The Department of Veterans Affairs released its social media policy outlining the department’s use of emerging platforms to enhance communication, stakeholder outreach, and information exchange to reach veterans of all ages.
“Veterans should have consistent and convenient access to reliable VA information real time using social media -whether on a smartphone or a computer,” said Secretary of Veterans Affairs Eric Shinseki. “They also should be able to communicate directly with appropriate VA employees electronically.”
According to the agency, VA began launching social media sites in 2009 and has more than 100 Facebook pages, more than 50 Twitter feeds, two blogs, a YouTube channel and a Flickr page. VA’s Facebook pages have a combined suscribers of more 293,000 fans, with the main page having over 138,000.
On Twitter, VA has a combined followership of over 53,000-with the Department’s main feed reaching over 22,000. VA has posted over 300 videos on YouTube and over 9,000 photos on Flickr, which have been viewed over a combined 1.1 million times. In November 2010, VA launched its first blog, VAntage Point, which actively solicits guest pieces from both employees and the public.
