Release: Rep Borglum Redefines Constituent Services in South Dakota

Pat Powers

Rep Borglum Redefines Constituent Services in South Dakota

Scyller Borglum, Representative of District 32, Rapid City, is the first ever state legislator to use an innovative social media engagement to promote government transparency, excellent constituent service, and high quality governance.

It’s called a ChatBot…or what Borglum calls, Bella.

South Dakota’s budget doesn’t allow for legislators to have an office, or a personal staff. They are a one person show. Representative Borglum knew she needed to think outside the box in order to maximize her time and services.

“I remember seeing and hearing about this remarkable social marketing tool that Governor Noem successfully used throughout her campaign, and I wanted to be a part of it. Social Media is a large part of our society, and I want to meet constituents where they are – and that is in the social media space,” says Representative Borglum.

The Facebook Messenger program, built by a Social/Digital Marketing Firm, Frank Engage, allows Representative Borglum to build a powerful and interactive grassroots tool that can effectively deliver targeted messaging, manage member services, and recruit, educate, and deploy advocates.

Actively engaging with the innovative use of technology is just like a staff member, but without sick days, vacation, or any added expense to the taxpayer.

If you message “Good Gov” to Scyller J. Borglum’s Facebook Messenger, buttons will pop up to help the user navigate to meeting requests, capitol tours, flag requests, internships, and much more. You can even learn more about Representative Borglum by taking a fun, interactive quiz!

Questions from constituents come at all hours of the day (and night). Using artificial intelligence and natural language processing, Representative Borglum can take the most frequently asked questions, or requests, interpret the question and/or request, understand what the visitor is asking in context, and offer an answer back – instantaneously!

This technology continuously learns through constituent interactions overtime, eventually answering over 90% of questions asked by constituents. Representative Borglum asks that as many people possible, ask as many topical questions as possible, so that Bella quickly learns and gets to work serving the people of District 32, and all of South Dakota!

“When I decided to serve South Dakota, I wanted to do it differently. I want to be in constant communication with the community. I want them to know that I am always available, and also know what I am doing on their behalf. South Dakotans deserve the best service, and with this new innovative tool I can do a better job managing the needs and concerns of the people of South Dakota,” says Representative Borglum.

Every day, followers spend an average of 35 minutes on Facebook. This includes three unique visits to the Facebook Messenger app, which has earned more users than Snapchat, Twitter, and Instagram… combined.

Scyller J. Borglum lives in Rapid City with her husband Tim. She is an engineer, world traveler, and Black Hills enthusiast. She has served in the South Dakota House of Representatives since the 2018 session. She currently serves on the Health and Human Services, Military and Veterans Affairs, and Judiciary House Committees.

13 thoughts on “Release: Rep Borglum Redefines Constituent Services in South Dakota”

  2. Yeah. No one wants to use a ChatBot. Just look her up on Legislative Research Council and call or email her. She has time to filed questions like every other elected official.

  3. One year, I was at a meeting of majority leaders from across the country. I was having a conversation with the leader from Ohio, who asked me how many people I had on my staff. I said “staff?” I have one secretary that I share with the assistant leader, (then Kristi Noem) and a college intern. I told him we don’t waste a lot of money or time in South Dakota! The downside of that, along with term limits, is that the legislative branch is very weak compared to the executive branch. By the way, the leader from Ohio had 16 people on his staff.

  4. She is a great new face in the Republican Party for South Dakota. Sure would be nice if people could quit being so damn negative, especially when someone comes along and tries to make it easier to contact them. If you don’t like it, don’t use it, that seems simple enough for me!

  5. I have talked to her, she isn’t afraid to talk to constituents, she took the time to listen to my concerns, she is a great representative!

  6. Me too! She took time to answer my question even though she apparently she may have filed Carlos’ question! She answered my question about a bill and seems very intelligent and honest, a big change for Pierre!

  8. Not that this has anything to do with the story, but in noticing her name, is she related to a famous sculptor?

      1. Are you sure? I was at an event where she spoke and she was asked that question. I am pretty sure she said she was not related.

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