City of Kalispell to log on with social media

People will soon be able to “like” and retweet official snippets from the city of Kalispell when its social media campaign goes online.

“There are so many people who only communicate on social media or do most of their communicating or information-gathering on social media,” City Clerk Aimee Brunckhorst said. “So we really wanted to reach those audiences as well.”

The Kalispell City Council approved the initiative on Monday. It required an amendment to the personnel handbook, which previously outlawed social media use at work. 

Now city departments will send official information over Twitter and Facebook.

The new city policy requires all posts to be funneled through a communications manager. Brunckhorst is the designee, which she said will provide consistency and clarity in the city’s online presence.

Brunckhorst said the platforms will be useful to disseminate big news as well as smaller items that don’t always warrant press releases. She may promote city events, give extra notice for public hearings or give insight to daily municipal operations.

“This allows us to really have some tools to be really strategic about how we communicate,” she said.

Government entities aren’t new to social media, but smaller, local governments are still trickling online. 

Kalispell will be the first Flathead Valley city to take to Twitter. The Flathead County Sheriff’s Office has maintained a steady Facebook presence for a long time.

The city of Great Falls has curated its own Facebook page for about five years. Recently, it launched a Twitter page.

Great Falls Assistant City Manager Jennifer Reichelt said that the city went to Twitter in addition to Facebook to reach a wider audience and to utilize the more immediate nature of Twitter.

She said that the city’s online foray has been useful. Seven departments, from the animal shelter to the city manager, maintain their own Facebook pages.

“It’s just one more tool in the toolbox,” Reichelt said. “It’s just a really great way to reach out to our residents.”

The city of Great Falls’ social media use is anchored by its disclaimer that shields the city from liability for nasty comments and urges civil discourse — two elements that often break down in the online social atmosphere.

The city of Kalispell passed similar guidelines in its social media use policy. It outlines standards of conduct and alerts users that posting on an official city page could be construed as part of official public record.

In the event of troublesome digital operatives such as trolls, the city reserves the right to remove comments. But Brunckhorst said that in the interest of open conversation, this would not be a common occurrence even with haughty commenters.

“We would probably try to resolve it in other ways,” she said.

Kalispell plans to launch its Facebook and Twitter pages in the middle of May. In the meantime, Brunckhorst will travel to Reno, Nevada, next week for a social media in government conference.

And which city department does Brunkhorst think will have the most prolific presence?

That would be Parks and Recreation.

Reach reporter Matt Hudson at 758-4459 or by email at mhudson@dailyinterlake.com. He’s also on Twitter @mhudsonDIL.