tweet your way through your next crisis? why not?insafetyconf.com/media/pdf/safety_conf_2013/... ·...

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Tweet Your Way Through Your Next Crisis? Why Not?

Social Media and Crisis CommunicationsPam Walaski, CSP, CHMM

JC Safety & Environmental, Inc.Pittsburgh, PA

www.jcsafety.com@safetypam

©JC Safety & Environmental, Inc. - 2013

“Social media and the 24-hour news cycle are part of a fundamental change in our sociological structure. We all have to understand that there will never again be a major event in this country that won’t involve public participation. And the public participation will happen whether it’s managed or not. Before the oil spill, I had already started blogging and tweeting.”

Coast Guard Admiral Thad AllenIncident Commander – Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill

November 2010

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Social media is the 4th

most popular location for obtaining information during an emergency.

American Red Cross 2012

“Employs web- and mobile-based technologies to

support interactive dialogue and introduce

substantial and pervasive changes to

communication between organizations,

communities, and individuals.” (Wikipedia)


What is Social Media?

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Categories

1. Blogs –Communicating opinions in short form that is web-based. (Blogspot, Blogger, etc.)

2. Microblogging –Very short blogs (IMs, Texts, Twitter)


Categories

3. Social Networking Sites – Purpose is to build relationships among people with similar interests and activities (Facebook, MySpace, Pinterest, Google+)

4. Professional Networks –Counterpart to social networks (LinkedIn, Plaxo)


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More Categories

5. Video Sharing –Users can upload content for personal or business purposes (YouTube, Vimeo)

6. Photo Sharing –Users can upload photos for personal or business purposes (Flickr, Instagram)


More Categories

5. Content Driven Communities –Interaction is not the prime focus, sharing information is (Wikipedia)

6. Others?????


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Who Uses Social Media?

66% of all adults use 1 or more social platforms

60% of all adults get their news on and offline

Facebook has over 500 million users

Online adults who use Twitter daily has reached 8%


Social Media has widespread acceptance as a strategic means of creating brand loyalty, launch new products, and share organizational news


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Why Should Your Organization Use It?

Social Media = Collaboration Connect with others you would never have found

through typical face-to-face channels

Share information and resources

Apply best practices in your organization

Increase knowledge base of workforce

Increased productivity (really!)


SH&E Professionals communicate with their audiences:Organizational

management Internal workforceVendorsCommunity members

About:

Operations

Risk management

Crisis planning


Why Should Your Organization Use It?

Social Media = Communication

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If it’s good enough for the US Army………

“In today’s media environment, understanding social media, especially as it relates to time, can help you excel as an Army communicator.”


If it’s good enough for the Pope…..


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“I don’t have time to waste on that social

media stuff!”

“Social media is a fad!”

“I’m not paying you to surf the internet!”


Is this your boss?

If the members of our audiences are getting their news and information online?

Why wouldn’t we want to go where they are?


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Human beings are social animals and are hard-wired to connect.

Allowing workers to satisfy this essential need creates more contented employees who are more creative and productive.


You can lead the charge or simply follow:

Use social media to simply disseminate information -gain feedback via wall posts and polls - passive


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Or…..Use social media as a tool – conduct emergency

communications, issue warnings, solicit victim requests for assistance, enhance situational awareness, upload

images to create disaster estimates, etc. - active



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You cannot control the message. Traditional organizational

communications attempt to be tightly scripted and one-way.

Social media is based upon free-flowing two-way communications.


Yes, there are problems…..

There are privacy and security concerns. If it’s posted it

never goes away.

Site security is an ongoing challenge.



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Sometimes people “lie”. Or fudge the truth

Or simply err in “retweeting” a message that isn’t correct

Or are malicious


Social Media has an overreliance on technology. Power outages and

need for back-up

Smart phone battery lives



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Crisis CommunicationsProviding information to audiences so they

can be informed

The crisis event is occurring or is about to occur

Messages are one-way - dialogue and consensus is not the goal

Goal is for the audience to make immediate decisions about their safety


Crisis Communications

Social media is changing this

Audience engagement is part of the process - social media features two-waycommunication

The urgency of the messages generally the same - the speed and frequency of delivery are “hyperactive”


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Crisis Communications

Traditional media still plays a role -communicating using passive one-way methods

But engaging audiences where they are facilitates direct engagement in productive ways during the crisis

A paradigm shifts in crisis communications strategy


Getting in the Game

Don’t start in the middle of a crisis event Develop a Social Media Component to your

Crisis Communications Plan

Identify audiences and find out what platforms they use

Engage

Develop trust and credibility


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If it’s already there, aids in audience acceptance of messaging

If it’s not there, it needs to be built – worst time to try is in the middle of a crisis

If it’s negative, audience will tend to disregard any positive messages and be ready to believe the worst


Trust and Credibility

Develop a Crisis Communications Plan

Delineates roles, responsibilities, key players and procedures

Typically have pre-developed message templates (Message Maps)

Now include a Social Media component


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What channels are your audiences tuned into? Crowdsourcing,

Radian6, Attensity


The Channel

Are you monitoring

their messages? Google Alerts, Trackur,

Comment Sniper. HyperAlerts


The Channel

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How often Should You Message?

“Top of the hour” press briefing is not the standard anymore

At the peak of the event q15-20 minutes at a minimum

“No new information” keeps followers informed and monitoring the situation through you – not someone else

Too long between messages frustrates the audience


Social Media Policies

Many organizations are wary of developing a Social Media Policy.

Should they have one?

What should be in it?


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IOC issued a Social Media Handbook for the London Games:

No videos posted from Olympic Village or events

No mention of corporate sponsorships

No use of five rings


National Labor Relations Board (NLRB)

Have ruled in 14 recent cases involving platforms like Facebook and Twitter

One employee was fired for making a disparaging remark about a Supervisor on Facebook

Employees are protected when discussing working conditions – no matter where they do it


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Media will get information from whoever is willing to talk - including your employees

Restrictive policies (even if legal) tend to backfire

Think honey and vinegar……remind employees that anything that negatively impacts the company impacts them as well

The best defense is good employee relations



When off-duty:1. Assure policy does not interfere with employee’s

ability to use social media platforms

2. Request employees use common sense, good judgment and personal responsibility when posting on social media

3. Assume that employees can be trusted to exercise personal responsibility while participating in online activities


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When on-duty – if permitted:1. Usage does not interfere with performance of work

duties

2. Usage is related to work, approved by manager, and monitored

3. Prohibit sharing of confidential information or speculating about company’s future activities

4. Bane use of company trademarks or copyrights on personal websites/social media platforms



Regardless of duty status:

Employees must use a disclaimer when using a personal site to identify themselves as an employee that states their positions are personal and not the views of the company


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But Does it Work?

Penn State and Jerry Sandusky

Lower North Fork Fire – Jefferson County, Colorado

Superstorm Sandy



Lesson:Social Media Leads to a Lack of

Message Control

Summer 2011 – Sandusky’s photo removed from FacebookNo wall posts permitted after indictmentNo mention of scandal has ever been posted by PSU on site

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“I think in our day and age of social media, that silence was not the right response. Keeping information private is not the way to go when people are talking 24x7 on social media and need reassurance.”

Kelly Burns – Social Media Intern

PSU Football Program

Silence is the “no comment” of social media. If information is transparent, honest and empathetic, sentiment often sways in favor of the organization.


Lesson – Have a Social Media Plan


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Emergency Response Blog –“dark site”

Twitter account –400 followers

Existing collaboration with Pinecam.com and 285bound.com –Community websites


Jefferson County Integrated Social Media and Public Information Strategy

Emails sent to [email protected]

We do not own a TV. We both work an hour away from Conifer. We depend 90% on social media for these types of emergencies.

I finally got myself a Twitter account and started following your feed just because of the fire.

I have never seen such effective communication with the public in Jefferson County, thanks to your use of the Jeff Co Sheriff’s Blog. I even saw some local media put up your Twitter feed in their stories.


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Social media manager for NYC FD has 53,000 followers

“You could see the panic and fear in the words they were typing.”


Lesson:If you communicate, they will come

Some Observations

People will use social media to ask for help during large-scale disasters• Those responding need to be able to handle the

pressure of the volume of requests• They need to be empowered to pass information

along and connect with those who can help• Posting “Please do not post the need for

emergency assistance on this site, Call 911.” doesn’t work


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Some Observations

People want hyper-local informationWhat roads are open? Where can I buy milk?

When will the power come back on?Best delivered by the local community – social

media is a natural fitBe prepared for word to spread quickly –

hundreds of new followers in a matter of hoursBut….once they have it they want it maintainedFuture large scale events will require more

resources


Some Observations

Social Media works during disastersSkeptics have repeatedly said social media will

not work during a large scale disaster

Sandy proved otherwise

• Cellular networks were resilient

• Social media became a true lifeline for many

People turn to social media to share their experiences in real time


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Some Observations

Safety professionals and emergency responders have to learn to let go

Some situations are better handled by a large group of amateurs – the “wisdom of crowds”:• DARPAs Network Challenge – misinformation

gets “outed” by the crowd• Open Street Map – Haitian earthquake rescue

and damage assessment effort – all remotely and within days of the quake


“Disaster responders must stop thinking of the public as a problem to be managed, and start thinking of it as a resource to be harnessed. Similarly, business continuity professionals can start harnessing the power of their company’s employees in a disaster.”

John Orlando, Ph.D.

Vertek Corporation


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The Wisdom Of Crowds

1. Diversity of opinion

2. Independence3. Decentralization4. Aggregation

Surowiecki


Incident Command Hierarchical

Small group of decision-makers (experts)

“Groupthink”

But:

Able to see valid external input?

Too much filtering?


CrowdsourcingCounterbalances

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Virtual Operations Support

Teams (VOST) Individuals who monitor social media and feed it

back to responders

Inexpensive now that communications barriers are down – command/control functions better• Google – 1 free day and <100’ from food

• Increasing use by public response agencies (Red Cross)

• Also private response (Facebook – Vermont Floods 2011)


“Everyone that’s ahead of the curve, even just barely, has already accepted that social media is a great and growing part of emergency response and they’ve begun integrating it into their work. The rest of the people who could conceivably start using social media (the emergency managers who just wanted to see some return on investment first, or were just waiting for the go-ahead from the executive) will do so now.”

James Garrow©JC Safety & Environmental, Inc. - 2013

Hurricane Sandy and the Inflection Point

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Crowdsourcingworked for Sandy• The “online truth

squad” worked well to identify fake photos, debunk rumors on Twitter and outing people spreading false rumors

• Increase this important situational awareness tool in the future


Crisis Mapping Used by major media outlets along with response

agencies (Lower North Fork)

Hundreds available during height of storm


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The Indiana Connection



Despite all of its faults, social media is a powerful tool and represents tremendous potential for use in risk and crisis communications.

Don’t get left behind.

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Tweet Your Way Through Your Next Crisis? Why Not?

Social Media and Crisis CommunicationsPam Walaski, CSP, CHMM

JC Safety & Environmental, Inc.Pittsburgh, PA

www.jcsafety.com@safetypam

tweet your way through your next crisis? why not?insafetyconf.com/media/pdf/safety_conf_2013/... ·...

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