USA.gov Blog

The Emerging Leaders Program (ELP) at GSA is a two-year Pathways program for recent graduates to transition from college to a career in government. Each participant rotates through up to seven different offices within the agency, working closely with team members and learning about the work before being permanently placed. The program offers networking opportunities, in-depth trainings on technical and leadership skills, and previews a variety of career tracks.

Here are some key things I've learned while leading the outreach team — from sprint lengths and editorial calendars, to meeting overload and how to learn to lead more effectively.

Social media is a key part of USAGov’s outreach efforts, which aim to connect the public with government information and services quickly and easily. As we all know, social media is continually evolving, and we try to adapt accordingly.

This blog was originally posted on HIV.gov on May 29, 2018.

Over the course of tax season, our content and marketing teams worked together to help our audience better understand the ins and outs of filing taxes and other important steps in the process. We collaborated on messaging for our various platforms including targeted email and social media. We covered many important tax topics, from finding out if you qualify for the Earned Income Tax Credit to avoiding refund scams.

Email is an easy, time-saving way for us to connect the public with government information and services. We strive to provide clear information about relevant topics to our more than 850,000 subscribers, in hopes that our emails will stand out in inboxes overflowing with news alerts and sales offers.

Almost a year ago, we started broadcasting live on Facebook. In that time, we learned a lot about what works and what doesn’t. As a result, we hosted Facebook Live events that were better scripted, tackled more complex topics, and most importantly, were more engaging to our audience.

This event was originally posted on DigitalGov University on January 9, 2018.

When Hurricane Maria slammed into Puerto Rico, it caused a total collapse of the traditional communication infrastructure. People on the island turned to radio and social media as a lifeline. Family members on the mainland searched for information they could easily share via text.

In government, the word “marketing” often carries a negative connotation. But whether you call it outreach or communications or marketing, government often has a need to get key information to the public.