Social Fire Media Social Media Users Beakdown

Like Police Departments and other government agencies, Fire Departments should be active on social media. In order to assistance facilitate this, the Firefighters Back up Foundation (FSF) recently released a bang-up new training programme titled Social Media for Burn Departments. The training is provided by Ron Morgan (@morganrp), a fireman and communications professional who has acted every bit the social media director for a number of public safety organizations.

"Your community expects you to be there," says Morgan regarding an official presence on social media platforms. "Your community is on social media and they want to hear from you. Information technology doesn't thing if you are on social media, the taxpayers and the citizens you serve are."

Social media should exist office of every mod burn department's larger advice strategy, argues Morgan. Information technology should be used to connect with local media outlets, show elected officials what'south happening with the burn down department, and most chiefly, build relationships with the community.

Ultimately, social media is nearly edifice a burn down department's brand. Departments should ask themselves what image they want to convey to constituents, and then employ social media to build that paradigm.

Content Is King

Social media is all about content. So if yous're aiming to convey an image of professionalism and efficiency—which all fire departments surely are—you need to provide an audience with quality information and content. "Content will brand or intermission your social media campaigns," says Morgan.

But what sort of content should departments be sharing? Firstly, it's important to remember that privacy regulations such equally HIPAA apply to social media content, and so it's rarely advisable to create content around a real-life agile scenario (unless it's purely the sharing of important information and not photos or videos showing individuals). Instead, Morgan suggests creating posts around the following:

Training and Behind-the-Scenes Content

'Burn to learns' and other grooming exercises provide an opportunity for some exciting videos and photos, while backside-scenes content allows y'all to show day-to-day life at the fire station and highlight hard-working individuals.

BFD Technical Rescue Companies have been training this calendar week on structural collapse at the preparation facilities on Moon Island. At that place are many variable that factor into an event and they must be prepared in every instance, this is why preparation is and then important. film.twitter.com/hEqu1cvhVi

— Boston Fire Dept. (@BostonFire) June 26, 2019

Events and Initiatives

Social media platforms like Twitter and Facebook not only let yous to highlight the good work that the burn down department is doing in the community, but likewise lets you actively promote those events and initiatives.

Burn Chief Scoggins issued a phone call-to-activeness encouraging you to donate blood! Supplies run low in the summertime then every pint helps saves lives! Use SFD at registration at your local @BloodworksNW #SFD #seattlefire #redvsblue #boldforblood #blooddrive pic.twitter.com/ochi7FiOBy

— Seattle Fire Dept. (@SeattleFire) June 25, 2019

PSAs and Information Sharing

When it comes to educating the public and sharing disquisitional data, social media can exist an indispensable tool. Twitter, in item, can be very useful for sharing information in real-time.

Planning a vacation BBQ? Be #FDNYSmart - position your grill in an open area, and NEVER go out the grill unattended. See more tips at https://t.co/NpwdRdlElY pic.twitter.com/rGX0Fm7zrL

— FDNY (@FDNY) July iii, 2019

Social Media Content for Burn Departments

In terms of bodily content, Morgan suggests leaning more than towards images and videos, and limiting text posts only to those sharing important data with the public. In guild to maximize appointment, he recommends:

• Live feeds: A alive broadcast on a platform like Facebook or Instagram tends to be prioritized in people's news feeds and users will often fifty-fifty exist notified when an account they follow goes live. For a fire section trying to engage with the public, a alive feed can exist very constructive (especially as followers can respond in real-fourth dimension), only it's important to program your broadcast advisedly in advance.
• Video: Video content tin can work well, provided it'due south short and to the signal. Morgan also states that audio quality and lighting should be expert—content quality should always be of a high level. Nowadays, even basic consumer-grade camera equipment can provide this.
• Photos and Captions: Photos with brusque captions are relatively easy to do and tin can represent a proficient signal of entry for fire departments new to social media and not comfortable with video and live feeds just yet.
• Text Posts: Twitter limits the number of characters that tin be used in a single post and even Facebook is not ideal for long-form writing. Morgan suggests using basic text posts for sharing information effectually route closures and burn down scenes.

Apart from creating quality, visual content, Morgan also suggests the following:

• Postal service consistently;
• Have a team member committed to social media—social media shouldn't be an afterthought;
• Plan out content alee of time;
• Collaborate with other users and accounts—shares and mentions tin help amend reach and engagement;
• Consider ad and promoting posts if you're still building an audience;
• Ensure social media use aligns with larger advice policies;
• Pay attention to metrics to run into what content is most effective.

For those completely new to social media, Morgan recommends starting with Facebook and aiming for around one to three posts per day. For more info and great recommendations, watch the full video beneath. It's also worth visiting the Firefighters Support Foundation website.

Ready to kickoff using social media to build your fire department'due south make? Don't forget to protect yourself with a social media policy. You tin can download our gratis policy guide and template by clicking the button below.

George van Rooyen is the Content Marketing Director at Pagefreezer.

Share this post