POP-ALERT Social Media Guidelines
Coordination and Support Action Project Title: Population Alerting: Linking Emergencies, Resilience and Training Grant Agreement N°: 608030 Funding Scheme: FP7-SEC-2013-1 Duration Time: 24 months Start date: 01/04/2014
This project has received funding from the European Union’s Seventh Framework Programme for research, technological development and demonstration under grant agreement no 608030
Social Media Guidelines for Authorities
TABLE OF CONTENTS 1
INTRODUCTION ......................................................................................................................... 2 1.1
2
3
DELIVERABLE SCOPE ...............................................................................................................2
LEVERAGING SOCIAL MEDIA TOOLS ................................................................................ 3 2.1
TARGETED COMMUNICATION ..................................................................................................3
2.2
NETWORK DEVELOPMENT .......................................................................................................3
2.3
ENABLING FEEDBACK ..............................................................................................................4
INTEGRATING SOCIAL MEDIA IN ORGANIZATIONAL COMMUNICATION ........... 5 3.1
ADAPTING TO THE NEW MEDIA ENVIRONMENT .......................................................................5
3.2
BUILDING UP SOCIAL MEDIA CAPACITIES ................................................................................5
3.3
AVOIDING MIXED MESSAGES ...................................................................................................5
3.4
ENSURING DATA SECURITY AND RESPECTING PRIVACY CONCERNS........................................6
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Social Media Guidelines for Authorities
1
Introduction
Using social media in the context of disaster management offers great opportunities to authorities, as the new information and communication technologies (ICT’s) can accelerate, amplify and facilitate public warnings and alerts, risk information campaigns and situational awareness. Many organizations involved in civil protection and disaster management have recognized the potential of the new technologies and started to integrate them into organizational communication practices.1 However, employing social media is not without challenges for professional risk managers. In order to make the best use of new technologies in disaster management and avoid some of the most significant pitfalls associated with them, it is important to be aware of several fundamental principles of social media usage.
1.1 Deliverable scope This introduction into social media usage by disaster management authorities is based on several guidelines, developed in the context of previous EU research projects, as well as other sources. It aims to offer a brief overview of several key aspects and challenges related to social media work, yet it is far from being comprehensive. Please also be aware that due to the high pace of technological advancements, but also of public user behaviour and policy regulations in the domain of ICT, recommendations and good practices can oftentimes turn outdated literally overnight.
1
Reuter, Christian et al. (2014). Usage Patterns of Social Media in Emergencies, EmerGent Project, http://www.fp7-emergent.eu/wpcontent/uploads/2014/09/D3.1_UsagePatternsOfSocialMediaInEmergencies.pdf: 4.
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Social Media Guidelines for Authorities
2
Leveraging social media tools
In principle, social media can be used at all stages of the risk management cycle, from preparedness and prevention to alerting, mitigation and recovery.2 In spite of these very diverse applications, there are several fundamental aspects that should be considered independent of the specific type of social media engagement for disaster management. In the following, we focus on key aspects that correspond to three main characteristics of social media: fragmentation, decentralization, and multi-directional communication.
2.1 Targeted communication In comparison to traditional mass media, such as for instance public TV and radio broadcasts, social media are much more fragmented. In the digital age, the number of communication channels is theoretically countless, leading to much smaller and more specific user communities.3 At the same time, those who want to spread a message to the public have to cope with numerous different information-seeking and communication behaviours. As a consequence, there exists no ‘one-size-fits-all’ communication approach to reach all social media users.4 Instead, communication networks as well as the content, language, length and style of messages have to be chosen according to the specific target audience. 5 In most instances, it will be necessary to employ multiple channels and messages. Important characteristics to consider include: -
Age Gender Education Income Profession Ethnical background Political attitude Spoken language Geographical region
2.2 Network development One central, defining characteristic of social media is their decentralized, networked structure. As in all communication networks, the influence and reach of the individual node depends on the quality and quantity of ties with other nodes, i.e. the network centrality. Unlike in traditional top-down communication system, the centrality of authorities is not a given, but has to be 2
Giroux, Jennifer; Roth, Florian; Herzog, Michel (2013) Using ICT & Social Media in Disasters: Opportunities & Risks for Government, Center for Security Studies (CSS), ETH Zurich. http://www.css.ethz.ch/publications/DetailansichtPubDB_EN?rec_id=2569 3
Roth, Florian; Giroux, Jennifer; Herzog, Michel (2015) Using (the right) media to reach the audience, Center for Security Studies (CSS), ETH Zurich. http://www.css.ethz.ch/publications/DetailansichtPubDB_EN?rec_id=3306 4
Klafft, Michael (ed.) (2014) Current Issues in Crisis Communication and Alerting, Opt-Alert Project, https://www.researchgate.net/publication/263350476_Current_Issues_in_Crisis_Communication_and_Alerting 5
Junge, Kerstin et al. (2014) Impact of social media on Emergency Services and Citizens, EmerGent Project: 25.
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Social Media Guidelines for Authorities
established first. In order to reach the largest share of the target group possible, it is essential to foster ties to the group continuously and thereby develop the organization’s communication network. One approach to maintain and improve a network is to regularly produce and share interesting, useful or funny content that may help to establish a long-term, trusted relationship between civil protection authorities and the public.
2.3 Enabling feedback While traditional mass media almost exclusively provides for one-to-many communication, social media allows complex forms of many-to-many communication. In order to be successful in the social media sphere, authorities have to acknowledge the multi-directional nature of communication processes and engage in dialogues whenever possible. Of course, civil protection organizations cannot reply to any single inquiry from the side of the public, especially not during a disaster. Yet, they can and should appreciate the feedback opportunities of social media by responding to the most common and pressing questions from members of the public, not at least because this can be effective to counter spreading rumours at an early stage. As Scifo and Baruh note, “actors involved in emergency response and crisis communications need to actively monitor the social media to identify and correct misinformation that are related to their functions and pre-empt fraudulent activities that may be linked to their organization without their knowledge.”6 In order to avoid information overload in hectic times, authorities can employ one of the numerous software tools available to filter, categorize and analyse social media content.7 Yet feedback channels not only allow authorities to improve their public communication efforts, but also can contribute to improve their situational awareness. For instance, aggregated information provided by citizens (so-called crowdsourced information) has repeatedly proved highly valuable asset during disaster events as well as helped to verify other sources.8
6
Scifo, Salvatore; Baruh, Lemi (2013) Report on the adverse use and reliability of new media, COSMIC project, www.cosmic-project.eu/sites/default/files/deliverables/D2.3.pdf : 41. 7
For an overview of tools, see Reuter, Christian et al. (2014) Guidelines For Social Media integration into existing EMS systems, EmerGent Project, http://www.fp7-emergent.eu/publications/d3-2-guidelines-for-social-mediaintegration-into-existing-ems-systems/ 8
Scifo, Salvatore; Baruh, Lemi (2013) Report on the adverse use and reliability of new media, COSMIC project, www.cosmic-project.eu/sites/default/files/deliverables/D2.3.pdf : 35.
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Social Media Guidelines for Authorities
3
Integrating social media in organizational communication
3.1 Adapting to the new media environment Social media is more than another tool, added to the toolbox of organizational communication. Rather, social media changes the fundamental conditions of organizational communication. Due to the increased speed of social media, institutional decision-making processes have to accelerate too, otherwise an ‘information vacuum’ may emerge in which rumours can grow easily.9 In this context, it important to understand that social media networks are essentially information market places with numerous competing actors. If they want to be heard, authorities have to take a competitive attitude, aiming to be the most trusted, knowledgeable and fastest information broker on the market.
3.2 Building up social media capacities To be able to make the best use of social media in the event of a disaster, it is imperative to build up capacities and collect experiences beforehand. Otherwise, authorities are easily overwhelmed.10 Given its importance for risk and crisis communication, social media must not be regarded a side-show that could be done during lunch-breaks. Serious social media work for a governmental authority necessitates building technical and human capacities through investments in recruiting, training and equipment (software tools, hardware, and information infrastructure).11 To this end, it is important to get support from the management level for an active engagement with social media.
3.3 Avoiding mixed messages As mentioned above, communication via social media should be adapted in form, content and style according to the specific target audience. Copy and paste of press releases into social media networks will rarely work. However, it is essential to make sure that the various messages are complementary and not contradictory. Therefore, it is essential to integrate social media smoothly into overall communication plans. One particular risk that needs to be dealt with are premature messages. Since social media offers real-time, direct communication and encourages spontaneous engagements, special
9
Junge, Kerstin et al. (2014) Impact of social media on Emergency Services and Citizens, EmerGent Project: 19
10
Junge, Kerstin et al. (2014) Impact of social media on Emergency Services and Citizens, EmerGent Project: 23
11
Reuter, Christian et al. (2014). Usage Patterns of Social Media in Emergencies, EmerGent Project, http://www.fp7-emergent.eu/wpcontent/uploads/2014/09/D3.1_UsagePatternsOfSocialMediaInEmergencies.pdf: 18.
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Social Media Guidelines for Authorities
attention should be given to verification procedures as well as proper training of staff working with social media.12
3.4 Ensuring data security and respecting privacy concerns Regardless whether authorities disseminate information through social media channels or just collect information from these networks, it is imperative that they are aware of legal and political pitfalls that may arise. First, authorities have to undertake coordinated measures to minimize the risk of corruption or theft of institutional social media accounts and stored data from outsiders as well as insiders of the organization.13 If the organization itself does not have the necessary technical knowledge to ensure IT security, using the help of external service providers is recommended. Second, even when the information collected from social media is legally public, they should avoid any impression of playing “big brother” with excessive surveillance measures.14 To this end, authorities should make transparent which information they collect for which purposes. Moreover, they should be extremely careful regarding “secondary use” of the collected data for any other purpose beyond disaster management.15
12
Silverman, Craig (ed.) (2013) http://verificationhandbook.com/
Verification
handbook,
European
Journalism
Centre
(EJC),
13
Scifo, Salvatore; Baruh, Lemi (2013) Report on the adverse use and reliability of new media, COSMIC project, www.cosmic-project.eu/sites/default/files/deliverables/D2.3.pdf : 26. 14
Giroux, Jennifer; Roth, Florian; Herzog, Michel (2013) Using ICT & Social Media in Disasters: Opportunities & Risks for Government, Center for Security Studies (CSS), ETH Zurich. http://www.css.ethz.ch/publications/DetailansichtPubDB_EN?rec_id=2569: 12. 15
Scifo, Salvatore; Baruh, Lemi (2013) Report on the adverse use and reliability of new media, COSMIC project, www.cosmic-project.eu/sites/default/files/deliverables/D2.3.pdf : 11.
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