The Interior Department Had a Huge Year, Thanks to a Smart Social Strategy
If you want a clear example of how social media can benefit government agencies, look no further than the Interior Department’s rapidly growing, visually stunning Instagram and Twitter accounts.
2013 was a banner year for the department, which currently boasts nearly 190,000 Instagram followers, added 125,000 new Instagram followers during the year. To celebrate, director of digital strategy Tim Fullerton shared some metrics on Twitter:
Now seems like the perfect time to take a look back at some of the big numbers @interior's digital accounts hit in 2013. #Gov20 #digitalgov
— Tim Fullerton (@TimFullerton) December 31, 2013
http://t.co/qHe7EYpmAi received > 4 million unique visits. Up from 1.3 mil in '12. Part increase due to web consolidation efforts. #Gov20
— Tim Fullerton (@TimFullerton) December 31, 2013
.@interior #Twitter increased 175% or +80k becoming most engaging gov twitter account according to @GreatGovTweets. #Gov20 #digitalgov
— Tim Fullerton (@TimFullerton) December 31, 2013
Instagram was @interior's big hit of '13. Added 125k followers + articles in @tnr O Magazine, @mashable @HuffingtonPost & @buzzfeed. #Gov20
— Tim Fullerton (@TimFullerton) December 31, 2013
Quite a year for @interior digital. Twitter increased 175% & Instagram by 500%. Hard to beat, but can't wait to see what 14 brings! #Gov20
— Tim Fullerton (@TimFullerton) January 1, 2014
Even more exciting, the mainstream media has noticed. Fullerton points out that the Interior Department’s social presence has been featured on prominent news outlets, drawing attention to the agency’s impressive results.
It’s hard to imagine someone at the New Republic writing that “the best part of the parks’ reopening is the reopening of the parks’ Instagram feed, @usinterior” — until you’ve spent some time looking at the images. But that is exactly what Reid Cherlin said in this post, and it rings true for the account’s followers:
I started following @usinterior sometime over the summer, and it’s become a staple of my escapist daydreams. Once a day or so, the good people at the Interior Department post a mouthwatering, blissed-out photo of one our protected treasures, the perfect postcard gem you always try to capture and never do.
No article about Instagram is complete without some eye candy. Be sure to follow The Interior Department to see what’s coming in 2014.
