By now, I expect that many of you established and implemented a social media policy in your department. You might consider yourself proficient at managing accounts. You might even call yourself a social media expert.
I’m sorry to burst your bubble, but you might be doing it all wrong, particularly in regard to two major categories of mistakes that fire departments make when it comes to social media.
You don’t understand your audience
Understanding your audience entails knowing who it comprises, what these people want, why they want it and how often they want it.
If your social media accounts are nothing more than “dig me” pages that have little or no content besides the incidents that the department responds to, you’re making a huge mistake. The department’s members aren’t your audience; the community is. Yes, department employees might follow the accounts, and, yes, it’s important for those who the department serves to see members doing what they do best, but when it comes to “The public needs to know what we do,” trust me when I tell you, they get it. Fighting fires is the one thing that they do know that the department does. It’s in the name of your department and in the job title of those who work for the department.
What the public doesn’t know is all of the other stuff that the department and its members do. That’s what should comprise the majority of your posts, because when council members/board members/advisors come calling and tax dollars hang in the balance, those people will want to know how the department serves the community above and beyond fighting fires.
About those incidents that the department responds to: With few exceptions, “run-of-the-mill” fires typically aren’t any department’s bread and butter. Furthermore, if you look at the analytics, you might find that the posts about those responses produce the least interaction. Fires that you make might be cool to you/members and can be a way to show off to family and other firefighters, but they usually aren’t cool to the public.
Taxpayers don’t want to be bystanders to someone else’s life being destroyed. It’s sad and depressing, and you’ll know that by the number of comments that indicate such and/or the sad face emojis that are chosen on these types of posts. Would you want the remnants of your life (or your parent’s/sibling’s/child’s life) laid out across cyberspace for all to see because the firefighters who worked that event thought the call was “cool”? As well, the ensuing comments that come after posting such an incident usually aren’t ones that the affected individuals find appropriate or sympathetic, given the loss that they face.
So, put yourself in the place of the majority of those who follow the department’s social media. See things from the public’s—or better yet, the victim’s—perspective, not a firefighter’s.
The data behind posts
Every social media platform has insights and tracking information that are built within it, so you can measure how well (or not) each post performs. This is one of the easiest ways to track trends to see what content gets the most reach, engagement and impressions.
If you don’t know how to find this information, how to interpret it or even what the words mean, find someone who does. Understanding the data is key to adjusting your posts, so you continue to grow the department’s followers—and, therefore, increase the virality of your messages.
You also probably aren’t listening to your subject matter expert(s). In many departments, a group or individual is responsible for the department’s accounts. Assuming that they follow best practices, don’t meddle.
To that point, your personal Facebook page or Instagram account doesn’t make you an expert—and if you don’t have social media of your own, the “not meddling” point is particularly important. If you want to know why the group/individual posted specific information, ask for the data and analytics on the posts’ performance and let them share why they did (or didn’t) post certain things. These people spent a lot of time—years, in some cases—to learn the ins and outs of social media, which is a constantly evolving monster.
If you don’t have the same expertise and experience that they have, respect that space. Suggestions and ideas always are worthwhile, but don’t tell the group/individual how to do the job, particularly when you don’t know their job.
Perhaps one of the biggest components of this mistake is frequency: You aren’t maintaining an active presence. Social media is a constant conversation. If you create accounts but don’t use them, the department’s followers will ask themselves, “What’s the point?”, and that’s what you should be asking yourself as well. If you don’t engage with the department’s followers on a regular basis (daily, at a minimum), you shouldn’t expect them to pay attention when the department has something really important to say, such as when an emergency occurs and it shares instructions that citizens must follow.
Caring too little, caring too much
Not caring enough—or caring too much—is the other big mistake that I see made over and over … and over.
The constant conversation that’s noted above isn’t the only way to communicate with the department’s followers.
When followers ask a (legitimate) question, respond.
When followers post a compliment, thank them. In most cases, it’s as simple as hitting the “like” button.
However, you can care too much: You don’t “let it go.” Are there trolls who make toxic commentary and/or ask backhanded questions that they don’t really want an answer to? Of course. That said, in almost all cases, the department’s other followers will take care of them for you. As Taylor Swift sang, “Haters gonna hate.” You must make peace with the fact that you’re never going to make everyone happy. Engaging with those who aren’t is a losing battle that you can’t win, and it could get you into trouble. So, don’t even try.
Where do you go from here?
If you now are panicked, because you realize that you’ve been doing it all wrong, fear not; all is not lost! As the adage goes, knowing is half the battle. Fixing it is the other half.
Thankfully, the solution is easy: Do the opposite of what I outlined here. Change the “don’ts” to “dos.” You’ll be well on your way to having a successful social media strategy that will be the envy of peer departments.
