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State Services, Including ‘MyDMV,’ Get a Social Media Push

3 min read

So, if Arkansas doesn’t have a Department of Motor Vehicles, why is the state’s newest website called mydmv.arkansas.gov?

Larry Walther, director of the Arkansas Department of Finance & Administration, said this month that those little letters, DMV, stir strong emotions.

“Here in Arkansas, you likely know our ‘DMV’ locations as ‘Revenue Office,” Walther wrote in a May 15 open letter urging Arkansans to “skip the trip” to the driver’s license office. He noted that Arkansas was among the first states to offer online vehicle registration, and that the state has gone from offering one service online in 2015 to almost 20 services today. “You can also order a duplicate driver’s license, check the status of an application for title, request a variety of documents and pre-register if you plan to obtain a new license or ID.”

Agency spokesman Scott Hardin announced new state social media accounts on Friday, explaining how “DMV” became part of the website title. It has become a common term for the place people line up for licenses and plates — even though DMV is not an official state acronym. (The agency does have a division called the Office of Motor Vehicle, but that didn’t have much of a ring; neither did “myrevenueoffice.arkansas.gov,” Hardin joked.)

“For the services we recently launched online, we decided to call the website ‘mydmv.arkansas.gov’ for the simplicity and marketing options it provided,” Hardin said. “We are doing quite a bit of marketing and outreach to ensure Arkansans are aware that the majority of revenue office-related services are available on this online site, from registering a vehicle to ordering a replacement license.”

Hardin knew his future would hold some Facebook and Twitter time when he hired on in August as the agency’s communications administrator. His bosses wanted to incorporate social media strategies into agency messaging, and that effort bore fruit Friday with the launching of a Facebook Page and a Twitter feed, facebook.com/ArkansasDFA/ and Twitter.com/ArkansasDFA.

“We’ve been considering social media for several months,” Hardin told Arkansas Business, noting that his new bosses see Facebook and Twitter as a new form of outreach in sharing information with customers. “The audience we are trying to reach is very broad (DFA is an agency that reaches every Arkansan in some way) as we will be highlighting a wide range of services on these channels.”

Some of those include:

  • Updates on Medical Marijuana Commission meetings, developments and public announcements.
  • Updates on motor vehicle programs and links to services like the complaint line/website that lets Arkansans report misuse of parking spaces reserved for those with disabilities.
  • Reminders on tax deadlines.
  • Highlights of the Arkansas Scholarship Lottery, including overall statistics on amounts committed to scholarships.
  • New state job postings (managed by DF&A’s Office of Personnel Management).
  • Information on state procurement, including postings about large bids for state work.
  • Data on Alcoholic Beverage Control issues, including new permits and board meetings.
  • Announcements of any changes in the process of getting or renewing driver’s licenses.

The agency’s first tweet went out on May 18, and by Friday afternoon it had tweeted out three items and had 169 followers.

Walther was prominent on the new Facebook page, pictured at the top along with Walter Anger, the agency’s commissioner of revenue; Carla Haugen, deputy director and chief of staff; and Paul Louthian, deputy director and comptroller of the state.

Walther praised Anger as a member of a team that conducted a “full review” to determine which services might be valuable and practical on the website, while making sure services remain in full compliance with state and federal rules.

“Arkansans may now complete a majority of revenue-office related services from the comfort of a home or office,” Walther said. “However, in today’s world we understand online business goes well beyond a home or office. Knowing this, we optimized the MyDMV website for mobile phone use, making it possible to do business with the state while watching the Hogs play or hunting.”

He concludes, “Familiarize yourself with the site and get ready to ‘skip the trip.’”

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