The Cato Institute: Communication via Social Media

Habits, Successes, Failings and Suggestions

Remy Plas

The Cato Institute & Social Media, pg. 1

Contents
The Cato Institute ......................................................................................................................................... 2 The Project .................................................................................................................................................... 2 Facebook ....................................................................................................................................................... 2 Suggestions for Facebook ......................................................................................................................... 3 Twitter ........................................................................................................................................................... 3 Suggestions for Twitter ............................................................................................................................. 4 Google+ ......................................................................................................................................................... 4 Suggestions for Google+ ........................................................................................................................... 5 YouTube ........................................................................................................................................................ 5 Suggestions for YouTube .......................................................................................................................... 6 Conclusion ..................................................................................................................................................... 6 Bibliography .................................................................................................................................................. 7 Appendix A: Facebook Images ...................................................................................................................... 8 Appendix B: Twitter Images .......................................................................................................................... 9 Appendix C: Google+ Images ........................................................................................................................ 9 Appendix D: YouTube Images ..................................................................................................................... 10

The Cato Institute & Social Media, pg. 2

The Cato Institute

In 18th century England, a series of letters known as Catos Letters were published that inspired American Revolutionaries to break from England and create a government founded on individual liberty, limited government, and free markets. Inspired by the principles presented in the letters, The Cato Institute was founded in 1977 as a public policy research organization dedicated to individual liberty, limited government, free markets and peace. The institute seeks to increase the understanding among societies of the principles of limited government, free markets, individual liberty and peace by encouraging its scholars and analysts to conduct nonpartisan, independent research. The institute does not participate in lobbying, back political candidates, engage in direct political efforts or associate with any particular political party or organization. The institute is committed to increasing the understanding of public policy and their impact on the principles the institute supports. Much of the financial support of the institute is received through tax-deductible contributions made by individuals, with the remained coming from foundations, corporations, and the sale of book and publications produced by the institute.

The Project
The Cato Institute is dedicated to using all means possible to present Americans with clear, thoughtful and independent analysis on matters of public policy, and does so via blogs, Web features, op-eds, TV appearances, research, speaking engagements and books. Focusing on their use of social media, it is easy to find and understand the clear and concise communications that the organization releases via Facebook, Twitter, Google + and YouTube. From August 2012 to November 2012, the social media habits of the institute have been observed and recorded, so that its successes and failings may be noted and that suggestions could be made. The size of the audience, the number of postings, and the use of one- and twoway communication are all included in the following research, and have allowed for the development of suggestions.

Facebook
At the beginning of the observation period, August of 2012, The Cato Institutes Facebook page had more than 118,000 likes, approximately 3,348 people talking about this, and about 765 viewers were here. The audience of the organizations Facebook page over the past three months has increased. As of Nov. 26, 2012, the total number of likes was approximately 130,379, approximately 10,457 people were talking about this, and 969 people were here. Looking at the Facebook data for The Cato Institute over the last three months, the number of people talking about this peaked during the days between Oct. 29 and Nov. 9, which coincide with the presidential election. The Facebook data also shows a steady increase in about 1,000 new likes per week during the course of the observation period. The organization on average posts between 1 and 4 times on their Facebook page a day. The organization uses the page to promote blog entries and news articles written by the scholars and analyst who work in the organization, and post videos that they produce that are relevant

The Cato Institute & Social Media, pg. 3

to that days news events. The institute uses the page to invite people to apply for open job positions, and opens up relevant policy discussions for its followers to partake in. However, the organization rarely responds to the discussion of its followers and primarily participates in oneway communication and two-way asymmetrical communication. The use of Facebook is primarily to give information and to receive feedback, but not to engage with the audience.

Figure 1: Facebook - Mobile Homepage

Figure 2: Facebook - Two-Way Asymmetrical Communication

Figure 3: Facebook - Job Offering

Suggestions for Facebook

To improve the communication value of the Facebook page, The Cato Institute should interact with its followers more. To better stimulate the conversation the organization should take an active role in moderating and participating in debates that result from their posts. The principles of the organization will be discussed and debated more by the public if the organization stimulates conversation that supports them.

Twitter
The Cato Institute more frequently uses Twitter as a means of instant communication. In August 2012 the Twitter account @CatoInstitute had more than 137,000 followers, was following more than 122,000 accounts and had tweeted 11,684 times. As of Nov 26, 2012 the account has approximately 149,606 followers, follows more than 121,000 accounts and has tweeted 13,027 times. Over the past three months, the organization has seen a 9 percent increase in followers, yet has decreased the number of accounts it follows. The ending of the practice of following the followers has ended for The Cato Institute, which may be a result of an large influx of followers during the weeks leading up to the election. The account does engage in a very unique way of communicating with its followers, and sends new followers a message thanking them for following the account.

The Cato Institute & Social Media, pg. 4

The organization posts much more frequently on Twitter than it does on any other social media Web site. With about 14 posts per day, the account delivers messages to its followers at a steady pace of about 3 posts per hour between the hours of 11 a.m. and 3 p.m. EST. The account tweets the same information that the Facebook account relays, however the messages are fine tuned to the 140 character maximum of Twitter messages. The messages generally contain a short quote or statistic and accompany a link or an image. The account only retweets scholars and news articles that pertain to and support the principles that the institute stands for. The use of one-way communication is the only form of communication that the Twitter account uses. The lack of conversations that come as a result of the information relayed by the organization, and the lack of response all help to qualify the observation that the account uses only one-way communication.

Figure 4: Twitter - Mobile Home Page

Figure 5: Twitter - One-Way Communication

Figure 6: Twitter - One-Way Communication (Image)

Suggestions for Twitter

The Cato Institute has room for improvement in the methods that it uses to reach an audience and inform the audience via Twitter. By responding to mentions by its followers, the Twitter account will be participating in two-way conversation that stimulates conversation about current public policy and the values that the organization believes in. The other benefit of communicating with its audience, not just at them, will increase the number of retweets by followers, and in turn will increase the audience.

Google+
Google+ is a relatively new and underused form of social media that The Cato Institute uses. In August 2012 they had 1864 followers on their Google+ account and have 234 people in their circles. As of Nov. 26, 2012, the Google+ account now has 228 people in their circle and has

The Cato Institute & Social Media, pg. 5

1,955 followers. The increase in followers, while minimal, is actually very surprising compared to the minimal existence of the accounts content. The minimal communication efforts by the organization can be classified as one-way communication even though the last consistent communication was in the early weeks of August and was the same content as the Facebook posts that occurred during that time. Just as with Facebook and Twitter, the institute rarely, if ever, responds to communication directed to them and do not participate in the conversation on the posts that are meant to stimulate communication. The presence on Google+ is essentially an account that has background information about the organization and a link to the institutes website which has an about section that is practically word-for-word the accounts information.

Figure 7: Google+ - Home Page

Figure 8: Google+ - Most Recent Post

Figure 9: Google+ - Most recent flow of content

Suggestions for Google+

The Cato Institute has a decision to make about Google+, they need to either delete the account, or use it much more frequently. The complete lack of content on the Google+ page completely defies the purpose of the account. The Cato Institute needs to put more content on the Google+ page, and stimulate more conversation with its followers. The second option would be delete the page all together and reduce the stress of tuning posts to this social media Web site.

YouTube
In August 2012, The Cato Institute had over 17,000 subscribers on their YouTube page, 536 videos and approximately 2,020,817 video views. As of Nov. 26, 2012, the number of subscribers is now 18,265, and the institute has added 23 new videos to reach a total of 2,168,862 video views.

The Cato Institute & Social Media, pg. 6

The main use of the YouTube account is primarily to provide videos and links that coincide with the principles of the organization. Using one-way communication via YouTube, and by linking the videos to various Facebook and Twitter posts, the number of viewers is very high. The videos do allow for two-way asymmetrical communication, because it allows for user feedback. The videos often have large numbers of comments about them, and are easily shared. The Cato Institute does respond to comments or stimulate conversation in the comments section of their videos.

Figure 10: YouTube - Statistics

Figure 11: YouTube - Recent Videos

Figure 12: YouTube - Two Way Asymmetrical Communication

Suggestions for YouTube

The YouTube account for The Cato Institute needs to be more than a storing place for videos that they have produced and clips that are relevant to their cause. Should The Cato Institute begin sharing videos for groups that they advocate for, groups that have similar principles and those of their supporters, then their social media presence will increase drastically. The Cato Institute should also begin responding to the comments that are on their videos, and stimulate further conversation among its subscribers.

Conclusion
The Cato Institute has a strong presence on social media Web sites that could only be strengthened by utilizing two-way communication. Further use of two-way communication will benefit the weakest account and the strongest account managed by the institute. Overall, the institute is properly utilizing the opportunities that social media presents, and is reaching a large audience on a day-to-day basis. The organization has a strong future of reaching their audience and those that believe in the principles of the organization, and will continue to stimulate thoughts and ideas about public policy.

The Cato Institute & Social Media, pg. 7

Bibliography
The Cato Institute. (n.d.). @CatoInstitute. Retrieved November 26, 2012, from Twitter: https://twitter.com/catoinstitute The Cato Institute. (n.d.). About Cato. Retrieved November 26, 2012, from The Cato Institute Web site: http://www.cato.org/about.php The Cato Institute. (n.d.). Cato Institute YouTube. Retrieved November 26, 2012, from YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/catoinstitutevideo The Cato Institute. (n.d.). Cato's Mission. Retrieved November 26, 2012, from The Cato Institute Web site: http://www.cato.org/about-mission.html The Cato Institute. (n.d.). The Cato Institute Facebook. Retrieved November 26, 2012, from Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/CatoInstitute The Cato Institute. (n.d.). The Cato Institute Google +. Retrieved November 26, 2012, from Google+: https://plus.google.com/+TheCatoInstitute#+TheCatoInstitute/posts

The Cato Institute & Social Media, pg. 8

Appendix A: Facebook Images

Figure 1: Facebook - Mobile Homepage

Figure 2: Facebook - Two-Way Asymmetrical Communication

Figure 3: Facebook - Job Offering

Facebook - Audience Statistics

The Cato Institute & Social Media, pg. 9

Appendix B: Twitter Images

Figure 4: Twitter - Mobile Home Page

Figure 5: Twitter - One-Way Communication

Figure 6: Twitter - One-Way Communication (Image)

Appendix C: Google+ Images

Figure 7: Google+ - Home Page

Figure 8: Google+ - Most Recent Post

Figure 9: Google+ - Most recent flow of content

The Cato Institute & Social Media, pg. 10

Appendix D: YouTube Images

Figure 10: YouTube - Statistics

Figure 11: YouTube - Recent Videos

Figure 12: YouTube - Two Way Asymmetrical Communication