Image courtesy of Long Beach City.
The City of Long Beach’s television channel, Long Beach TV (LBTV), and the Technology & Innovation Department were recognized Thursday at the California Technology Forum in Sacramento with an award in the Most Innovative Use of Social Media/Citizen Engagement category of the 2016 Best of California Awards, according to an announcement released today.
“We’re very proud of the way we are using social media to engage with the community,” said Mayor Robert Garcia in a statement. “We are making it fun, easy and informative to connect with residents on a daily basis.”
Nineteen of the city’s departments have active Facebook pages where videos are regularly posted, while the city also has 12 different YouTube channels that residents can use to receive news and information about services and programs, according to the release.
To support this content development, LBTV began producing 15 second to two minute i-Clip videos to embed across different social media platforms, including the city’s Facebook pages, Twitter accounts and websites, which has led to not only an increase in viewers but an increase in viewer engagement, as well, the release said.
The i-Clip for the new Downtown Fitness Loop was one example included in the release, which was viewed nearly 7,000 times on the city’s Facebook page and shared nearly 60 times.
“These i-Clips have improved our social outreach, especially because people are much more likely to view information in video format,” stated Bryan Sastokas, Chief Information Officer and Director of Technology & Innovation. “By using our short i-Clips we are creating a more immersive social media outreach for our community.”
LBTV’s i-Clips also helped increase viewership of the city’s website.
The 2016 Best of California Awards also recognized public agencies for Demonstrated Excellence in Project Management, Best Mobile/Wireless Project and Most Innovative IT Workforce Initiative among others.
The Center for Digital Government is a national research and advisory institute focused on information technology policies and best practices in state and local government. Their Best of California Awards program recognizes IT professionals and projects within the state. 2016 is the 14th year of the Best of California Awards program. This award is presented to local government and public-sector professionals for their innovative technology solutions.