Reclaiming the Narrative: Sam Toles on Fixing Local Government's Social Media Strategy | Ep.10

🚨 Struggling with negativity on social media? Here’s how to take back control. 🎙️ Gov360 Episode 10! Sam Toles is back—this time in-studio—to dive even deeper into the social media crisis facing local governments and how to fix it. A former city councilmember turned Hollywood media executive, Sam is the founder of CiviSocial and the author of two game-changing books: 📘 The Social Media Playbook for City and County Managers 📗 *New this week:* The Social Media Playbook for Local Elected Officials (forward written by Chris Mann) 💡 Whether you’re a city manager, PIO, department head, or elected official, this episode will shift how you think about public engagement—and show you a better way forward. In this episode, Chris and Sam unpack: Why toxic online discourse is driving talent out of local government The mindset shift that empowers staff and changes the game How to reframe your communications around staff, not politics Platform-by-platform do’s and don’ts (Facebook, X, Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, and more) Why Canva flyers, press releases, and static posts just don’t cut it anymore The “Mary on the Trails” story and how to turn staff into community heroes How one city went from 30 toxic commenters to just 1 in a matter of months ⸻ 🔗 Links & Resources: CiviSocial: https://civisocial.com The Social Media Playbook for City & County Managers: https://a.co/d/4K3UdBj The Social Media Playbook for Local Elected Officials: https://a.co/d/gO39KYB Connect with Sam on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/samtoles1/ 📧 Subscribe to the free Gov360 Newsletter on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/build-relation/newsletter-follow?entityUrn=7320606146577186817 ⸻ 📣 If this episode helped you, hit the like, subscribe, and share buttons to support the show and help other local government leaders find it. Until next time...govern boldly, my friends!