Where do you go to network with friends or colleagues? Many do this online, via social media websites like Facebook and Twitter. If you’re like me, you have a Facebook account for keeping in touch with family and friends. Maybe I am a late bloomer, but I only ventured into Twitter territory about a year ago. I quickly learned that it is great for exchanging quick, frequent messages and keeping those that follow you in the loop. So I took a quick Twitter tutorial (try saying that three times really fast…) and use it regularly to keep our customers informed.
At last check, @RaleighPlanning had about 2600 followers on Twitter. Now considering that there are more than 288 million users worldwide, and more than 500 million tweets are sent each day, our following is certainly modest. But it is growing every week and that is exciting!
Thanks to Twitter, we can communicate with you real-time. A great example of this is LIVE tweeting from City Council meetings.
We know it is not always possible for our citizens to attend these meetings, especially when they are held during the day. That is why we attend both day and evening Council meetings, reporting LIVE on our Twitter feed. And for those interested in Planning Commission actions, we provide updates following their meetings as well. So whether you want to know the outcome of a public hearing, or are following the progress of a development project under review by the Planning Commission, you’ll want to follow us on Twitter for immediate updates. We also tweet about meeting/workshop cancellations, office closings/delays, and other important/time-sensitive information.
If you prefer networking on Facebook, you’ll be glad to know that we post a lot of the same information there (no live posts as with Twitter). And for those that use Instagram, we do have an account and are discussing ways to increase our activity. This past year, for example, we sponsored an Instagram Photo contest themed “What excites you about downtown.” We asked you to submit photos of your favorite places, faces, and fun things to do and see in downtown Raleigh. We received nearly 400 photo entries! Winning photos were selected and displayed at the Raleigh Museum.
Find us on Twitter @RaleighPlanning, on Facebook by searching “Raleigh Planning and Development,” or on Instagram at “RaleighPlanning.”
If you have any questions, please leave a comment and I will get back to you.
Have a wonderful week!
