I have discussed on the pages of this blog many times the use of social media, specifically Twitter, to keep residents informed of emergencies. It appears more and more municipalities are turning to Twitter to keep citizens informed.
Once again proving its utility for just about any situation, Twitter came to the rescue of Northeasterners plowed under by snow last week.
To many of us integrating social media into our PIO or PAO pr and marketing plan seems to be a daunting task. Some look at it as all encompassing and begin to ignore the traditional and still strong forms of news dissemination such as newspapers and TV. Others see social media as such a big challenge that they push it off and say “I’ll start tomorrow.” But in essence, social media is no more or less an additional tool for the old pr toolbox.
Over the last year or so I have been closely watching how various corporations, emergency service arms and organizations utilize social media to report on a serious incident or crisis. I am not totally convienced that reporting details rapidly on Twitter or Facebook is the most advantageous way to let the public know about an emergency. With things moving so quickly and so much at stake in giving details, social media can trap you into churning out information before we can actually put the unfolding events into perspective. A case in point took place in Singapore last week.
In many of our Departments and agency’s we as PIO’s are asked to assist in the development of social media policy for our members or employees. This can be very easy or very difficult to construct and explain.
Salesforce.com is a major cloud-computing company. With over 72,000 customers involved in many different aspects of the web and social interaction the company is very sensitive to how they are portrayed via social media.
Salesforce recently released, for public consumption, their social media policy via YouTube. Although the policy is most relevant to explain to their own employees the company’s stand regarding social media at a publicly traded company, there are still valuable lessons to be learned by all.
At one time in the realm of social media it was all about numbers. In a PR and marketing environment the powers that be leaned on the PIO, or PR Director or Marketing head to collect names by the thousands to justify the use of Facebook, MySpace etc. I was sucked into this vortex at the start but always wondered exactly who these “friends” were. The more I looked at these friends the more I realized that many of these folks were not even casual acquaintances. They can actually be unwanted friends who make true relationships more difficult to attain.
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.
Mashable is a daily must read for anyone interested in social media and its connections to public relations and marketing. I read the blog everyday. Many of the postings do not directly relate to our type of PR, but many posts feature tips and tatics we can certainly use.
A great posting looks at the future of public relations and social media’s impact on the public relations field and our jobs as PIO’s and PAO’s.
The story contains allot of information, links to other stories and video but is well worth the time to study.
Recently I was asked at a public relations seminar what my take was on the most “Tweetable phrases and how does one from their blog or posting garner the most re-Tweets?
Although I use Twitter, my main headache is how to keep content limited to 144 characters. I never really delved into the great beyond of Twitterdom. From the amount of re Tweets I get for Twitter messages about this blog, I could use a quick class in 101.
I use Twitter for my Department in a limited form due mainly to the fact that I still cannot get a total handle on its overall effectiveness in getting our message and information across to our neighbors. Every time I think of nixing Twitter when reporting on an incident something new pops up to make me realize how important it is.
Anyone who has been in the public relations field for any length of time has used the AP Stylebook to help them at least try to look literate. For those novices a little background -
The Stylebook was first produced in 1953 as a stapled collection of rules totaling 60 pages, and has grown to a publication of more than 450 pages today. The book’s creation was prompted in part by a technical change in the way the AP transmitted news as well as a need for consistency among a worldwide editorial staff that produced stories for newspapers with a variety of style preferences. There have been major periodic revisions over the past few decades, the last in 2008, and the print edition is now updated annually.
This is a pretty bare bones Power Point presented by the Army titled “Online Etiquette: 5 Things every Solider should know.” When you scroll through the 8 slide presentation just substitute firefighter for soldier and you can see the parallels in online social media interaction etiquette between the two services.
When we disseminate information resulting from an incident scene print newspapers are still responsive in reporting on the story. Currently though with print newsroom resources stretched to their limits, the human interest, safety information and feel good stories we like to float around are not in abundance as they used to be.
While I was at a conference in Las Vegas last week I had the opportunity to speak to some SONY execs. I always like to hear top corporate marketing people talk about the trends and new techniques they are examining.
The talk turned to social media. As this form of communications continues to evolve the stark reality is if you are waiting at the station the train has already passed you by. If you are not actively engaged in social media or even on the most basic level, frequent updates on the content of your website, you are letting the fastest growing form of communication with you community slip away.
When I departed Long Island for Las Vegas a few days ago I noticed that the TSA was profiling blue hair. Oh I understand everyone is on edge with recent breeches, put this was the definitive example of perhaps spending too much time on the wrong person.
I had the opportunity last August at the American Legion Convention in Louisville to hear Admiral Mike Mullen, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff speak. During his talk one thing kept on ringing clear to me, Mullen wanted the public to have as much knowledge of the current conflicts as possible so they could make an informed decision on where they personally stood. This was refreshing in that Mullen wanted the public to have access to all the information at hand, both good and bad.
Now Mullen has blueprinted a new social media strategy for himself that is stunning in its scope and outreach. I can think of no other military or public official that has such a keen understanding of the value of social media and citizen outreach. It is a lesson in openness and transparency that we as PIO’s should take note of.
I had this brilliant idea last year of doing a public service campaign to promote the fact that my Department had an active Twitter presence that provided relevant information about fire scenes and MVA’s in real time so residents could know what roads where being closed and how traffic was being diverted. This I thought was a great way to utilize Twitter for the public good.
For the Fire Pio blog as well as for my own department’s dissemination of information via social media I always cross post. This means I use the same facsimile of information I am sending out to Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn. Some recent articles I have read make me think now that this might not be the best strategy.
I want to thank Doug Walton for passing along this piece which originally came from the definitive social media website Mashable. Many of the tips in the piece can be directly correlated to the types of social media we use as fire department PIO’s.
From felons on Facebook to tips through Twitter, social media is being used more and more by law enforcement agencies, and not just to fight Internet-related crimes. We’re talking about solving crimes that are happening on the street and in your community.
The Salt Lake Tribune just posted an interesting story about SGT Craig Martinez, the new Public Information Officer for the Orem Department of Public Safety. Martinez has scored a triple play with his use of social media via blog, Twitter and Facebook to help keep the residents of Orem safe and informed.
Away from the fire house, in other work that I do, I have quite a bit of interaction with the United States Army and several of their PAO’s. I have been amazed over the last few years of the new openness the Army is exhibiting to the media as well as their attempts to start embracing various forms of social media.
Lindsey Miller from Regan Communications recently wrote about the effective use of Twitter in the Charlotte and Mesa Fire Departments. It offers good insight into how a Twitter plan can be built that leads to interaction with other forms of social media.
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