Midwest States' Use of Social Media in Emergency Management

Midwest States’ Emergency Management Agency Use of Social Media Tools In Crisis Communication By Laurie Boettcher www.lbspeaksonline.com March 2012 Northwestern University School of Communication Master of Science in Communication Contemporary Media in Government, Business, and Society Dr. James Ettema

Midwest States’ Emergency Management Agency Use of Social Media Tools in Crisis Communication

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

Overview .......................................................................................................................... 3

Participation ..................................................................................................................... 4

Crisis Communications .................................................................................................. 6

Social Media Integration ................................................................................................. 8

Facebook.................................................................................................................. 10

Twitter ...................................................................................................................... 16

Other Social Networks .......................................................................................... 22

Training and Maintenance............................................................................................ 24

Conclusion ...................................................................................................................... 26

Sources ............................................................................................................................ 28


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OVERVIEW

This report is a compilation of research conducted by Laurie Boettcher. Outside being a social media

professional, speaker, and trainer, I am a graduate student at Northwestern University’s School of

Communication. In pursuit of a Master of Communication, this has been an opportunity to research an area

I am passionate about. The study was done under the tutelage of Dr. James Ettema, professor of

Contemporary Media in Government, Business, and Society.

I became interested in the topic of social media in crisis communication while I was the Communication

Manager for the Wisconsin Department of Transportation Division of Transportation Structure

Development’s Northwest Region. On August 7, 2007, the I-35W Bridge collapsed in Minneapolis,

Minnesota. Being in such close proximity and governing St. Croix County, which borders Minnesota, my

office fielded media calls concerning bridge integrity, safety, inspection schedules, and more. As a

communications professional, I could not help but notice that within minutes of the collapse, cell phone

towers were jammed. People were unable to get word to their families and friends of their safety or

otherwise. Instead, they were turning to social media – MySpace, Facebook, and Twitter was the new kid on

the block. It was the first time I experienced people using social media tools for anything other than social.

It was the first time I saw the potential power of social media for my profession. This fascinated me.

The research and this concluding report examine how the Emergency Management Agencies (EMA) of the

Midwest states are using social media tools in their crisis communications.


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PARTICIPATION

This research report is a reflection of interviews

with Midwest states, the information and insight

they provided, as well as secondary sources.

Thirteen of the 14 Midwest states are included in

the research: Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas,

Kentucky, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri,

Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota, and

Wisconsin. Mississippi was not included simply

because its southern location was outside the demographic I chose to research.

Of the 13 states contacted, representatives from eight states participated in telephone interviews to discuss

their social media use, what tools they are using, how they are using them, benefits, pitfalls, future

anticipations, and, specifically, use surrounding crisis. Interviews and research were completed during the

period of January, February, and March 2012.

I would like to thank personally the following individuals for their participation and invaluable insight: Jonathon Monken Director Illinois Emergency Management Agency Sharon Watson Public Affairs Director Kansas Division of Emergency Management Buddy Rogers Public Information Officer Kentucky Emergency Management Agency Nicole Lisabeth Public Information Officer Michigan State Police, Emergency Management, and Homeland Security Division

Doug Neville Director of Communications Minnesota Homeland Security and Emergency Management Division Cecily Fong Public Information Officer North Dakota Department of Emergency Services Tamara McBride Public Information Officer Ohio Emergency Management Agency Tod Pritchard Emergency Preparedness Coordinator Wisconsin Emergency Management


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Indiana agreed to participate, but was immersed in hosting the Superbowl, followed by a rash of weather-

related disasters that diverted its attention. Iowa and Nebraska also agreed, but schedules did not align for

interviews. Representatives from Missouri and South Dakota respectfully declined, citing they are just

beginning their social media efforts and did not feel they would add value to the study. Although telephone

interviews were not conducted with these five states, online information was gathered and is included.

Secondary sources from journal articles, periodicals, web sites, blogs, and other are also included and cited

after the conclusion of this report.


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CRISIS COMMUNICATIONS

Summarized from the Missouri Department of Public Safety State Emergency Management Agency web

site, “The State Emergency Management Agency’s (SEMA) mission is to protect the lives and property of all

state residents when major disasters threaten public safety in any city, county, or region of the state. SEMA

responds to two types of disasters - natural and those caused by man. Natural disasters are major snow

and/or ice storms, floods, tornadoes and/or severe weather, as well as a potential major earthquake. Man-

made disasters, also known as technological emergencies, may include hazardous material incidents, nuclear

power plant accidents and other radiological hazards. SEMA is also responsible for developing a State

Emergency Operations Plan, which coordinates the actions of state government departments and agencies

in the event of any emergency requiring the use of state resources and personnel. SEMA also serves as the

statewide coordinator for activities associated with the National Flood Insurance Program (Missouri

Department of Public Safety State Emergency Management Agency ).”

Missouri’s mission statement is a precise reflection of the overall directive of EMAs. With these crises

(before, during, and after) comes an intense need for strong communication within the agencies, as well as

with media and publics. The Institute for Public Relations cites, “A crisis can create three related threats: 1)

public safety, 2) financial loss, and 3) reputation loss (Coombs, 2007).”

Government agencies have a higher responsibility than private agencies when it comes to crisis

communication. Every move of the agency is under strict scrutiny of the media and its publics. This is the

time for a state to show its capacity of decision and execution, and its power to overcome difficulties and

solve problems. A significant part of communication is finding the right tools to reach various publics and

demographics.

A 2011 study by Magid Generational Strategies breaks down who is using what media at what time of day

(Carmichael, 2011). The aspect I would like to focus on is not what time of day media is being accessed, but

the actual media used by different generations. The study reveals:

Baby Boomers (age 47 to 65) consume news media primarily through radio, television, and

newspapers. Internet usage focuses on entertainment and Facebook.

Generation X (age 30 to 46) consumes news media primarily through radio, television, and

Facebook. Internet usage focuses on news and information, Facebook, and entertainment.


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Adult Millennials (age 18 to 29) consume news media primarily through radio and Facebook.

Internet usage focuses on Facebook, news and information, and music.

Teen Millennials (age 13 to 17) consume news media primarily through radio and television. Internet

usage focuses on music, entertainment, and Facebook.

iGen (age 12 and under) consume news media primarily through radio and television. Internet usage

focuses on music.

An important note is that the rate of news media consumption decreases significantly with each descending

generation. Thus it is even more crucial to reach each generation through the medium they are most

comfortable. This leads us to social media integration.


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SOCIAL MEDIA INTEGRATION

According to a report from Social Media Optimisation Services

from 2010, the United States ranks second to only Canada for

time spent online. In 2010, Americans spent an average of 35.9

hours per month online (Social Media Optimisation, 2011).

What are we doing online? December 21, 2011, ComScore

released its report ‘It’s a Social World.’ The report illustrates

social networking has become the world’s most popular online

activity (Clayton, 2011). “Social networking sites now reach 82

percent of the world’s online population, representing 1.2

billion users around the world (comScore, 2011).”

A 2011 Pew Research Center report revealed two-thirds of adult

American internet users (65 percent) now say they use a social networking site. This was up from 61 percent

in 2010 and 29 percent in 2008. For the first time in Pew Internet surveys, it meant half of all adults (50

percent) use social networking sites (Madden

& Zickuhr, 2011).

Patrice Cloutier, Team Lead, Strategic

Communications, Ministry of Community

Safety and Correctional Services in Ontario,

Canada, states, “We’re in a brand new era in

terms of crisis communications. The need

for speed, rapid positioning, and response

has changed the ‘game’ forever. Social

networks are the driving force behind this

reality (Cloutier, 2012).”

Considering the rapid adoption and usage of social media as an information and newsgathering source,

EMAs are flocking to social media tools to communicate with their publics. As Chief of Public Affairs at

Ohio Emergency Management, Tamara McBride, stated, “The world of social media dictates that if we

don’t join, we’ll get left behind (McBride, 2012).” Buddy Rogers, Public Information Office at Kentucky


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Emergency Management Agency echoed this, stating, “Its speed and widespread coverage are incomparable

(Rogers, 2012).” The Federal Emergency Management Agency cements the importance, noting, “Events

worldwide have demonstrated how quickly social media can connect people and allow them to share

information and help one another,” said Federal Coordinating Officer Don Keldsen (Federal Emergency

Management Agency, 2012).

With roughly 1,400 social networks in existence and more emerging every day, the critical aspect for EMAs

in terms of time and resources is creating presences on the social networks where their communities exist.

Statistics portal Statista pulled data from comScore, Compete, and Google Ad Planner on social network

usage in the United States (Van Grove,

2012). The graph at the right reveals the

findings. The most active social networks

include Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn,

MySpace, Google+, tumblr, and the rapidly

growing newcomer, Pinterest. It is curious

that YouTube is not mentioned nor cited.

Considering this is where communities are

concentrated, it is no surprise EMAs’ social

media efforts are focused on the top two –

Facebook and Twitter.


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FACEBOOK

“Engaging with and using emerging social media may

well place the emergency-management community,

including medical and public health professionals, in a

better position to respond to disasters (Merchant,

Elmer, & Lurie, 2011).”

Leading this charge is Facebook.

Facebook reported 850 million users in March 2012.

Its users each spent an average of 405 minutes per

month on the social network in January 2012 alone

(Clayton, 2011).

Quantcast demographics for Facebook (November

2011) below shows the demographic is predominantly

female, which contrasts to the average news media

consumer. We see that ages 18 to 34 are the main demographic. This is positive since it is not the audience

who generally consumes news on traditional media like television and radio, proving it is a good tool to

reach them. This information is key to understanding how to tailor information that meets the needs of this

population.


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Of the 13 states, ten EMAs are currently using Facebook in their

communications. The majority post messages according to a

schedule as well as spontaneously during crises and other events.

Interviewees cited using Facebook for:

Awareness – All ten states are bringing about awareness to

their organizations and the benefits of social media

communication, simply by being present.

Cross-promotion of other government agencies – Minnesota

cited the importance of promoting departments like State

Patrol and Traffic Safety to direct audiences to relevant

information as well as garner some of their followings

(Neville, 2012).

Preparedness efforts – Illinois and Kentucky post regular

preparedness messages that coincide with monthly themes established by the state agency or FEMA

(Monken, 2012) (Rogers, 2012).

Media relations – Illinois, Minnesota, Ohio, and Wisconsin all spoke of the importance of following

the media to make them aware of their presences on Facebook (Monken, 2012) (Neville, 2012)

(McBride, 2012) (Pritchard, 2012). This is an increasing trend with Facebook – media’s

instantaneous ability to share or repost information through following on Facebook. This ensures

accuracy of information as well as a consistent message. Another added advantage is reducing

reliance on media. “Social media relieves our need to completely rely on media to get information

out. With only 20 or so minutes of news time, we have to compete with other stories to appear on

the news. Now the individuals who want direct communication can have it,” says Sharon Watson,

Public Affairs Director of Kansas Division of Emergency Management (Watson, 2012). Reviewing

the followings of the ten states’ Facebook pages reveals the majority have a strong following of

media members and outlets.

Monitoring – North Dakota, with only PIO Cecily Fong responsible for social media efforts,

(amongst many other duties) and Minnesota, with a dedicated full time employee (FTE) for social

media, stress the importance of using social media as a monitoring tool. “The most significant

benefit is monitoring. It is great for rumor control. It allows us to see how information develops

State Facebook Presence

Followers as of March 1, 2012

1. Illinois Yes 3,432

2. Indiana Yes 4,905

3. Iowa Yes 1,486

4. Kansas Yes 1,252

5. Kentucky Yes 1,114

6. Michigan No ‐

7. Minnesota Yes 1,692

8. Missouri No ‐

9. Nebraska Yes 1,173

10. North Dakota

Yes 534

11. Ohio Yes 108

12. South Dakota

No ‐

13. Wisconsin Yes 1,844


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and how people are responding to our messages,” says Cecily Fong. Public Information Officer for

North Dakota Department of Emergency Services (Fong, 2012).

Correcting misinformation – Because of the instantaneous nature of social media, there is often a

race to be first with information, rather than accurate. If not monitored, misinformation can brew

and grow. Facebook allows emergency management agencies to authoritatively correct the

misinformation. Timely and accurate information breeds trusts and alleviates fear.

Unique aspects like campaigns and contests – Wisconsin and Kansas noted hosting contests on their

Facebook pages as another way to engage users and increase following. The contests feature trivia

questions about emergencies or quick responses in an exchange for prizes (Watson, 2012)

(Pritchard, 2012).

The above topics are each important elements of emergency management and help foster a relationship

with followers. That is the key to Facebook – using it to build relationships. What about crises themselves?

Each state interviewed had invaluable insight into how they are using Facebook to communicate before,

during, and after disasters.

As this report is being created, one instance is unfolding. February 29 through March 2, 2012, a series of

tornadoes ripped through southern Indiana, devastating many areas and severely damaging several

communities. Visiting Indiana’s Facebook page, there is a fury of activity. March 1, Indiana started with

posting photos of devastated areas, followed by damage reports and death tolls. March 2, posts highlighted

the best way to help disaster survivors in southeastern Indiana. The days that followed featured posts

allowing people to register with a web site that lets family and friends know they are safe, shelter openings,

telephone numbers for concerned citizens and survivors to call, updated reports, correction of

misinformation in the media, Governor declarations of Disaster Emergency in specific counties, road

closures, assistance sources, guidance for animal owners, travel information, meal deliveries for affected

areas, child care, counseling services, volunteer opportunities, and so much more. It truly is an exemplary

example of how Facebook can and should be used during a crisis. Not surprisingly, the follower numbers

have increased greatly throughout and following the disaster.

A week prior, Ohio experienced an emergency of its own. The morning of February 27, 2012, a student

gunman open fired at Chardon High School cafeteria before just before 8:00 am. Three students were killed

and two others wounded. Ohio’s McBride, said, “The incident did not rise to the level of state emergency


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response, however, it was an exercise in monitoring social media information and correcting

misinformation (McBride, 2012).”

Doug Neville, Director of Communications for Minnesota Homeland Security and Emergency Management

Division discussed an incident surrounding the Prairie Island Nuclear Generating plant in January 2012. “By

the time the JIC (Joint Information Center) was set up at 6:00, the rumor mill of misinformation was already

ramped. As soon as we started participating in dialogue on Facebook by posting it was a non-nuclear event,

the narrative changed immediately (Neville, 2012).”

Wisconsin Emergency Management’s Preparedness Coordinator, Tod Pritchard, recollected on the 2011

Ground Hog Day blizzard. “It turned into a major social media event. We were sending and monitoring

posts regarding snow fall, accidents, etc., which helped us get a grasp on what was going on in different

areas (Pritchard, 2012).”

Neville of Minnesota and I reminisced about the collapse of the I-35W Bridge, which I mentioned at the

beginning of this report. Doug stated, “It was an opportunity to get the right messages to the right people at

the right times. We focused on three main messages throughout our messages – this was not terrorist

activity, get off your cell phones, and stay out of the area if you don’t need to be here.”

These are just some of the many examples of ways Midwest states’ EMAs are using social media in their

crisis communication efforts. The efforts, however, do not go without their obstacles. As government

agencies, many obstacles are in place that prevent seamless integration. Kentucky, for instance, is part of

military affairs. This organizational structure limits access to online social media tools, requiring special

permissions to access (Rogers, 2012). Kansas experiences this same issue being under the National Guard

Bureau Federal Network. This network determines allowable sites, requiring off network computers for any

social media communication (Watson, 2012).

With the exception of Minnesota and Kansas who have a dedicated FTE or an employee primarily focused

on social media activities, the majority of states do not experience the same luxury. Social media

communication is an additional job duty in already stressed budgets and resources. Most were humble to

acknowledge this strain, but nonetheless, it exists.

Social media takes time to do properly. “Lack of posting and activity on our Facebook page, leads to a

slower increase in following,” acknowledges North Dakota’s Fong (Fong, 2012). Finding time to build and

maintain a strong following to justify their Facebook presences is a concern of all the states interviewed.


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All ten feature a link to Facebook on their web site pages. They promote Facebook through outgoing

communication including news releases, e-mail auto signatures, public appearances, media interviews, and

various campaigns.

Several states specifically stressed the importance of following on Facebook. Following

Jonathon Monken (Monken, 2012) of Illinois – follow comparable entitites to share information

Nicole Lisabeth (Lisabeth, 2012) of Michigan – actively follow people and organizations to strategic

get information out

Doug Neville (Neville, 2012) of Minnesota – follow organizations to build followings and push

traffic to networks

Tamara McBride (McBride, 2012) of Ohio – follow other agencies that they would like to garnish

their followership

With the surge of social media activity, there are keys to making the information available and relevant while

using Facebook. The graph below is from Buddy Media, a social media research group, demonstrating the

days of the week with the greatest engagement of Facebook users. Their research revealed 86 percent of

posts are published between Monday and Friday (Buddy Media, 2011). However, engagement rates fall

approximately 3.5 percent below average

for posts published Monday through

Wednesday, with engagement rates on

Saturday being 18 percent below average

(Buddy Media, 2011). This means the best

time of the week to post is towards the

end of the week. This finding coincides

with data revealed by Facebook showing

that the ‘Happiness Index’ on Facebook

spikes by ten percent on Friday. According

to Mari Smith, co-author of Facebook

Marketing: An Hour a Day, engagement rates on Thursdays and Fridays are 18 percent higher than other days

of the week (Treadaway & Smith, 2010).


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Unlike Baby Boomers and some Generation Xers who tailor the day around broadcast news times, younger

generations are more spontaneous. Although posting during business hours is a convenient fit within the

workday, it is not necessarily the time in which digital natives access Facebook. The more removed from

their access time, the further down in their newsfeed the posts will appear – meaning they may not always

see the posts. The graph below from Buddy Media shows key engagement times throughout the day.

The graph demonstrates how organizations post during business hours (blue bars), yet the engagement by

individuals consuming (green line) the information is greatly in contrast. Organizations that post outside of

normal business hours experience 20 percent higher engagement rates (Buddy Media, 2011). Using social

media aggregators such as HootSuite, TweetDeck, Seesmic, and others can help by providing opportunities

to schedule posts to automatically post to specified social networks, including Facebook.

Another important consideration is access. A mobile technologies report from Pew Internet and American

Life Project reveals nearly half (46 percent) of American adults are smartphone owners as of February 2012,

an 11 percent increase over the 35 percent of Americans who owned a smartphone in May 2011 (Smith,

2012). This means more and more users are accessing social networks on their phone. Considering this,

EMAs should attempt to limit posts to 80 characters or as close as possible to ensure users get the full

message. Buddy Media supports this with their report, showing posts 80 characters or less have 27 percent

higher engagement rates (Buddy Media, 2011).

Timing is, of course, a consideration in preparedness and informational messages, rather than crisis. In

crisis, people want information and will consume it in rapid succession.


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TWITTER

The second most popular used social media tool

amongst EMAs is Twitter. The platform has 200

million accounts and is growing at a rate of 11

accounts per second. Roughly 100 million accounts

are active and over 50 percent log into their account

every day (Manser, 2012). Not to mention, over 250

million Tweets fly across the Twitterverse every day

(Solis, 2012).

The Wall Street Journal graphic at the right reminds us

that the average visitor spends 21 minutes on the site.

It is significantly less than Facebook since it is not an

engagement tool, but rather an informational tool. For

consumers, it requires much less involvement. Users

gather the information they need and move on.

Quantcast demographics for Twitter (November 2011) below is similar to Facebook’s demographics. It

shows users as predominantly female, aged 18 to 34, in higher income brackets


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Of the 13 states, ten are currently using Twitter. Strategies for

tweeting vary from state to state, much more than Facebook. The

primary usage appears to monitoring, situational awareness,

geographic understanding, immediate updates, news release links,

press conference real time information, photos, and pushing traffic

to web sites and other networks.

Michigan uses Twitter as its primary social media tool, not yet on

Facebook. Nicole Lisabeth, Public Information Officer for

Michigan State Police, Emergency Management, and Homeland

Security Division is deeply invested in the monitoring and usage.

“We started a few years ago just listening and observing on Twitter

and did not engage until we were comfortable. Now we primarily

use it to send and share messages, but we also engage our followers.

The biggest benefit remains monitoring for situational awareness,”

said Nicole Lisabeth (Lisabeth, 2012).

Minnesota’s Neville especially enjoys the ability of the tool’s real time capabilities. “We treat feeds like our

own news channel and try to post in real time. As information comes in, our social media person

reformulates it for posting on Facebook and Twitter. An example with Twitter is tweeting and posting

pictures during press conferences and events,” says Doug Neville (Neville, 2012).

Ohio does minimal tweeting, but utilizes Twitter for monitoring and tweeting during emergencies. North

Dakota’s Fong says, “From a communication standpoint, it makes it cleared that information is immediate

and transparent. Responders are more proactive and realize they could be on camera (Fong, 2012).”

All ten feature a link to Twitter on their web site pages. They promote Twitter, along with Facebook and

other social media sites through their outgoing communication including news releases, e-mail auto

signatures, public appearances, media interviews, and various campaigns.

While Facebook is key in building and fostering relationships with followers, Twitter is more of an

informational tool – both for sending and monitoring information. “It allows us to address rumors and

situations before they get legs in a way we have never been able to do before,” says Michigan’s Lisabeth

(Lisabeth, 2012).

State Twitter Presence

Followers as of March 1, 2012

1. Illinois No ‐

2. Indiana Yes 2,685

3. Iowa Yes 1,250

4. Kansas Yes 891

5. Kentucky Yes 849

6. Michigan Yes 2,327

7. Minnesota Yes 1,770

8. Missouri No ‐

9. Nebraska No ‐

10. North Dakota

Yes 806

11. Ohio Yes 1,039

12. South Dakota

No ‐

13. Wisconsin Yes 1,235


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This is reflected in a blog posting by Glen Gilmore, Social Media Strategist, Attorney, and Adjunct

Professor at Rutgers teaching Digital Marketing and Social Media Law. His ‘10 Reasons Social Media Is

Important in a Real Crisis’ post includes:

‘Official’ social media accounts created by governmental agencies can become a leading hub for

sharing critical information. These official accounts give governmental agencies a chance to better

participate in the online conversations taking place (Gilmore, 2010).

Social media beats traditional media in reporting news first; people flock to social networks in time

of crisis; social media provides

information before traditional media or

relief workers can get to the scene of a

disaster.

Everyone is familiar with the iconic

photograph of the airliner downed in the

Hudson. Few realize that the first and

likely most-viewed photograph of the

downed plane was not taken by a

Pulitzer prize-winning photographer

from a major news network, but a guy on

Twitter, @jkrums, who took the

photograph with his cell phone, then

uploaded the picture to Twitter, where it

quickly crossed the globe (Gilmore,

2010).

Social media networks are dynamic: the content can be updated in real-time, from diverse users, to

share the latest information about real needs and progress. In the aftermath of Katrina, relief

agencies could use social networks to keep victims updated on supply deliveries and information on

when utilities or other essential services will be restored (Gilmore, 2010).

Social networks can be used to enlist, direct, inspire, and thank volunteers. A constant in most

disasters is the need for volunteers. Social media, by its sheers and viral nature, can be used to enlist

volunteers for a variety of tasks. It can also provide the information volunteers need to safely and


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efficiently serve. Photos and videos of the work of volunteers can be used to inspire those

volunteering their talents, as well as others who might be interested in helping too. It is also a great

way to let volunteers know that their work is appreciated (Gilmore, 2010).

Social networks are reliable mediums for conveying important information far, wide, and quickly. If

relief agencies take the time to really engage in social media, i.e., share information, follow others,

comment, rewet links from other users, etc., they will develop a network they will be able to trust

and that will trust them in return. The benefit? If a disaster were to occur, they could target critical

information around the world (Gilmore, 2010).

Social networks help in reaching those who are often difficult to reach (Gilmore, 2010). Ontario

Disaster Management Director of the Canadian Red Cross, Jeff Saunders posted the blog,

‘Twittering about Emergency Preparedness.’ In it, he writes, “I can already see the benefits. The

audience that I engage with there are the group hardest to get with the preparedness message.

Upward mobile, professionals between ages 30 – 45 are busy with their career, dating, family,

mortgages, etc. (Saunders, 2010).” This is supported by the Quantcast graphics of Twitter. Not to

mention, we are seeing a significant trend in younger generations migrating from Twitter to garner

the benefits of more instantaneous information.

Curation: Twitter lists and hash tags are well suited for identifying reliable sources of up-to-date

information. Twitter hash tags are a method used by Twitterers to identify topics of interest. During

a crisis, they are used as a way of letting the social media network quickly identify the latest news on

the disaster. Following the Chile earthquake, Twitter hash tags helped locate a missing person

(Gilmore, 2010).

Geotagging by social network users provides important context to the information being shared.

Only a small percentage of Twitter users have enabled geotagging. Nonetheless, the ability to include

it in tweets is an option users could be encouraged to activate were they to find themselves in a

disaster zone. This would allow rescuers to pinpoint with precision the location of users sending out

requests for help. This is the very sort of scenario and option emergency responders should be

considering as part of their responsibility to educate the public in advance of a disaster (Gilmore,

2010).

Greg Gilmore’s information is truly insightful. Along with the fact that Twitter is simple, searchable,

popular, available, and highly flexible, makes it a strong communication tool for emergency managers.


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“Social media has had a huge role in instantaneous information as both a blessing and a curse,” says

Michigan’s Lisabeth, “We are no longer able to control the message, but tools like Twitter help in quickly

getting the information out and wait for it to take off. The conversation is taking place with or without us,

better we participate to provide the elements of accuracy and verification (Lisabeth, 2012).”

Even more than Facebook, mobile is

significant. Half of all Twitter users

access the platform through their

mobile phones (Manser, 2012).

What about non-emergency situations

when trying to be consistent with

preparedness and awareness messages? Twitter has its own key posting and engagement timing strategies.

TweetStats is a comprehensive tool that provides more detailed best tweeting times. Among other things,

the app tells you how many tweets per day you’re currently sending, what your tweet timeline looks like, and

how many replies you send in comparison to

original tweets (Widrich, 2011).

WhenToTweet, Tweriod, TweetReports, and

TweetWhen are also good applications for

helping determine good tweeting times.

These applications are good because they

base the tweeting time recommendations on

your actual followers and when they are

online.

Outside of using an application for you

specifically, here are some general guidelines.

According to an infograph created by

KissMetrics visualizing research conducted

by HubSpot’s Dan Zarella, the most traffic

on Twitter occurs between noon and 6:00

pm (Zarrella, 2011). More specifically, 9:00

and 11:00 am ET and again between 1:00 and

3:00 pm ET. That means more people are


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tweeting and reading tweets during these time periods than any other (Dugan, 2011).

If seeking retweets, Dan Zarella’s research

shows the key time is 5:00 pm. If you want

your followers to complete an action

associated with the tweet, such as click on a

link, click through rates (CTR) are strongest

midweek and weekends at noon and 6:00 pm (Zarrella, 2011).

It is important to realize that this is exceptionally general. Prime tweeting times vary from organization to

organization, depending on its followers and when they are accessing the platform. Twitter Marketing

Agency’s studies show that for many Twitter users, Tuesday is the most active Twitter day. Wednesday and

Friday have the second highest Twitter activity. Monday and Saturday are the slowest days. There are also

general trends that people will check their Twitter accounts when they first get to work, at lunchtime,

and/or near the end of their workday (Twitter Marketing Agency, 2011).


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OTHER SOCIAL NETWORKS

LinkedIn

LinkedIn is touted as thee social network for business. Boasting over 150 million users in 200 countries and

representing executives from all 500 of the Fortune 500, there is no debating LinkedIn’s credibility or

power. Of the 13 states, I was able to connect with eight of the representatives on LinkedIn. Their uses vary

dramatically. Some simply have a presence and are exploring its opportunities, while others are significantly

engaged and participate in a variety of Groups on LinkedIn.

The platform is obviously powerful for connections and resources, but as of right now the focus of social

media efforts for emergency management agencies does not appear to utilize LinkedIn.

YouTube

YouTube is a powerhouse. Over 800 million people visit the site worldwide every month. Primary

demographics are Hispanics, teens, and people with household incomes of over $100,000. YouTube offers

greater reach of both popular and hard to reach audiences than most other online destinations and with

solutions to engage them in authentic, meaningful ways.

Each state I spoke with mentioned YouTube. Most use it for posting preparedness videos, broadcast

interviews, conference and workshop sessions, press conferences, disaster-stricken areas, victim

testimonials, and recovery agency notices. The platform is an exceptional tool for being an agency’s own

broadcast channel. The relevance often lacks in the area of timeliness, because it takes time to create videos

and upload them to the channel. There is not the instantaneous engagement found on Facebook and

Twitter.

Pinterest

One year ago, Pinterest was not on the radar of being a relevant or valuable social network. According to

content sharing firm Shareaholic, Pinterest drove 3.6 percent of all web traffic referrals to other sites in

January 2012, more than Google+, LinkedIn, and YouTube combined. Pinterest placed just behind Twitter

for fourth place on that traffic referral list, with Facebook holding number one at 26.4 percent. In addition,


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since Pinterest became one of the apps that plug in to Facebook’s Timeline member profiles last month, the

number of Facebook users visiting the site every day has jumped by 60 percent (Evangelista, 2012).

From its exterior, Pinterest looks like a craft center of some sort with obvious value for brands, but what

about emergency management? Although Pinterest was not discussed in my interviews, this site holds

tremendous potential for EMAs. It will require an initial time investment but require only a fraction of the

maintenance time of Facebook and Twitter.

For instance, an EMA could create a Pinterest account. Within that account, it could create boards. One

board may be a ‘Disaster Preparedness Kit’ and contain pictures of each item recommended for creating a

kit. Another board could be for ‘Tornados’ and contain pictures of places to take cover, safety zones, etc.

Yet another board could be for ‘Fires,’ showing visitors how to plan escape routes in their homes as well as

providing .jpg checklists. The potential for the site is limitless.

Others

The most interesting aspect of Pinterest is understanding that social media and its social networks are

constantly changing. Leaders like Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn, may come, go, evolve, or change. New

social networks are constantly emerging and presenting opportunities other networks do not provide.

EMAs’ job is to evaluate the tools, determine if its communities are using the tool, and consider the value

the platform may offer.


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TRAINING AND MAINTENANCE

All eight states interviewed received no initial training in establishing or using social networks. All began

with trial and error, taking experience from their personal account creations. Kansas was fortunate to hire a

graduate student from Kansas State University. “He was remarkable. He set up all our social media accounts

and then trained departments and individuals. This was important because everyone has a different comfort

level,” said Kansas’ Watson (Watson, 2012).

This experience tends to be typical not just in EMAs, but in most public and private organizations. Social

networks are created intuitively enough for people to learn and experiment. The learning curve comes with

using the tools properly to build and engage a following.

Considering social media platforms are constantly changing, it is a challenge for all states to stay current on

the platforms. Each of the eight states shared how their staffs keep current:

Illinois – Group of PIOs share best practices, attend FEMA training sessions, and their IEMSA

agency provides social media training sessions during annual conferences (Monken, 2012).

Kansas – Trainings, conferences, and workshops, primarily. Mid-American Regional Council

received a grant to hold social media disaster conference and was highly informative. FEMA

conferences (Watson, 2012).

Kentucky – Workshops and discussions through FEMA, as well as hands-on experience (Rogers,

2012).

Michigan – Non-traditional means like reading blogs, attending sessions, monitoring, and YouTube

video tutorials (Lisabeth, 2012).

Minnesota – Learning and presenting at conferences, networking, studying, and following trends

(Neville, 2012).

North Dakota – Workshop session and robust government professionals group meetings (Fong,

2012).

Ohio – Training because people are very willing to share what they know, conferences, and taking

advantage of FEMA’s whole digital media team that provides excellent training.


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Wisconsin – Conferences, conference calls, and reaching out to fellow emergency management

professionals for best practices.

Not only does each of these states strive to stay current, they actively encourage their counties and

municipalities to engage in social media platforms. Kentucky, Michigan, Minnesota, and Ohio specifically

offer training sessions and personnel resources to help these entities establish their online presences. This

appears to be an exceedingly daunting task because of social media’s mounting time commitments, as well as

staying current on what platforms and aspects to teach.

No matter what, social media is just that, a time commitment. To build a following that trusts in and

engages with the content posted, it requires constant maintenance and interaction. People commenting or

posting on any organizational web site have the right to expect an answer within two business hours. During

a crisis situation, this should be immediate.

Groups on LinkedIn regarding emergency management are a great resource and wealth of information.


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CONCLUSION

This research project was truly an inspiring and eye-opening experience. I consume crisis information with a

completely new understanding. Amidst the chaos of a crisis and communicating with individuals intimately

involved in rescue and recovery efforts, as well as appropriate officials, emergency managers are now tasked

with communicating to their publics. This task previously was in the hands of the media, but with the

immediacy of social media, they have literally had no choice but to participate. It has great benefits in terms

of an official voice, instantaneousness, addressing rumors, situational awareness, and so much more. It also

has just as many downfalls.

Most states lack the smartphone technology to post on site. Blackberry seems to secure and dominate

government contracts. Although a great resource, it lacks the immediacy of iPhone and Droid capabilities,

which are critical in disasters. Illinois, Kansas, Michigan, North Dakota, and Ohio have the capabilities if

individuals use their personal devices; and Kentucky has tablets that help, but are still constrained by

Blackberry. Minnesota and Wisconsin refreshingly have smartphone capabilities.

Throughout this report, immediacy has remained a constant theme. People get information faster, plain and

simple. Jonathon Monken of Illinois says, “Social media has a broad reach, low cast, and hits segments that

are most likely to forward information onto others. In the same breath, it doesn’t hit the segment that needs

the information the most – the elderly (Monken, 2012).” As indicated in the demographics section of this

report, there will always be populations who consume traditional forms of media. Thus, social media is not

and cannot be a stand-alone. It must be used in conjunction with traditional forms of media.

Watson of Kansas expressed another concern, “We do what we can within the resources we have. Our

social media channels are not monitored 24/7. They are also not a replacement for 911, which we often see

happening, (Watson, 2012).” This is missing piece in education. Social media is just coming out of its

infancy. As a nation, we have not integrated social media education into our curriculums to teach people

how to be safe, to be social, and what the tools are really for.

The end of 2011, Adam Crowe of the web site, Strategies and Leadership in Critical Times of Emergency

Management published a blog post, ‘Predictions for Social Media & Emergency Management in 2012.’ In

the blog, his key prediction was Continued Avoidance: Many emergency management and public safety

organizations will continue to ignore or avoid social media as a powerful tool (Crowe, 2011).


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After completing my interviews, I respectfully agree to disagree. I am sincerely impressed by the adoption of

social media platforms and communications amongst the Midwest states. I respect their strategic approach

in understanding the tools and their relevance before engaging. I see a greater adoption and a greater

awareness by emergency management agencies to not avoid, but embrace these tools to their fullest extent.


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Midwest States' Use of Social Media in Emergency Management

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