With all the snow in the northeast during this bitter winter a good old “Adopt a Hydrant” program was in order. I am happy to report that it was a big success, due in no small part to the new strength of the word “public” in public relations.
Adopt a Hydrant is a great program for any cold weather fire department to run. The premise is simple – when it snows members of the community Adopt a Hydrant, by making sure a snow free 3 foot parameter exists around the hydrant to allow easier access to hit the hydrant and start water flow.
In the days of ancient history, about 10 years ago, in addition to reaching out to the community through the schools, posters and talks to community groups, a PIO would send a release to the media about the program, do some follow-up pitches and hope the request piqued the interest of editors.
What made me think about the new emphasis on the word “public” in public relations was how the dissemination of information for the program flowed.
Now, a story can reach tens of thousands of people in an instant with the Internet’s wide array of tools. A department can post on their website, blog, Tweet, or share on Facebook. Instead of waiting for a middleman to take a story and distribute it, you’re free to connect with your community members, directly. What an amazing opportunity!
While PR is still serving as relations to the public, it has become public again. PIO’s don’t need special contact lists or to ask favors of journalists; they can control a vast number of PR moves themselves.
Scores of community members participated in the Hydrant program through an approach that featured print dailies and weeklies, local TV, department website placement, Twitter and Facebook.
There are an ever increasing number of tools now in the PIO box. It is our responsibility to use them all to keep the community informed and safe.
Also on The Fire PIO…
- Some Simplistic thoughts on Social Media – December 17, 2010
- A PIO Social Media Christmas – December 22, 2010
- Twitter in the Snow – January 3, 2011
- Even the Walls have Ears – November 24, 2010
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