This is the last post in a series which started in late 2011. It focuses on my efforts to help organizations charter their course toward integrating social media into emergency management (SMEM). The previous posts: 

Series introduction (October 12, 2011)

Part 1: starting from scratch (October 23, 2011)

Part 2: Setting objectives and measurement (October 23, 2011)

Part 3: Choosing your first social network (November 2, 2011)

Part 4 Interactive use of social media (November 22, 2011)

Part 5: monitoring social media as a routine and going into crisis mode (December 20, 2011)

Part 6: Conversational use of social media (February 11, 2012)

Part 7: Operational use of social media (April 15, 2012)

Part 8: Integrated use of social media (June 24, 2012)

Part 9: Gauging your progress on the SMEM convergence continuum (March 13, 2013)

To begin, let's review the six steps in the SMEM (or social convergence) continuum:

 

• NO SM: we still hear some EM types go: ..." I don't have time or the resources, or the money, to get into social media ..." or "... I don't know enough about it" ... or even ..."it's a fad and will go a way, we need official tools to communicate ..."  What's our job: to educate, prod, convince and lead by example. Expand our knowledge of best practices and show good ROI.
• Limited use of SM: ... the first step is ... acceptance ... social media platforms are now key parts of our communities' fabric. We have to move at the speed of our audience and that means, in some cases, using social media as an old-fashioned one-way communications tool, Think of Twitter (for example), as a key component of your alerting/notification process. How difficult is that to sell to senior execs? Key argument: all traditional media outlets monitor social media so using it will get many audiences informed quickly.
• Interactive use of SM: now we move a bit further down on the engagement spectrum. We are into the realm of using more than one SM platform, integrating it into a good web-based information strategy. More importantly, we have convinced our bosses that we need to monitor SM because we can find very quickly what's being said about us. We know who some of the key "influencers" are, those who help shape public perception of our response.
• Conversational use of SM: the first real true stage of social media engagement, the Listen, Learn, Engage formula. Now that we know who our key stakeholders who may be helpful to us are, we actually go out and engage with them on social media platforms. We know who to interact with to counter false information and dispel rumours. A key selling point: engaging in SM will help us create a favourable public perception of our response.
• Operational use of SM: this is not only for the PIO or the JIC anymore, although SM play a key role in the provision of prompt, effective and accurate emergency information. Now, we're taking advantage of the "age of social convergence" where mobile devices/tech + SM = empowered citizens and volunteers ... This means we become aware of, and use to some degree, data provided by digital volunteers and crisis mappers. We use social media as a volunteer mobilization tool or we work with agencies/partners who do just that. Key selling point: adding data provided by volunteers/sensors out there in the areas affected by the disaster or from other places, improves our understanding of what's going on.
• Integrated use of SM: The last step in this continuum ... where outside data has been validated, where we have worked with volunteer organizations and help train their people so we have confidence in the info they provide. We integrate those data streams and analyses in the EOC. More than that, it's use is expanded in all aspects of EM, from preparedness and mitigation to recovery. In the response phase, that data provided thru mobile technologies, GIS-enabled software and SM platform is now an integral factor in the production of our common operating picture/Situational awareness. SM is now a fully integrated part of our electronic emergency management systems and a proven volunteer coordination tool.

Today's post is about a tool to measure your progress toward an integrated use of SM in your program. The tool that I have developed (and I'm hoping someone can improve on it ... both in terms of content and to make it interactive) is based on the self-evaluation of some basic criteria. Items such as: 

 

Limited use of SM: using SM as one-way communications tools. Your organization falls into this category if:

 

¨ It uses social networks as part of its public alerting/notification tools

 

¨ It has a Facebook page mirroring some of the information available on its website

 

¨ It uses social networks to distribute emergency preparedness information

 

¨ It uses hashtags ( # ) on Twitter to maximize the effectiveness of its outreach.

 

¨ Its social media activities depend on just one person.

 

Interactive use of SM: using more than one SM platform, basic social media listening to identify reputational threats and key influencers amongst stakeholders/audiences. Your organization falls into this category if:

 

¨ It uses social networks to complement information posted on its website during emergencies.

 

¨ It has a schedule for posting on its various social media accounts.

 

¨ It monitors social media on a routine basis to identify and engage with key stakeholders.

 

¨ It uses pre-determined hashtags on Twitter for incident-specific communications

 

¨ Its website is mobile friendly and links easily to your social media accounts.

I hope this proves useful to you and that you'll have many comments and suggestion on how to improve the document/tool.  The document is available on Google Drive and as an attachment to this post.