There’s been a lot of talk recently at conferences I have attended about whether websites have outlived their usefulness and are merely dinosaurs left over from 1990s.
I think in our line of work where fact and not hype are the foundations of our websites, a no frills approach is warranted and the website model fits quite well thank you. Whereas a consumer product or service might look to gain interest through blogs, Facebook, Twitter and YouTube first, most folks who want fire and EMS information will visit our websites as the main source of information. With that said though our websites should still serve as portals to assist in integrating our traditional website and social media marketing efforts.
The goal of using a variety of electronic sources is to reach our citizens wherever they are. I don’t want to sound like an alter boy though. I have been my own worst enemy at updating Facebook and Twitter and posting new videos on YouTube.
I recently took some money out of my PIO budget to do a redesign of our website which will be ready in September. I value this opportunity to be able to let visitors have a more seamless experience of transferring from the site into other forms of social media that we maintain.
It is not sufficient enough to make it easier to get to Facebook or Twitter. Once website visitors view these other pages the information needs to be relevant, different and up to date. They need to know that the website is the hub but for up to the minute information they should go to Twitter, for more informal information Facebook and for the real deal the website.
So I pledge that at the next department incident that warrants media coverage or information for members of the community I will not operate in social media silos but –
1. Use my Blackberry from the fireground or incident site to Tweet an initial report from the scene.
2. Use my Blackberry to do a Facebook post from the incident with early photos if warranted.
3. Make on scene Twitter and Facebook posts as needed.
4. Integrate and expand everything into our website after the incident and reports the information to Facebook and Twitter.
I promise I’ll try this 360 approach and let you know how it works out.
Also on The Fire PIO…
- Group Pressure Personified – December 15, 2010
- New Media, Old Media – January 10, 2011
- Some Simplistic thoughts on Social Media – December 17, 2010
- Even the Walls have Ears – November 24, 2010
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