City of Scotts Valley turns to social media

The City of Scotts Valley is learning that grabbing social media market share can be tough for a public agency.
Whether it’s Facebook, Instagram or the almost-passé worldwide web, the name of the game with social media is to feature brief, attention-getting information.
“Our social media policy is to remain neutral,” said city manager Jenny Haruyama, who since taking charge last summer has attempted to rev up the city’s online presence. “We’re trying to find our niche, it’s not an easy thing to do.”
The city currently has an instagram account (@cityofscottsvalley), Facebook page and website (www.scottsvalley.org.).
The tricky part for Haruyama is there is nothing sensational about city business. Leave that niche to private sites, such as My Scotts Valley on Facebook, which boasts almost 12,000 likes — about 11,000 more than the city.
During the coming year, Haruyama said she plans to ask the council for funding to update the rather-staid website, as well as creating an email newsletter pitching upcoming events. This will likely be a part of a branding effort to have the same look and feel across all outreach media.
Meanwhile, Haruyama is taking baby steps to increase the city’s presence. She posted a cartoon recently urging everyone to vote in the November. Or there’s the old-time photo pointing people to a page to look for things to do in ScottsValley.
“This is our way of starting to branch out,” Haruyama said. “We’re trying to grow something that we can maintain.”