When we talk about Social Media the conversation inevitable turns to both the good and the bad aspects when using Twitter to provide emergency notifications. We covered emergency notifications in a past episode of our award deserving podcast, and much of what we said then still holds true now. The true key to any emergency notification system is to use everything in the toolbox that is available and not rely on one specific passive outlet or another.
It is important for every agency to remember that Twitter, although it is a form of micro-blogging, is used as a tool for conversation. The way a Twitter subscriber, and in certain aspects a Facebook Page subscriber, consumes your content is different than someone who is subscribed to your blog. Their method is more as a passive consumer, so when a crisis unfolds it requires you to become more aggressive in your Social Media usage to get the message out to those subscribers.
How Effective Was This?
We’re going to look at the NYC Office of Emergency Management Twitter stream from @NotifyNYC as an example of how agencies are currently being passive with a tool that requires aggressive use during a crisis. Illustrated is the stream from the recent “Boxing Day Blizzageddon” that struck the city December 26 and December 27:
- There was one Blizzard warning issued December 25th at 19:02
- There were three mass transit messages and one parking regulation message issued December 26th between 12:52 and 22:42
- There were ten messages sent out on December 27:
- two having to do with parking regulations
- two with transit delays
- one roof collapse
- two fires
- one warning about carbon monoxide poisoning
- one requesting citizens to help clear hydrants
- There was one message about parking regulations, one message about a power outage, and two messages about the same 3-alarm fire sent out December 28
- Finally there were four messages sent out December 29 but only one of them had to do with abandoned cars in the roadway and a method to report them
That is a total of 15 messages sent out during a 48+ hour event. If we consider that the average Twitter user subscribes to 20-50 other Twitter users (who may or may not be very active themselves), what are the chances of those 15 messages reaching the audience needed when it is sent only once during those 48 hours? The chances are probably very slim.
How Could It Have Been More Effective?
So how can we use Twitter to be more effective with the audience we are trying to reach? Consider some of the following tactics and tools:
- Schedule Tweets: Use a tool like CoTweet or HootSuite to schedule warning messages to go out at intervals. The Blizzard warning could have easily been scheduled to have been sent out once every 4 hours for a 24 hour period which would have led into the actual event
- Repeat The Tweet: There is no hard and fast rule that says that you can’t repeat a Tweet. While it is not a recommended practice for marketers, for Emergency Managers sending messages through a “pull” system the process can, and definitely should, be different during a crisis. Consider hourly updates on the situation as a good starting interval
- Promote Relevant Blog Postings: Take the window of opportunity before the event to provide links to relevant blog postings that are already available, as a refresher to your community
- Listen To The Problem And Provide Solutions In A Timely Manner: It is important to have a situational awareness of what is going on around you. The morning of December 27 you would have been hard pressed to have NOT heard about abandoned cars in roadways from Twitter or for that matter the media outlets, and that is really when the message about calling 311 should have gone out. Be sure to monitor and listen both Social Media and the traditional media channels for a better “big” picture view and share the solutions to the issues being reported in a timely fashion
- Pls RT: It won’t hurt to ask your subscribers to help spread the message. Once they do, also don’t forget to thank them!
And remember…
- Just Because A Tweet Can Have 140 Characters Doesn’t Mean It Has To: Yes you are limited to 140 characters, but don’t feel the need to use each and every one. For that matter, keep messages that you want to see re-tweeted down to around 70 characters
While it is important to use your Social Media presence before a crisis occurs, it is also important to remember that during the crisis you should be ramping its use up to match the response of your agency.
What else could be done, during a crisis, to effectively get the message out using Social Media? Please feel free to share in the comments below
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