This presentation was given only a couple months after Hurricane Sandy struck the East Coast.

1. How to Effectively Communicate via Social Media
during an Emergency
“NIH and Social Media - You¹ve Got Connections” Expo
January 8, 2013
Steve Peterson
WBOC TV 16

2. PURPOSE
• This presentation explains the importance of:
• verifying information before distributing it on social media platforms;
• referencing official agencies’ (or credible sources’) posts/tweets, etc.;
• information through existing social media channels that may be vital to
one’s wellbeing if reposted/retweeted;
• addressing (or not addressing) incorrect information that could be
detrimental if reposted/retweeted
• How does one take responsibility and proceed with using
social media during an emergency?

3. EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT PHASES
• Communications during an emergency differs from every day
communications
• People take, process, and react to emergency situations
differently*
• Magnitude of emergency drives
lifespan of social media
communications Preparedness Response
• Examples
• Police Chase (Short timeframe) Mitigation Recovery
• Hurricane (Lengthy timeframe)
*Walker, Denise C. Mass Notification and Crisis Communications – Planning, Preparedness, and Systems. CRC Press. 2012. p.66

4. BENEFITS AND RISKS/CHALLENGES
• Utilizing social media during an emergency has both benefits
and risks:
Benefits Risks
• Reassurance
• Loss of some ability to
• Situational awareness process information in
stressful situations*
• Distribution of information
through multiple platforms • Missed contributors or
platforms
• Connects people with
resources • Misinterpretation or false
information
• Photos and videos
*FEMA Training – IS042: Social Media in Emergency Management

5. VERIFICATION TIPS
Capitalization and usage of “BREAKING” Who confirmed the flooding?
Official news source?
Before you re-post/retweet a message from a source in which you have no pre-established connection, ask
yourself these questions:
• Where is the information within this tweet generated from?
• Am I to take emergency information generated from this source serious?
• Are there other sources posting the same information, but from a different source? (Not a retweet)
• What other tweets have they generated recently? (Check their profile)
This false tweet, along with several other postings from the same individual, occurred during Hurricane Sandy

6. RECOMMENDATIONS
• Share official social media posts/tweets
• Use shortened URLs
– Remember your limitations on characters
– Direct readers to official information
• Do not exaggerate
• Tweet directly to agency
– Type their handle at beginning of tweet
• Find most popular hashtag and promote it
• Do not repost/retweet obsolete information
• Take training from FEMA – IS042: Social Media in
Emergency Management
1“Social Media in an Emergency – A Best Practice Guide” – Wellington Region Emergency Management Group. June 2012

7. CONCLUSION
Effective social media communications during an emergency
includes…
…knowing, in advance, credible sources of information
…understanding social media communication dynamics
…relevancy, trust, and speed
…quoting sources of information in your posts/tweets
(non-applicable for retweets)