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Being Prepared to Deal with a Large-Scale Incident Requires Effective Use of Social Media

By Leischen Stelter, American Military University

How well are you prepared to communicate with the public during a crisis? Has your department conducted training exercises that incorporate the use of social media? Do you have a public information officer (PIO) who is authorized (and capable) of sending out social media updates in the midst of an emergency without going through the “normal” authoritative channels?

Disaster team picIf your department hasn’t asked itself these questions, it may not be thoroughly prepared to deal with a large-scale incident.

On Oct. 31, the International Association of Fire Chiefs (IAFC) hosted a webinar aimed at providing best practices and tips for fire service leaders regarding the use of social media during times of crisis. The webinar was sponsored by American Military University, for full disclosure.

The speakers were Curt Varone, deputy assistant chief (ret.) of the Providence (R.I.) Fire Department (check out his blog here); and Dave Statter, former television and radio reporter and owner of STATter911 Communications (check out his blog here).

Both speakers acknowledged that the “best” way to use social media during a large-scale incident was still evolving. However, they offered attendees several examples of departments using social media effectively as well as some departments who learned from their mistakes. (To hear the entire webinar, go here).

Chief Varone started the webinar by giving attendees some perspective on social media. In 2005 when Hurricane Katrina hit, Twitter didn’t even exist, Facebook was relatively new, and there was no such thing as an iPhone. A mere seven years later, when Hurricane Sandy devastated the eastern seaboard, the FDNY was responding to emergency requests via Twitter because phone lines were jammed.

The widespread acceptance and use of social media by the public means that fire services—and other public safety agencies—must take the medium seriously and learn how to use it well. Here are three different ways to use social media:

  1. Use social media every day. Build an audience. Communicate with the public on a routine basis. Provide them with tips and other information regularly.
  2. Use social media as emergency communications. This has more of an operational purpose, to let the public know what is happening and what they need to do.
  3. Monitoring social media for intel. It is important for incident commanders and public safety officials to know what is being said by others about an incident. Monitoring a situation via social media gives agencies an opportunity to address any misinformation out there. Don’t forget that social media is also self-correcting, meaning that if there is wrong information out there, others on social media will help to correct this information.

Don’t Wait to Use Social Media
Statter emphasized that departments must get whatever information they can out to the public as soon as possible and as often as possible. And don’t get so wrapped up in thinking that you need to deliver “all” the information at once. That is not necessarily what the public expects. “Level with the public and say: ‘This is what we know at this point,’” he said. For example, tell them there’s an active shooter, you don’t know how many there are, and you don’t know if it’s over. Give them instructions and/or locations to stay away from. “The public will appreciate it, and they will be getting information from people they trust.”

Whatever you do, don’t stay silent. Don’t wait until you have all the information to start the line of communication. Remember, if people don’t get their information from you, they will get it from someone else and that information may not be accurate.  

The Role of the PIO
The speakers spent time focusing on the role of the PIO. In the new world of social media, this role has changed dramatically. These officers no longer have the luxury of time nor the ability to take a few hours to get a press release out. The public, and especially the media, wants information and they want it immediately. The PIO must be able to deliver information in a timely manner and to do so they must have the trust of the chief or other superiors. This is a very challenging role and takes a person with a special skillset and unique personality to do it well. Make sure that you have a reliable and knowledgeable PIO whom you can trust to put out accurate and appropriate information in a timely manner.

Social Media Can Help Keep the Media at Bay
During a crisis, the media will always be there. “The news is always calling you. Social media has solved this problem for you if you use it properly,” said Statter. He gave an example of a police agency that had built up such a strong reputation with the news media for reliable and timely information that reporters didn’t need to call any longer, they could get what they needed from social media updates.

Here are some final takeaways from the webinar:

  • PIO must have flexibility and help.
  • Use all the tools and platforms to communicate with the community
  • Engage early and often
  • Don’t wait to send out timely information
  • Correct wrong information immediately
  • Monitor social media
  • Train. Make sure there is a social media element to all your training exercises so people have experience operating during a crisis.

For more case studies and examples, listen to the entire Webinar here.

You can follow both speakers on Twitter @STATter911and @CurtVarone. Oh, and you can follow us @AMUFireEd.

Leischen Kranick is a Managing Editor at AMU Edge. She has 15 years of experience writing articles and producing podcasts on topics relevant to law enforcement, fire services, emergency management, private security, and national security.

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