SOCIAL MEDIA IN EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT

BEYOND THE BASICS

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OBJECTIVES•Review the Basics•Current Day Challenges •Policy Evaluation•Changing Your Culture & Training Employees

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WHAT ARE THE BASICS?

• Know How to Use Basic Tools• Bare Minimum Tools = Facebook, Twitter • If you are still seeing help with the basics, find a PER-304

course to attend at https://ndptc.hawaii.edu/training • FEMA Independent Study (IS-42) at www.training.fema.gov

• Policy Development• Policy should cover your agency goals (or lanes of

engagement), who has/shares the “official voice” of the agency, record retention and employee guidelines

• Platform Creation

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CURRENT DAY SITUATION

• PER 304: Social Media Basics released by FEMA

• Expanded Use of Social Media among public safety

• Proliferation of Virtual Teams

• “There’s an app for that”

• Next Generation 9-1-1 Discussions Underway at FCC, DHS, FEMA, White House which will formalize data mining

• Two New Courses on Social Media Tools & Engagement Strategies under reviewFollow Hashtag #IAEM and @IAEM for this conversation Connect with @Cherylble &

@VirtualEMA

CHALLENGES• Lots of “noise” & competition for interest

• Interagency Coordination is Essential• Presence vs. Non-Presence• First to Report = Grabs Media Attention

• Overwhelming Options

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REVIEWING YOUR STRATEGY

• Identify Target Audiences• Establish Goals for Your Social

Footprint• Grid Out Your Messages &

Message Lanes • Who Might Your Agency Compete or

Cooperate With on Messaging?

• Determine Your Archiving Need & Options• Enterprise-Wide? • Example: Archive Social ($200-400/month)

• Just a Few Accounts? • Example: Social Safe ($6.99/year)

POLICY DEVELOPMENT

• Include “Take Down” Parameters

• Clear “On-the-Job” Guidelines

• Include Your Strategy Goals

• Include Expectations for Your Official Sites: Who has permission to post officially?

• Discuss Personal Use of Social Media for Employees

• Send Your Policy for Legal Review Before Implementation

• Train Employees & Incorporate into New-Hire Training

PRACTICE RECOMMENDATIONS

Always encourage people to call 9-1-1 and NOT to report emergencies by social media

Consider not tagging employees in agency pictures & use of last names

Employees should not share information about dynamic, work-related situations due to confidentiality expectations.

Use common sense in personal use of social media.

EMPLOYEE TRAINING ~ FOUR R’S

• Risk: Privacy is EVERYONE’s Responsibility

• Relationships: Awkward Moments

• Reputations: Yours & Ours

• Reminders: Confidential Information

PRIVACY ISSUES • Evaluate how much your share• Consider “public safety” status • Check your privacy settings regularly• Conduct privacy check-ups• Location Settings• Remember, People Don’t Need to be

online to hear about what You Post

Bottom Line Your personal privacy settings

are Your Personal Responsibility.

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THE “AWKWARD FAMILY” ISSUES

• Merger of Peer Groups

• Power Differentials

• Consider your own boundaries & “friend criteria”

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TWO REPUTATIONS

•Yours•Ours Together

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CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION CONSIDERATIONS

• Consider Your Confidentiality Policy• Be mindful of visual displays• HIPAA Information?• Caller Names or Identifying

Information• Facts over Opinions• Public Safety Comments• Agency Address

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SUMMARY• Seek out the newly emerging NDPTC courses on Engagement & Intermediate Tools •Understand Current Day Complexities• Tune up your Social Media Policy• Review Your Practices• Involve & Train All of Your Staff

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•www.sm4em.org will be evolving in 2015-2016 to…

•www.VirtualEMA.org is an umbrella association for innovative initiatives and use of emerging technologies in emergency management

Cheryl Bledsoe,

@cherylble

info@virtualema.org

360-524-3175

QUESTIONS?