Many local communities active on Facebook, Twitter

Most Hellertown residents were without television and Internet for several days last fall following Superstorm Sandy.

But those with smartphones were able to keep informed of road closures and emergency shelter information through the borough's Facebook page.

Since launching the page in November 2011, borough officials have found it to be a great way to get information out to residents, said Councilman Tom Rieger. Hellertown also has an official Twitter account, and both receive a lot of attention especially during major events,?? such as Sandy, or events of great interest, like the recent delayed pool opening.

Hellertown isn'??t the only local town finding social media useful. Big cities from Allentown to Bethlehem use it regularly, and so do smaller municipalities like Pohatcong Township and Walnutport.

"??A lot of municipalities are using social media, Facebook and Twitter to disperse information," said Ed Purcell, staff attorney with the New Jersey State League of Municipalities. "??It'??s pretty widespread."

Timely, mostly free

Unlike printed newsletters, which are costly to mail, municipal officials say dispensing information through social media is essentially cost free except for a minimum amount of employees' time.

In some towns, including Hellertown, Pen Argyl and Pohatcong, the social media duties are shared by municipal employees and technology-savvy elected officials, like Rieger. Pen Argyl'??s Facebook and Twitter pages were the brainchild of borough council President Mike Nasatka, and he shares the task with borough Manager Robin Zmoda.

Pen Argyl residents regularly use the borough's Facebook page to pose questions about swimming lesson sign-ups and other recreation events. Zmoda and Nasatka try to respond to them quickly.

"??People may still get intimidated calling the borough hall, even though we'??re small,"?? Zmoda said. "We'?ve gotten a lot of good feedback."

Hellertown's Facebook and Twitter pages are especially popular among younger residents, Rieger said. Older residents still favor calling or stopping by borough hall, he said.

The Facebook page alone has more than three times the followers than the borough's email list, Rieger said. Like Pen Argyl, Hellertown officials try to answer residents'?? Facebook questions quickly, as both Rieger and borough Manager Cathy Kichline get Facebook alerts on their phones.

"It really proved handy during Hurricane Sandy,"? Rieger said. "?We were able to provide updates directly to the residents, some of which went viral."?

Like Hellertown, Allentown Mayor Ed Pawlowski said he gets far more Facebook messages than email messages these days. The mayor also runs an active Twitter account, where he shares multiple news stories a day on city happenings. He says he spends about 40 minutes a day on his social media accounts.

"??The issue is: How do you get information out and how do you communicate with your populous?" Pawlowski said. "??What I found out is more people are getting their news through social media than news outlets."?

Multiple accounts open

In some towns, municipal accounts were created after police accounts proved popular. That was the case in Pohatcong, and in Bethlehem, where the police department led the way in social media, with the public works, parks and health departments now following suit.

Pohatcong Township Mayor James Kern III saw how well-used the township police Facebook account was during Superstorm Sandy that he created a municipal account early this year.

The township fire department also has a Facebook page, and the three entities will often share each others'?? posts, Kern said.

"??Between the three, it gets a lot of eyes," he said. The average township post is viewed by 300 people while some have reached 2,000 people, a pretty staggering figure considering there are only about 3,300 township residents, Kern said.

Kern does most of the municipal posting himself, a task he says is worth the time.

"I'??d rather publish correct information rather than have people hear things that aren'?t correct,"?? he said.

While Kern sees the township'?s social media efforts as beneficial, they haven't been without challenges, including someone starting a Facebook account impersonating the official township account. The township has been mostly successful, however, in spreading the word that the official account is a page someone follows by liking it, he said; the fake one requires a friend request.

Hellertown has had to take down a few inappropriate posts, Rieger said, but the borough's Facebook page has largely been problem-free, he said. Pen Argyl had been fearful of troublemakers, but the borough's Facebook and Twitter accounts have run smoothly in their almost year of operation, Zmoda said.

"I was a little bit concerned about getting naysayers, but it'??s been very, very positive," she said. "??People see it as informational; it'?s not a place where you vent."

***

MUNICIPALITIES GET SOCIAL (MEDIA)

Local municipality-operated social media accounts include in:

Allentown:

Facebook.com/AllentownPA

facebook.com/allentownparkandrec

facebook.com/ed.pawlowski.7

twitter.com/AllentownMayor

Bethlehem:

facebook.com/BethlehemPolice

facebook.com/bethlehempublicworks

facebook.com/bethlehemparks

facebook.com/bethlehemhealth

facebook.com/john.callahan.5602

instagram.com/igbethlehem#

twitter.com/bethlehempolice

twitter.com/BethParksNRec

twitter.com/BethlehemHealth

twitter.com/John_Callahan

Bethlehem Township, Pa:

facebook.com/BethlehemTownshipPoliceDept

facebook.com/pages/Bethlehem-Township-Community-Center/106549046077592

Easton:

facebook.com/Easton

facebook.com/sal.panto

twitter.com/EastonPlanning

Emmaus:

facebook.com/emmaus.borough

Hellertown:

facebook.com/HellertownBorough

twitter.com/hellertownboro

Lopatcong Township:

facebook.com/LopatcongTwp

twitter.com/LopatcongTwp

Pen Argyl:

facebook.com/pages/Pen-Argyl-Borough/127485207350624

twitter.com/PenArgylBorough

twitter.com/PenArgylPolice

Phillipsburg:

facebook.com/pages/Town-of-Phillipsburg/438380682900959

Pohatcong Township:

ffacebook.com/pages/Township-of-Pohatcong/454965374552206

Salisbury Township:

twitter.com/Salisbury_PD

Walnutport:

facebook.com/walnutport.borough

Source: http://www.lehighvalleylive.com/breaking-news/index.ssf/2013/07/many_lehigh_valley_towns_activ.html

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