The Social Network & Community JUST for Firefighters
Using social media in the fire service
If you do a search of "firefighter social networking" this site pops up right away, which is great for this community. And as I sifted through some of the results, I came across this news article talking about Anchorage firefighters using Twitter to update their community on apparatus being taken out of service.
Can (or should) fire departments utilize these forms of communication more often to engage the public and increase their visibility?
Things that I can think of where we in the fire service could use social media would be:
- Updates on new fire safety codes
- Inform people about a major highway closer due to an accident (i.e. mobile media)
- Provide updates to educators about fire safety programs we offer
- Supply links to specific articles on fire events, safety, awareness, preparedness
- Give locations on where people can find shelter and/or help after a natural disaster
Do you think your department could or would even accept this new form of technology and use it to their advantage?
Can (or should) fire departments utilize these forms of communication more often to engage the public and increase their visibility?
Things that I can think of where we in the fire service could use social media would be:
- Updates on new fire safety codes
- Inform people about a major highway closer due to an accident (i.e. mobile media)
- Provide updates to educators about fire safety programs we offer
- Supply links to specific articles on fire events, safety, awareness, preparedness
- Give locations on where people can find shelter and/or help after a natural disaster
Do you think your department could or would even accept this new form of technology and use it to their advantage?
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Chris Tomlinson on
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"...created a Twitter page thinking that would be a great tool also but so far it seems as hardly anyone in our area is caught on to the whole Twitter thing yet..lol"
Oh, there is no doubt in my mind that we'll run into the same thing here. I'm lucky to find people that "get" texting, let alone a social network site like FB or Twitter. But hey, we might as well start and be a leader at that and then others can learn from us. Right?
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Permalink Reply by Carissa O'Brien on
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To truly engage your community, you must reach community members where they are, so be careful to undertsand that no one solution will meet every department's needs. A communications plan should include multiple, integrated channels to not only increase your department's visibility, but to truly maintain an ongoing dialogue with the members of your community and foster relationships that ultimately build public trust and improve your service.
That said, the public--in all geographic areas--is flocking to social communities like Twitter and Facebook in increasing numbers (each of these two networks alone have more than 20 million users). So, no matter where you are, you're likely to reach at least a good portion of your audience with a social media approach, and this will increase exponentially with time. If you haven't already, start exploring how social media fits into your overall communications plan.
Be a part of the community first! It's important to engage in your community and in social media to understand what will work best for your needs...and accept now that no one is truly an expert in this emerging technology yet, so be prepared to learn among with all of us. To start, someone on the team should represent the department, explore the various networks, start engaging in discussion, and gradually build relationships with peers, colleagues and community members.
Some organizations, associations, and departments are actively engaging today...Some are on Facebook and Twitter (i.e. http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=55950971383 and http://twitter.com/NFPA). Others are engaging their community with their own outbound channels like discussion forums or blogs (i.e. see Seattle Fire's new blog at http://fireline.seattle.gov/). All can be effective in achieiving your goals. The ideal plan incorporates multiple tactics in an integrated fashion, maximizing your reach and giving the public several options for engaging with you. These organizations are using social channels for group discussion and/or emergency updates, as well as a powerful means for promoting programs and increasing awareness of key issues.
There are a number of good resources for more information. I'll point you to just a few here:
http://highnoonfilm.com/pio-resources/tips-on-using-twitter-in-em-p...
http://eps411.com/2009/05/15/socialmedia/
http://eps411.com/2009/05/26/socialmediainterview/
http://www.cnn.com/2009/TECH/03/13/police.social.networking/index.html
If you're looking to engage your community, you've already taken the right first step. Listen to your public, understand your goals before you act, and explore the power of social media channels to increase engagement, build trust and improve community service.
Carissa Caramanis O'Brien
www.redboxcommunications.com
Follow me on Twitter: http://twitter.com/carissao
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@Carissa
To truly engage your community, you must reach community members where they are, so be careful to understand that no one solution will meet every department's needs.
Oh no, I totally agree. I'm certainly not looking for Twitter or FB to replace our community involvement, but more so to increase that involvement and build the communication.
After looking at the links you provided I did some more digging on my own and found this TED video. In it, the speaker claims that we are in the greatest communication revolution since movable type and I would have to agree. There was one specific line from his talk that stuck out to me the most:
"The Internet gives us the many to many pattern" Meaning, it's better than the telephone because that's a one-to-one conversation and it's better than T.V., movies or print because that's one message too many.
Social media is yet another communication's tool and should not be viewed as a single solution, but yet another tool in communication. I just think the emergency services can and will find that it's by far and away the greatest communication tool they'll ever encounter.
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Public presence, in schools, retirement homes, doing pre-plans and fire education, working locally with the community is what is going to line up the public with their fire service needs, not random 140 character mental blurbs.
As discussed earlier, these networks are not the means to an end and are only another tool for us to use. I wholeheartedly agree that having an actual physical presence is very critical in getting our message out.
But consider these scenarios where things like Twitter and FB can help
- Instant notifications from Twitter with regards to storm spotters
- Facebook can be used to raise awareness or community involvement in a fund raiser or help those in need (i.e. group created to help families removed from their homes because of a fire, etc.)
- Maybe a major highway is closed because of a massive accident. Updates via these app's can inform the public quicker than the media
Like the Moyer's said, more people are becoming accustomed to visiting these social sites multiple times a day than a website.
I really think it comes down to HOW you use them and the messages you send. If you're constantly Twittering about the new rookie and how stupid he is, well, now you have a problem. But if you implement a plan of attack on what you'll be communicating, I see it being a very powerful form of media for your department to use
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Dottie,
So you have these media outlets working for you and I think that what you have in place is exactly what many of us should be doing. Then I think if you add in social networking, you have that much stronger of a network. Good for you! ((((((applause))))))
Chris
f.d. web design
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who in the fire department is going to be monitoring all of these sites, responding to messages, spotted storms, road closures?
That depends entirely on the plan they have developed in using this form of communication. If they choose to post items and just let it sit, then so be it. Or they might choose to stay involved and communicate back and forth with the other visitors/contributors.
Does the fire service need to be involved in this? In my opinion, yes - in one form or another. The Internet and it's tools are the greatest revolution in communication in the last 100+ years. Why not use that to your advantage?
You and I are using social media this very minute to discuss/debate this idea and many others are here to discuss things that involve the fire service as well. So if we can use it to discuss things amongst ourselves, why not use it to educate, discuss and inform our "customers" and make them feel like they're involved in their investment? i.e. a government agency that their taxes pay for.
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