USA.gov Blog

2020 posed an interesting challenge for the USAGov outreach team. We needed to focus on getting the latest pandemic information to the public, and we wanted to collaborate with agency experts to promote other timely and important topics too. 

Social media is a powerful tool that can help government agencies connect directly to the people they serve. Agencies have been using Facebook and Twitter for years. But many are still unlocking the power of Instagram to share resources in an engaging, simple manner.

Scammers are everywhere. And they’re always looking for new ways to separate people from their money. 

While digging through website analytics data, we uncovered scam websites pretending to be USA.gov.  

USAGov tries to incorporate unique perspectives into our program from different team members. One way we do this is by working with college students and recent grads on specific projects or through long-term programs. They join the USAGov family and contribute to UX research, social media management, and many other projects. 

When hosting students at your agency, these tips from our own USAGov intern, Jessie Chen can help both students and agencies be successful contributors and managers.

How do people use Facebook and Twitter differently? Do they know which accounts and links in social media posts they can trust? What started as a USAGov study of people’s thoughts about short links in Facebook and Twitter posts taught us more than we were expecting.

Social media is a key part of the USAGov outreach strategy. It helps us share quick and clear information directly with the public. We regularly review our social media channels to see where we’re getting the best return on our investment.

A good following on social media is fundamental to USAGov’s goal of getting clear and helpful government information to Spanish speakers around the country. To make sure we’re reaching the right people at the right time with valuable content, our team began to rethink our USAGov en Español Twitter strategy.

Throughout USAGov’s history, we’ve relied on the expertise of federal agencies to help fulfill our mission of giving the public clear, accurate information about government services and programs. Connecting regularly keeps us up-to-date with agencies’ priorities and activities. We do this in many ways.

Right now, the common denominator across all online platforms seems to be video. Whether it’s breaking news or information about a long existing government program, video content is a powerful way to present information.

Over the years, the structure and the volume of content on USA.gov has changed as the Internet has matured and user needs have evolved.