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Social Media & Emergency Management

Discover the power of social media in emergency management. Learn how to build an audience, engage and monitor, and utilize hashtags effectively. Gain insights from successful case studies.

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Social Media & Emergency Management

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  1. Social Media & Emergency Management Captain Liam A. Bowers Director of Intelligence (J2) West Virginia National Guard

  2. What is Social Media? • Social Media (SM) provides a quick and effective avenue of communicating with individuals or groups. • Increasingly, we have seen people turn to SM first for help instead of calling authorities. • In emergencies, we see the following SM trends: • Authorities distributing important info • People asking for and offering assistance • False information spreading quickly • All three are important to monitor.

  3. UNCLASSIFIED//FOUO Social Media Stats • Internet users have an average of 7 social media accounts • Over 2.5 billion people have social media accounts • By 2018, Facebook will have an estimated 169.2 million users in the US • 54% of Facebook users only access through mobile • Twitter has 67 million users in the US • 82% of Twitter users access through mobile • Instagram has 100 million monthly active users in the US • 90% of Instagram users are under 35 years old UNCLASSIFIED//FOUO

  4. UNCLASSIFIED//FOUO WV Social Media Trends • Facebook is by far the most popular and most widely used across age, income, rural/urban demographics. • Twitter and Instagram are used more by urban and younger populations in WV. • Other ways people communicate: • 4Chan • Reddit • Topix UNCLASSIFIED//FOUO

  5. UNCLASSIFIED//FOUO So Where Do You Start? • Building an audience before there is an emergency dramatically increases effectiveness. • Posting regularly uses the Social Media platform algorithms to your benefit. • For businesses the threshold is 5 posts per week. Unknown what the requirement is for Government organizations. UNCLASSIFIED//FOUO

  6. Be Proactive to Gain an Audience

  7. Basic Search Functions • Twitter (Most user friendly) • Twitter.com/search • Search multiple terms and times • Facebook • Have to be logged into Facebook • Can search public posts and select Top or Latest • Instagram • Have to be logged into Instagram • Can search for only one hashtag or keyword at a time

  8. How To Engage and Monitor?

  9. Setting the Message • If you build an audience, and gain following through SM, you can set the message • In SM, a main way to do this is through #Hashtags • Examples could include • #WVFlood17 • #WVSOE • #KanawhaCo • #WVHelp • Hashtags should remain short, particularly on Twitter due to 140 character limit

  10. WVNG Emergency SM Usage • PUSHING INFO: • Average over 500 tweets/FB posts to inform public of vital safety info and supplement recovery efforts • Road closures, shelters, distro points • Press releases becoming too slow. • Public consumes info 140 characters at a time • Media and Public monitor SM feeds • PULLING INFO: • WVNG proactively uses social media to actively seek citizens in need • Dozens of rescue responses generated through social media

  11. 2017 Northern Flood Example SM Images of McMechen Initiated NG Response. WVNG Launches Civil Air Patrol to provide situational awareness and help direct assets.

  12. 2017 Northern Flood Example

  13. UNCLASSIFIED//FOUO Putting It All Together After a disaster strikes, agencies may turn to social media for many different uses. • Agencies are able to build situational awareness by monitoring social media channels. • The public is likely sharing valuable information that could help guide efforts and save lives. • Look for patternsand locations where resources are needed. • Detect and counter false information with accurate information from official sources. • Social media can also be used to disseminate up-to-date information. UNCLASSIFIED//FOUO

  14. UNCLASSIFIED//FOUO The Way Ahead • We see benefit to a standardized way the state incorporates Social Media into Emergency Management. • We recommend forming a state-level working group focused on Social Media use during Emergency Management. • Initial focus could be to ensure every county EOC has a basic SM capability. • Standardizing hashtags is the key to fast, efficient emergency response. UNCLASSIFIED//FOUO

  15. UNCLASSIFIED//FOUO Questions and Discussion UNCLASSIFIED//FOUO

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