Communications and social media during times of crisisCommissioner, Ron Dobson

I’m here to share …

1. Why we now use social media.

2. How we’ve been using it in a crisis.

3. The benefits, and why numbers of followers alone don’t mean success.

4. The challenges and way forward.

How many of you use social media?

August 2011 …‘My face is literally melting - building burning down in front of me’ - @danielgaine

‘Fires across the river from SE16, further out from Canary Wharf? What’s going on’ - @antony

‘Yes Liverpool burning too. That’s my car on fire’ - @benscholfield

The final report of the Riots Communities and Victims Panel“The riots highlighted how far behind many public services are around the use of widely used modern methods of communication, such as social media.”

Continued …

“In particular, there is scope to improve the use of social media both as a tool to gather and use information and to communicate messages to communities, businesses and individuals. We recommended that this be addressed urgently.”

Incidents aren’t the only crisisPosted by a member of the public on

facebook:

‘Make sure you take extra care today during the firefighter strike, especially when cooking as most fires in the home start in the kitchen. Be really careful if you smoke or drink too this increases the chances of you having a fire.’

What do we use so far?

• Twitter – mainly for incidents.

• Facebook to talk more generally, but with a focus on community safety.

• YouTube to demonstrate.

• LinkedIn for recruitment.

Why LFB use social media

• Accuracy – 4 pumps, not forty.

• Reassurance – We’re at the incident.

• Awareness – Conversations we need to know about or join in with e.g. strikes.

• Influence – ‘via the influential’ or those using social media.

Crisis communication successIncrease in twitter followers in a 24 hour period

•382 after a large fire on the Strand in London.

•2,362 after live tweets on Bonfire night.

•3,146 at the peak of the civil disturbances.

•Through twitter alone, we use the influence of over 23,000 followers every day.

Value in real time conversations

‘big fire on the Strand today. Friend emailed to say he might be delayed tonight. Found @LondonFire a reassurance’

‘@LondonFire The chemical fire in Greenwich on Monday – where can we find out what we should do if we hear that air raid siren again?‘

‘@LondonFire I love the way you use twitter. It should be a best practice sample for every fire department.’

Do it despite risks

Information is cleared the same way, but with the knowledge it can be spread immediately.

• Impact on later investigations.• Impact on other agencies

e.g.TfL.

Social media challenges we face

• Lakanal fatal fire in 2009.

• What if next time people are tweeting?

How we manage social media

• Work absorbed by existing resources.

• Demonstrating value for money.

• Broadening our remit.

Protect, Prepare, Respond …

and now ‘INFORM’

• Included in our next IRMP.

• Used to inform our public.

• Used as a business tool.

Saving lives with social media

•Staff access allowed.

•Protecting our reputation.

•Used as a community safety tool.

Finally … let go!

• Use it – personally or professionally.

• Manage the lack of command and control associated with social media.

• It’s here, so let go!