USA.gov Blog

After 15 years, GobiernoUSA.gov, the trusted source of government information in Spanish, begins a new era. As part of our fifteen year celebration, we are announcing our new name: USAGov en Español.

After studying the latest research and monitoring trends with our Twitter audience, we are experimenting with three new ways to better connect with Spanish speakers.  

GobiernoUSA, just like USA.gov, is part of a unique effort with a large mission, to guide people to the government information and services they seek. We cover a lot of topics in Spanish via our website, social media platforms, email sends, and contact center. One of the communication channels we focus a lot of attention to is social media; and we routinely measure how our efforts are going.

We recently marked the end of an era at USAGov as we transferred management of our  publication distribution program to the Government Publishing Office (GPO) facility in Pueblo, Colorado. The decision was difficult, but necessary to focus more resources online.

About a year and a half ago, the Federal Citizen Information Center - today called USAGov, embarked on a very ambitious task: integrating our content operations.  We blurred lines that defined silos and adopted a bilingual content approach to offer a more consistent experience, regardless of language preference or point of access to our information. See more about our rebirth.

There are 11.7 million + reasons to be on Twitter - the approximate number of Hispanics in the U.S. who are using the platform. And out of those 11.7 million, 43% tweet in English and in Spanish. Hispanics over index their counterparts when it comes to digital technologies and services, but how do you reach them and target your messages via Twitter chats?

The government, and its services, are complicated to navigate. USAGov is working to change that. Over the years, we’ve evolved from providing information in print and launching a web portal to answering people's questions on social media and embracing content marketing. We serve as a guide to government information and services, and we are doing it in both English and Spanish.

The answer may surprise you. It takes time, resources and actual money. Why prepare a video for something that can be written about and released in a shorter time span at a much lower cost? This question is now the new normal. But are we asking the right question?

Twenty years ago, the chances of watching an NBA game with commentary in a language other than English were small. Today, the NBA transmits games in 47 languages to 215 countries across the world. This is a perfect example of how organizations have evolved over time to meet the demands of their audiences.