Monmouthshire County Council’s tweets to Monmouthshire residents have been shortlisted for four awards that recognise good use of social media.
The council’s Twitter feed, ‘@monmouthshirecc’, have been shortlisted for three SomeComms social media awards – a UK competition recognising best use of social media.
The council’s use of Twitter has been recognised in the categories ‘best use of Twitter, ‘public sector’ and ‘best in-house team’.
Monmouthshire County Council’s communications team, who manage the Twitter account, face strong competitors in their categories – such as Liverpool Football Club, the British Library and BBC Digital Communications.
The tweets have also been short listed in this year’s Chartered Institute of Public Relations (CIPR) Local Public Services Group Awards, in the category ‘Digital Excellence’.
Monmouthshire’s Twitter account has been used by the communications team to give residents another opportunity to talk to the council in an informal and easy way.
Councillor Bob Greenland, Cabinet Member for Modernisation, Enterprise & Communications said:
“Monmouthshire County Council wants to engage with as many members of the public as possible and to do that we must embrace the modern social networking sites such as Twitter.
“We asked Helen Reynolds, Communications Officer at MCC, to help us with this and so successful has she been that the council has been shortlisted in several categories of the “SomeComms Awards 2010”. Our congratulations and thanks go to Helen and the rest of the communications team.”
Results will be announced at the SomeComms awards ceremony taking place in Manchester on Thursday 9th December and at the CIPR Local Public Services Group conference in Brighton on 22nd October.
During Local Democracy Week (11th-17th Oct), the council will be asking people to get involved in a Twitter Q&A with councillors. Details can be found at www.monmouthshire.gov.uk/demotwitter
