E018 Connecting Las Vegas Through Social Media

On this episode of Small Biz Power, we’re talking to the amazing social media team at the city of Las Vegas.  This small, but mighty team manages the city’s communication strategy on all of its social platforms – from Facebook to Twitter to Instagram to Snapchat to YouTube.  Can you imagine what their editorial calendar looks like? 

The team is made up of:

• Jennifer Davies
• Natasha Shahani
• Shane Savanapridi

Jennifer originally wanted to be a lawyer. Then a publicist. Then she got a Twitter account and the rest is history. She is the very first person the city ever hired to focus solely on social media. 

Natasha risked it all and moved from Los Angeles to help launch the Life is Beautiful festival. She handled all of the marketing and media requests during the first festival.

Shane has an incredibly diverse background in photography, web design, videography, you name it. At the city, they jokingly say that he is the only one who could single-handedly run the entire department (including a TV station!) 

These three create and post all the content on the city’s social media channels, but their social media strategy goes beyond just broadcasting.  They use these online platforms as a tool for engaging with the community, soliciting feedback, and monitoring chatter around key issues and events. 

Small business owners can learn a lot from their integrated approach to social media. 

Questions I ask the City Social Media Team

• How does social media fit with the city’s overall communication strategy?
• Why is it so important for the city to be engaged on social media? 
• How do you keep up with the never-ending comments/conversations?
• How difficult has it been to get buy-in from council members on the importance of social media and the importance for them personally to be involved and engaged?
• What role does social media play in decision making?
• How are you using video on social media and why is it so crucial?

What You’ll Learn If You Listen:

• Why the perception that they sit around and eat donuts and tweet all day is dead wrong
• How the team uses statistics to drive their content strategy
• The role of social media in monitoring how the city’s message is received
• Why responding on social media (to good or bad posts) is so important for brands big and small
• Who’s really running the council members’ Twitter accounts
• How creating a system for engaging can help small businesses

Links to Things We Talked About & Follow the City on Social Media:

Life Is Beautiful Festival

City of Las Vegas Website

City of Las Vegas Facebook Page

City of Las Vegas Twitter Page

City of Las Vegas YouTube Page

City of Las Vegas Instagram Page

.css-j9qmi7{display:-webkit-box;display:-webkit-flex;display:-ms-flexbox;display:flex;-webkit-flex-direction:row;-ms-flex-direction:row;flex-direction:row;font-weight:700;margin-bottom:1rem;margin-top:2.8rem;width:100%;-webkit-box-pack:start;-ms-flex-pack:start;-webkit-justify-content:start;justify-content:start;padding-left:5rem;}@media only screen and (max-width: 599px){.css-j9qmi7{padding-left:0;-webkit-box-pack:center;-ms-flex-pack:center;-webkit-justify-content:center;justify-content:center;}}.css-j9qmi7 svg{fill:#27292D;}.css-j9qmi7 .eagfbvw0{-webkit-align-items:center;-webkit-box-align:center;-ms-flex-align:center;align-items:center;color:#27292D;}