Monmouthshire County Council has posted over 1000 ‘tweets’ since it began using the Twitter service to talk to residents.
Twitter is a social networking site that allows people to update their ‘followers’ on their recent activities. A tweet is a post or status update on Twitter using a maximum of 140 characters.
Monmouthshire County Council, which uses the Twitter handle @Monmouthshirecc, has used Twitter to talk to residents since May 2009 and currently has over 600 followers.
Councillor Bob Greenland, Deputy Leader and member for communications, said:
“We’ve tweeted over a thousand times and the service has been incredibly popular.
“On Twitter we provide news and information and we want people to talk to us about Monmouthshire issues.
“We are giving people a chance to talk to us about their experiences of living in Monmouthshire and to keep up to date with what we do and other local news.
“Using Twitter is just another way for us to keep residents current on council news, job postings, events and ongoing projects.
“As well as having lots of followers from Monmouthshire, evidence shows that people are sharing what we are saying with their followers and friends. Feedback has shown that people are really pleased to have an informal and quick way of speaking to the council.”
Communications Officer Helen Reynolds, who updates the Twitter page for the authority, said:
“The more opportunities we give people to talk to us the easier it is for them to get involved.
“Our followers have told us they find the service useful and we regularly ask our followers if they can suggest ways we can improve.
“We currently have a main Twitter page (@MonmouthshireCC) and pages dedicated to tourism (@mcctourism), sports and leisure (@mccleisure) and arts in Monmouthshire (@mccartsdev).
“We aim to make the most of technology that allows us to effectively engage with residents and our partners.”
Monmouthshire County Council’s tourism section also has a Facebook page as part of its campaign to promote the Wye Valley and Vale of Usk to visitors.
A page dedicated to the area has been set up to allow people to join discussions about where to visit and what to see, to upload details of upcoming events and photos of their travels in the area.
Mark Jones, Monmouthshire County Council’s Tourism Marketing Officer, said:
“A particular incentive was the chance to have a two-way conversation with visitors, for whereas the tourism website [www.visitwyevalley.com] presents an official view of the destination, the content of the Facebook page will be largely driven and produced by the general public.
“We’re very excited about this opportunity to connect with people in a really direct way.
“As a tourism service we’re always looking for feedback on the visitor experience and how we promote it, and we can only improve the overall offer through direct feedback from visitors. And of course we’ll be using the page to promote events and places to visit, stay and eat throughout the area.”
“Many of our competitors (other tourist destinations) are already using Facebook, to greater or lesser effect,” added Mark. “Ultimately, we will get out of it what we put in, and we’re determined to make the most of this opportunity to interact with a potentially huge new audience.”
To join in the conversation about Monmouthshire on Twitter, go to www.twitter.com/monmouthshirecc.
To become a fan of the Wye Valley & Vale of Usk Facebook page, go to www.facebook.com and search for ‘Wye Valley & Vale of Usk.’
