Marriage Equality Day - King County, WA

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On the night of Dec. 6, 2012, one month after Washington State voters approved same-sex marriage, King County opened the Recorder's Office for a special midnight ceremony that ushered in a new era of civil rights. In doing so, King County became the first jurisdiction in the country to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples based on voter approval. Happy couples young and old, many of whom had waited decades for this moment, braved the chilly night to become a part of American history. Learn how King County blended traditional and social media to connect with participants, drive news coverage, and emcee a once-in-lifetime event that reimagined how a community engages with local government.

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The Marriage Plot:Inside Washington State’s Epic Campaign for LGBT Equality

Presented by Derek BeltSocial Media Specialist, King County

Follow me: @derekbelt Follow us: @kcnews

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Washington voters have narrowly approved same-sex marriage, completing a four-state sweep of victories on Election Day by marriage-equality advocates. Before Tuesday, gay marriage had never won a statewide vote anywhere in America.

— SeattlePI.com, Nov. 8, 2012

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Referendum 74 – Washington StateYES 54% NO 46%

Referendum 74 – King CountyYES 67% NO 33%

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King County Executive Dow Constantine announced on his monthly radio spot that the Recorder’s Office would open for a special midnight ceremony Dec. 6, 2012 at 12:01 a.m.

Dec. 6 was declared “Marriage Equality Day” in King County.

The dates are set – Dec. 6-8, 2012

Planning begins

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Planning begins

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• Tents• Official queuing area• Media area• King County staff• Volunteers• Nearby coffee shops

open all night

Traditional media

• Logistics/schedule• Credentials• Site walkthrough• Interviews• Press releases• Public awareness

& outreach

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Social media

• Twitter - @kcnews and @kcexec• Hashtag - #MEDayWA• Facebook page & events - NEW!• Instagram - NEW!• Storify - NEW!• YouTube - King County TV

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Social media

The goal:• Cover the coverage/customer service

The strategy:

• Support the media• Real-time updates to people waiting in line• Monitor for rumor control

The results:• 30,000 interactions & No. 5 trending topic in U.S.

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Social media

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Marriage equality vs. General election

Time frame Interactions Tweets sent

@kcnews mentions

People reached Clicks Followers

added

Dec. 6-8 29,758 157 1,246 1.1 million 587 478

Entire month of November* 2,638 110 346 422,676 1,905 387

* Nov. numbers are Twitter only. King County did not have Facebook, Instagram or Storify pages.

Social media

• 6,639 mentions of #MEDayWA on Twitter• 1,246 mentions of @kcnews• 348 people registered for Facebook events• 5,712 people “talking about this” on Facebook• 400+ photos shared from participants• 8,375 pageviews on Storify• 2,725 video views on YouTube• 91 check-ins at Recorder’s Office

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Twitter

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• Engage people in line• Brokered hashtag with local

media #MEDayWA• 6,639 hashtag mentions• No. 5 trending topic in U.S.• 149 new followers

Twitter

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Facebook events

• Gauge interest in attending• Create a safe place to

connect with participants• Update people directly on

their smartphones• 348 people registered• 230 new fans

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Facebook events

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Facebook events

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Instagram

• Same hashtag as Twitter#MEDayWA

• Inside access during special midnight ceremony

• 186 photos shared• 311 likes, 16 comments• 86 new followers

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Instagram

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Storify

• Bring social media conversations together

• Real-time editing kept people coming back

• Linked to from Storify.com home page

• 8,375 pageviews

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Media coverage

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Success story

• 489 marriage licenses issued on Dec. 6, and 623 issued in three days.

• Typical day sees 50-100 licenses issued.

• National mainstream media coverage.

• Incredible visibility and goodwill locally with 30,000 interactions in social media.

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The Marriage Plot:Inside Washington State’s Epic Campaign for LGBT Equality

Presented by Derek BeltSocial Media Specialist, King County

Follow me: @derekbelt Follow us: @kcnews

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