-language ones.
- Share information about your Spanish-language page with bilingual and English-preferring Latinos and encourage them to share it with their friends and family.
- Consider incorporating video as Latinos are more likely to visit video sites and share videos online.
And, as with any Facebook page, we recommend that you:
- Limit the number of tabs you create. If you create a tab, maintain it, otherwise it just adds to the clutter.
- Use a page for your agency, rather than an individual profile. This allows people to “like” it as opposed to having to submit a “friend” request, which you will then have to approve.
- Make it easy for users to find your Facebook page by “liking” other Spanish-language government pages like GobiernoUSA.gov and having them like yours.
- Analyze your Facebook metrics and track traffic back to your website to ensure you’re making progess towards your goals and adjust accordingly.
Given the number of Latinos using Facebook, and specifically the number of Spanish-preferring Latinos using Facebook, this is an excellent platform for reaching them, particularly more recent immigrants, with important messages and information to help them become better informed residents and citizens.
Is your agency currently using Facebook to reach this audience? Please let us know if we’ve missed your Spanish-language Facebook page and share your insights regarding best practices!