effective whole community digital communications planning

10th EMAT Symposium March 7, 2017

Effective Whole Community Digital Communications

Planning

Recommendations from practitioners who have actively

participated in disseminating

information during major disasters


Our Disaster BackgroundCarol A. Spencer

• Mayor, Denville NJ 1996-1999–Jan 6, 1996 Nor’easter. One of only

two snowstorms rated Extreme (5).–Sept 17, 1999 Hurricane Floyd

• Digital & Social Media ManagerMorris County NJ, retired 2015

–Launched Twitter & FB in 2009–Developed MCUrgent: a multi-

jurisdictional social media platform–Managed all social media during

Hurricanes Irene & Sandy in the EOC–Led Public Information participation

in a multi-state social media exercise in October 2015

Rebecca J. Williams• JoplinTornadoInfo on Facebook

–EF5 Tornado 5/22/2011–Facebook & Twitter pages–Early E-sponder

• Disaster Heroes, Chapter 4–Suzanne Bernier

• Whitepaper: The Use of Social Media For Disaster Recovery

–University of MO Extension

• Disaster Info Model–Communication Plan Template

• #SMEM Consultant


Today’s Topics• The Plan: Nuts and Bolts

– Preparing a Digital Communication Plan

– Using Demographics to Determine Channels

– Policy Development

– Plan Elements

• Embracing the Whole Community Approach – Interfacing with Private Sector Stakeholders

– Including Second Responders, Public Actors , E-sponders

• Marketing Your Plan• Templates: Don’t reinvent the wheel• Additional Thoughts


A Communications Paradigm Shift


The Impact of Age on Communication• Digital Natives

– Ages 21 – 36 (Millenials)– Never lived without technology– Don’t read email (applies to Gen-X as well… up to age 52)– They text, share photos & videos, and chat online

• Fastest Growing Demographics– Age 55-64 on Twitter; Age 55+ on Facebook

• Smartphone users– Ages 18-29: 100% own a cell phone; 92% own a smart phone– Ages 30-49: 99% own a cell phone; 88% own a smart phone– Ages 50-64: 97% own a cell phone; 74% own a smart phone– Ages 65+: 80% own a cell phone; 42% own a smart phone

• 52% of US adult households do not have a landline


The Changed Nature of Emergency Communication

The story will be told. The question is:

who will tell the story?

“[Social media] is a significant force in public opinion and the spread of information, and if it is ignored can become a liability to your organization. The general population now expects real time news with updates throughout an event.”

The Impacts and Opportunities of Social Media on Mass Notification; Everbridge 2012


“We could have saved more lives.”


Preparing A Digital Communication Plan• Discuss, decide and document

– Where will information originate?– Who may speak for your agency?– How will you control channel creation?– Which social channels will you use? – What will be the process, the flow?– What policies will you implement? What will they say?– How will you engage visitors?– How will you handle records retention?– Do you need to address employee use as part of your plan?– Will you post other than government information?– How will you handle citizen publishers (e-sponders)?


Demographics Determine Channels• Determine your audience

– Residents, commuters, local employees, seniors, disabled, tourists, college students, foreign speaking populations, homeless, displaced residents, minors, vulnerable populations

– A sustainable community attempts to reach its entire population

• Determine age groupings for these populations• Determine primary communication methodologies

– Match each audience and age grouping to its primary and secondary communication methods

• Rank needed communication methods and channels– Cover all audiences with at least one channel. Have a backup.– Live video is the “next big thing”. Use Facebook live, UStream– Don’t forget traditional methods: paper, bullhorns, radio,

flyers at high-traffic areas, etc


Policy Development• Have Policies in Place Before Launch

– Adopt an internal policy to control social channel creation– Adopt “Use” and “Commenting” policies

o Indicate your pages are not forums, but moderated discussionso Monitor your social channels and handle violationso What others can say on your sites; What you can say and how to

say it on your own sites; What your representatives can / should say on other sites

– Copyright infringement

• Update Policies and Rules Frequently– Inconsistency of application for Terms of Use with

government requirements (liability issues, state laws)– Consistency and compliance with court decisions, legislative

changes, and federal gov’t requirements.– Have a Governance Committee to do this.


Digital Communication Plan Elements• Governing Body Approval• Authorities: foundational legal citations• References: government policies that apply (HIPAA, etc)• Purpose: to define and provide guidance• Responsible Parties: people, organizations, contact info• Governance Committee: town manager, PIOs, CIOs• Physical Facility: should be located in the EOC• Personnel: advanced trained employees and volunteers• Process for an Anticipated Event: SOP and workflow• Process for an Unanticipated Event: SOP and workflow• Vulnerable Populations: identify and disseminate• Policies: purchasing, TOU, channel creation, commenting


Embracing the Whole Community Approach• People feel invested, empowered in a community-based

effort.• People want to help. The “whole community approach”

provides a structure where they can do so.• Giving people something to do calms them during an event.• FEMA recognizes and recommends the “whole community

approach”– “We fully recognize that a government-centric approach to emergency

management is not enough to meet the challenges posed by a catastrophic incident.”

– “When the community is engaged in an authentic dialogue, it becomes empowered to identify its needs and the existing resources that may be used to address them. ”

– “Engaging the whole community and empowering local action will better position stakeholders to plan for and meet the actual needs of a community and strengthen the local capacity to deal with the consequences of all threats and hazards.”

Source: http://www.fema.gov/whole-community


Allow it. Embrace it. Plan for it.


Interfacing with Private Sector Stakeholders• Include, at a minimum:

– Chambers of Commerce– Utility companies (public and private)– Economic Development organizations– Faith-based groups– Local and national non-profit organizations

(Kiwanis, Rotary, Lions, Red Cross, Salvation Army, etc)

• Have links to their emergency channels in the plan• Provide them with links to your channels

– Be sure to include other official government channels– Remember: cooperation, not competition

• Think of in terms of creating an online Multi-Agency Resource Center (MARC)


Second Responders / Public Actors• Second responders are members of the public who feel like

they have something to offer and want to help.– They don’t know what to do and will, sometimes, do things that are

counter-productive to rescue and recovery efforts.– Important to identify them in advance if possible– Keep them engaged, focus their energies– Ask them to support official government response efforts.

• Have a place for people to register before or during– Ask for location, skills, equipment, all contact info so people can

be used where they’re needed– Have a form / system to vet those offering to help in advance.

Example: Texas Disaster Volunteer Registry (Medical Reserve Corps)– Don’t allocate individuals on your own. – Announce volunteer opportunities on your sites / channels.

https://www.texasdisastervolunteerregistry.org/


E-sponders• E-sponders are citizens who set up websites or social

channels on their own– This will happen if the local jurisdiction

doesn’t have and implement an effective digital communications plan.

– Government will lose control of event messaging.


Managing E-sponders• Monitor, monitor, monitor social media during an event

– Use a social media dashboard– Set up keyword search or hashtag filtered streams

• Create a rumor control page or blog– Create a blog, webpage, or website. Then post links to that…

much more effective because of the way people read social sites.– State the rumor and the source channel– State the factual information. Be sure all data is verified with

Incident Command personnel. Trustworthiness is critical.– Be sure everything is dated.– Don’t delete data, rather use strike-through text.

o Records retention laws. And, removing data leaves people wondering.

• Repeatedly post links to official government sources– State that the source is an official government site / channel– Verify all data for accuracy before posting

For example: open shelters, pet friendly shelters, road closures


Templates: Don’t Reinvent the Wheel

• Developed after experience with Joplin Tornado

• Provides a defined methodology for FEMA’s Whole Community Approach

• Advance planning builds trust among all entities

• Pre-planning helps to avoid last minute hijacking of response and recovery efforts by otherwise well-meaning citizens

Disaster Info ModelTemplate


Disaster Info Model Summary√ Develop a “Whole Community” Communications Plan√ Determine the demographics for the targeted communications area√ Write and adopt policies needed to implement the plan√ Evaluate appropriate social channels, administrators, content

publishers, and monitors√ Use a consistent, generic email address for channel registrations√ Determine a work flow, including all stakeholders √ Set up a multi-level, broad based organizational contact list√ Build rapport and trust among public sector, private sector,

non-profit and volunteer leaders√ Set up public social channels based on demographics√ Set up private communication channels for group communication√ Develop a Marketing Plan, including cross channel and cross sector

marketing√ Become THE trusted source for information


Market It• Start out slow. Build momentum before an event.• Consider

– Press releases, church bulletins, flyers– Speaking engagements for local civic groups– Local buy and sell newspapers or websites – Local community social channels, apps like NextDoor– Official government e-newsletters– Facebook or Google advertising– Cross-marketing with other Twitter, FB, Instagram or G+ channels– Create a YouTube video about your plan– Run a couple of Facebook live events focused on vulnerable

populations, where to find info, registering for alerts, etc.• Get friends to write about your site(s) on social media • Act as if you have thousands of followers even if you don’t

Add value and they will come!


Exercise It• ESF #15 or your Communication Annex:

Public Information including Social Media– Must be exercised– Should be part of the EOC– Should have sufficient trained

personnel to operate 24 x 7.


Some Additional Thoughts…• Eliminate government silos. Citizens need information and assistance and

they don’t care which department provides it.• Leverage the resources of regional councils of government for periodic

meetings and idea sharing• Counties should take a leadership role

– List all municipalities with web and social media links on the county website– Set up a county social channel to which all municipalities can post. Events

don’t end at municipal borders.– Counties should urge consistency in social channel use; run training sessions– Leverage their size to reduce the cost of any necessary software

• Use a list of preparedness messages; schedule posts• Have a list of all possible charging station locations. Use a blog post or

webpage to publish those that are available.• Consider CERT as an avenue to train communication volunteers.• Run public classes like NOAA Weather-Spotter training. Live stream them.


Why This Matters to TexansFlood

Tornado

Fire


Your Most Important Takeaway Today:Your Neighbor’s Business Card

Network Network NetworkShare Your Talents

www.LinkedIn.com/in/[username]CarolSpencerTX

RebeccaJWilliams

#SMEM #TXWX#SMEMChat (Friday, 11:30 CST)


Contact Information

Carol A. SpencerStormzero, LLC

Cedar Creek, TX 78612973-637-0483

[email protected]

Rebecca J. WilliamsDisaster Info Team, LLC

Neosho, MO 64850417-434-0379

[email protected]

Disaster Info Team

http://www.stormzero.com/

mailto:[email protected]

http://www.disasterinfoteam.org/

mailto:[email protected]

effective whole community digital communications planning

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