Where oh where does my little post go?

Posted on November 30, 2011 by Tim Burrows

Where do you decide to put your information when you venture out into the big beautiful world of social media?  Conservatively speaking (really conservative) you have over 100 quality choices where you can post your content.  Divide that by the mediums you can use, video, text, audio, combination of those, and you can spend a lot of time doing nothing but signing up for and into accounts to post your information and interact with your community.

So, let’s be realistic and sensible about it.  First, go where the people are. Facebook, Twitter, YouTube.  Those are the big three that carry the most attention and have the most subscribers and account holders.  If you want to add a fourth tier to your presence, blogs are a great choice to expand you thoughts, input and engagement.  I use three different blogs and enjoy some parts of each more than others so I don’t really have a recommendation there.

Want a photo-specific site? Those are available as well and they make a great catalogue for photos that allow the community to take a peak into their police agency LinkedIn? I don’t consider that a community outreach tool.  To me, that is where you go network, do research and collaborate with other professionals, then bring that information back to the big three to share with your community.

The main idea of using social media is as a communication tool.  That communication can be broadcast, reception or both.  It can be used to find info, share info or create info.  The places where to put that info are limitless.  But that doesn’t mean you have to use every platform out there.

But, there may be times when you want to venture away from the big three.  Community chat rooms and forums should never be overlooked.  There is nothing like drilling down to a hyper local group level to hear what is going on or concerning a small community, talking with the people and making a difference in the lives and quality of life there.

If there is a specific issue that is affecting your community or you need a resource to turn to for answers use search engines to find out if there is a specific social network that has been created around the topic…chances are, there is.

Finally, experiment a little. There are a lot of high quality sites out there and new ones come along all the time. You never know, you might find a great community somewhere that doesn’t get all the attention of the big ones.  Chime.In, Google+, Ning, Vimeo, Photobucket, StumbleUpon and many more are out there loaded with content, connections and community.

Why, what, when, who and where.  Only one part of the complete equation to go….next the hard part…HOW.

Posted in Strategy | Tagged , , , , , | 1 Comment

The Who and Who of Social Media

Posted on November 15, 2011 by Tim Burrows

The “who” of social media can be divided into two categories for your agency.  Who do we use to work in our social media efforts and who are we going to reach with our efforts.  They are both equally important for an effective out reach into the space.

Who will run our social media effort

This can not only mean who but how many.  Depending on the size of your agency you may end up with several voices adding to your agencies presence.  On the other hand, you may want just one voice.  Regardless of the size of the presence you want, the people will be your greatest asset, or your biggest waste of time…or worse.

Naturally anyone you commit to being in the space has to be adept at the use of the technology and the must want to do it.  A person being forced to do this won’t have an effective presence.  It will be seen in their posts, felt through their words and through their frequency.  But, the most important asset that your social media person must have is a commitment to your agency and professionalism.  The voice you put forward will be the voice of your service.  Your online representative.  Anything less than utmost consideration for your agency goals, mission, values and vision can easily cause reputation damage, mixed messaging and loss of focus.

The next asset that person must bring is a commitment to making your community safer, more aware, educated and informed.  That person needs to be able to get the message out to the masses and in turn, be willing to answer questions, talk with the community and unite other safety organizations, groups and people with the common cause of a better and safer community.

Who will we reach

Sure you can say that we want to reach our entire community, all our citizens and everyone that will be impacted by quality of life issues within our jurisdiction.  That part is obvious.  Just entering into the social space automatically opens that up.

You also need to consider smaller segments or demographics of your community.  Localized crime and disorder issues can be targeted through information streams.  Groups within your city can be found and reached out to using influencers in that community, such as senior groups, youth groups, new citizens and victims’ advocates.

Establishing working partnerships or more succinctly, relationships, with leaders, advocates, groups and individuals can assist you in getting your message to where it needs to be.

Looking for existing channels of information that groups belong to, or use regularly would be an excellent way to get your voice heard within a group.  For example, if your town has a cycling safety issue, find the information streams that cyclist are speaking in, use those same streams to inject your message, ask for help, look for relationships to establish and build.  Do the same with pedestrian groups or driving groups share the information across all the streams to help the others understand the issues and concerns.

So, use a professional, responsible, reliable voice to get your online presence established and have that person (people) not just broadcast general messages, but look to solve problems, increase safety and educate the public through relationships, communication and teamwork.

There you go…all the easy parts are done.

Why, what, when and who.  Only two parts of the complete equation to go.

Up next…where

Posted in Communication, Strategy | Tagged , , , , , , | 2 Comments

When to hit send…or tweet, post, update.

Posted on November 11, 2011 by Tim Burrows

Like the classic Kenny Rodgers song said, “You have to know when to hold ‘em. Know when to fold ‘em. Know when to walk away and know when to run.”

I have always looked at the use of social media to be as much about timing as it is about what you are going to say.  On the surface it seems pretty simple; thought, construct and send the message.  Pretty simple right?  Not really.  At least not if you care about a few things.

  • Will your message be heard.
  • Will your message receive the attention you want it to.
  • Are you responding to a comment or question from the hip or with strategic thought.
  • Do you have the information right.

…and the list goes on.

When can be as exacting as knowing when are the times during the day that the greatest number of people are using social media to the natural flow of saying good morning and good night. (Don’t overlook the power of a simple “Good Morning” to your audience.)

We all know, or should know, that broadcasting that your tactical teams are about to do a door knock would be a dumb thing to do.  Just like announcing that you are looking for a wanted person after the arrest has been made.

When can be resource based.  You only have one hour (or one person) you can commit to your social presence so do you combine that one hour in a single push or do you take ten minute increments throughout the day?   That is up to you.  I like to go in cycles.  If I am working an 8 hour shift, I will go to the streams between two to four times a day.  Some days more, some days less and naturally, when events are occurring I’ll be there.  I’m fortunate…social use is part of my job function.  Many of you will be prioritized differently and aren’t mandated to be in the streams.

A general rule to follow for when…be consistent.  Be active daily.  Commit to your presence and your voice.  Even if that means ten minutes in the morning, ten minutes at the end of your shift, do it everyday.  Let your audience learn your cycle.

I discussed a little while ago about the desire to be instantaneous with information.  I’ll say it again here.  Sacrifice the immediacy for the facts.  I would rather put out the right information twenty minutes after an event has started to unfold then the wrong information in the first few minutes.  You owe that to your audience.

When can also be part of a campaign or strategy that you have in place.  Too often people see the kick off of an event as the day to talk about what you are doing.  Bad timing.  Start a week or two before letting people know its coming.  Populate the streams leading up to the campaign with great content, resources, facts to prepare for the launch itself.

Take a good look at this one; Never go to the streams or respond when you are angry, on edge or fed up.  Too many people have made knee jerk comments that have led to embarrassing situations. Pause; reflect on what you are about to say and consider the outcome of each and every post.

I think it is important to respond to every contact that is made to you.  I also believe though, not every comment is worthy of a response.  Ridiculous statements, combative statements, profanity…leave them alone.  The outcome is never good.  Criticism, constructive assessments and call outs that are meant as a teaching point, “I think you could do better” points are great to respond to.

There is an instantaneous feel to social media, but that doesn’t mean you have to be instantaneous.

A few final thought on when.

  • If you are dealing with time based information for say a press conference…give lots of notice.
  • Amber/Silver alert information. Watch the clock and let your audience know when the alert has expired.
  • Missing persons. As soon a possible when the person has been located, let your audience know.

You will determine and develop your best when, but I hope this gives you an idea of some of the considerations to take.

Finally, its worth repeating…Be consistent.

Why, What, When…next is?

Oh, and sorry about sticking “The Gambler” in your head.

 

 

Posted in Strategy | Tagged , , , , | 3 Comments

What do you say?

Posted on November 8, 2011 by Tim Burrows

So, what do you need to say in the social media space to be successful?  Hold on successful? This is a post about how to…not analytics.  Lets not start to talk about success yet.  Better question, “What do I say to be effective?”

WHAT do you say when someone says good morning to you?  WHAT do you say when someone asks a question?  WHAT do you say when an event is occurring?

You see? WHAT isn’t as much predetermined as it is fluid.  WHAT isn’t always something you can prepare for (but you should).  WHAT is really up to you while at the same time being up to how your presence unfolds and what your day brings.

Give VALUE

The best WHAT to say is information that provides value to your community.  That’s right.  It provides VALUE to them…not you.  It is information that increases value for your citizens that can be based in crime prevention, community safety, traffic knowledge, event awareness or partnerships for a better understanding.

Give your community what they need and want.  Do it in a professional manner.

Look at your mission statement, vision statement and or core values.  Align what you say with those.  Does your agency have any priorities, programs or campaigns that you would like to focus on?  Have you recognized any crime trends or areas of concern that your community would benefit from knowing about?

There is a never-ending flow of information that can fuel the WHAT.  Be creative, be courageous, be consistent.

So, now you have the WHY and the WHAT…next is the WHEN.

Posted in Strategy | Tagged , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Ontario Crime Prevention Week Kick Off – Keynote Address

Posted on November 7, 2011 by Tim Burrows

On Monday, Novemeber 7th, I had the honour of giving the keynote address for the Ontario Association of Chiefs of Police – Crime Prevention Kick Off.  The following is that address.

Technology and Crime Prevention

“Minister Meilleur, Chair Mukherjee, Deputy Chief Flethcher, Chief Blair, distinguished guests, members of the policing family, the media and most importantly, the public.

Crime Prevention is the most basic of all police functions.

But, it is also one of the most valuable ideals for all people to follow.

A community that is free of crime and the one that is without the perception of crime as a problem within in it is a safer one.

Throughout history, technology has played an important role in our ability to share information.

Whether it is information that can assist by raising the public awareness to identify crime trends, criminals, dangerous situations or things that will benefit the community in many ways.

Technology has been an important tool for police to embrace.

Never before has technology made it easier for criminals to commit their crimes.

Never before has it been easier for the public and police to recognize their crime and to share the information to help stop it.

Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, Blogs and many other tools allow for the police to send vast amounts of information to large numbers of recipients simultaneously.

More importantly, the public has the opportunity to reach out to the police in ways never before available.

But it is important to recognize that technology is only a tool.

The discovery of the uniqueness of a finger print or DNA did not stop crime.

The use of Security cameras has not stopped crime.

And likewise, the use of social media will not stop crime.

They all allow for a level of crime prevention and detection, but the community working with the police and the police with the community is still the greatest tool there is for crime prevention and the identification of criminals.

The use of technology does allow the police and public to communicate with each other easier than ever before.

Identifying groups, associations, individuals, organizations and demographics to target key messaging to is easier than it has ever been before.

We can spread our messages faster, more efficiently and in a direct manner to those who need it, the PUBLIC.

It is you, the PUBLIC that makes the biggest difference in our use of technology.

It is you, the PUBLIC that has the greatest capacity to make real change.

It is you, the PUBLIC that holds the key to true crime prevention.

In the future, the capacity to report crimes via technology on many levels will be in place.

And that added capacity, ease and convenience will be great to respond to crimes as they happen, where they happen.

For now, lets collectively concentrate on what technology provides for us in the here and now…the increased capacity to prevent crime before it happens.

The key secret is not the technology.  It is not the tools, it is not social media.

The key is the PEOPLE and how the people use the tools.

It is the relationships that are created, built and fostered through those tools that are the true secret.

We ask that every citizen gets involved.

We are all very willing to retweet, share, post and update the latest gossip and buzz of the celebrity world.

While we recognize that answering the question, “Is Justin a new daddy” can have an earth shattering impact on all of us helping people feel safer, think safer and be safer is at the very least, just as important.

Please take the time to share our information with your friends, family and colleagues.

Stop cyber crimes by speaking out.

Stop email scams and frauds by recognizing them and speaking out.

Stop cyber bullying by speaking out.  Although not a traditional police problem, we owe it to our most vulnerable, our children, to protect them and allow them to grow in an environment that is free of bullying.  When you see it, stop it.

A community that is more informed, more aware and more involved is a community that has a greater capacity for safety and security.

Finally I would be remiss if I did not add…

Follow us on Twitter, Friend and Like us on Facebook, subscribe to us on YouTube

But most importantly help us be more effective by speaking up:

If you see it, say it.

Report crimes when they happen.

Embrace crime prevention to insulate yourself from crime, not just today and this week.

But every day; every week.

Thank you.”

==================

There was also a great announcement to coincide with the launch this morning.  The Ontario Association of Chiefs of Police introduced a new resource for Crime Prevention, where else than Facebook.

Posted in Communication, Resources | Tagged , , , , , , | 4 Comments

The first question of social media

Posted on November 6, 2011 by Tim Burrows

One of the common questions that comes up when I am doing social media training for law enforcement is, “What do we say?”

I can teach the tools. I can teach the functionality of the tools. I can teach how to recognize and minimize risk.  I can show the most economical way to monitor and listen.  I can certainly give my opinions. But I can’t possible answer that question…at least not now.

Give me five minutes with your web site and I can formulate a strategy that you should you put in place for your organization.

But, before I can tell you what to say, we need to look at what is the more meaningful question.  What you will say is going to be unique to you.  How you say it will be something you will decide on.  When you say something will be determined by many factors. Who you will say something to, has many influences.

WHY are you going to do social media

WHY you should say what you will end up saying, how you will say it, when you decide to say it and to who you will say it to it the paramount determination that needs to be discussed first.  Without the WHY being determined, the rest will be without true focus.

The reason WHY you will use social media is not because that’s where the people are.  It is not because it is all the hype right now.  It is not because everyone else is doing it.  It is most certainly not because it will solve the worlds problems and be the silver bullet answer to policing challenges.

The reason WHY you will do social media is because you will make your community a partner in providing an increased sense of safety, security and service.  You will allow them a voice in the quest to make their town safer.  You will provide a podium for the individual to have the same voice as the group.

The reason WHY you will do social media is because the problem solving skills contained within the community are far superior to anything we can come up with on our own.  There are eyes and ears in the community that we have to rely on to be more effective as a police agency.

We can provide information to the community that is of high value to the well-being of the community.  We can receive information that is of value to us.  The police are the public and the public is the police.

That is WHYyou will do social media.  Once you know why you should do social media…the What, Where, When, Who and How are the easy part.

So now you have it…Just do it!

Sorry? The what, where, when, who and how?

OK, next post.

Agree? Disagree? Let me know. Would love to hear your thoughts.

Posted in Strategy | Tagged , , , , | 6 Comments

Police confused about social media? With this kind of thinking…no wonder!

Posted on October 31, 2011 by Tim Burrows

I read an article recently in a popular on-line magazine that suggested police are struggling with the use of social media.

My take?  The only reason police are having any difficulty with the use of social media could not be any more perfectly described than from the article itself…

“Late at night,” he said, “you do more good walking a beat in a cyber neighborhood than walking a beat on the street.”

Holy moly! Budget problems solved!  The world is saved.  Take all police officers off the street. No more cars, no more wasteful gas.  No more answering the silly call for help. No more risk of injuries, lawsuits or complaints.

All we need is a cop in cyber space and the world will be saved.

That’s right…this is a quote directly from the article made by a police officer.  This is why there is confusion and struggle with social media.  Some people actually believe that social media is some sort of silver bullet.  The cure for all that is wrong with society.  The great equalizer.

I’m not sure if can make this clear enough…WRONG! IT IS NOT ANY OF THE ABOVE.

Confusion? You bet.  If this it what is being said and being supported then I bet police are confused. Dumb!  I can’t think of one reason why I would rather have a cyber cop and not a real live police officer walking the beat.  That’s right…a real cop.  Not a social media cop.  Even when cyber crimes happen, I want a real cop that knows how to investigate in the cyber space.  Knows how to secure evidence which leads to convictions which take the bad people away and prevents further victimization.

Confused about social media?  Let me clear it up for you very simply.  Social media is a tool that police can use to more effectively and efficiently communicate with the public, and provide broadcast information to their communities.

How we communicate and what we broadcast varies.  The tools we use may come and go but the purpose is simple…where the people are, so should be the police.

Your community is using social media?  You need to be using social media. Plain and simple.

Posted in Strategy | Tagged , , , | 3 Comments

Maximizing Minimal Resources

Posted on October 14, 2011 by Tim Burrows

I often hear the reasons (excuses) that more agencies aren’t jumping on board the SM train is because, “We don’t have the officer resources.” or, “There isn’t any money.”  I will grant you that those are two of the most compelling reasons in the mindset of those on the outside looking in, but they are then the exact reasons that you should be engaging in SM.

Money

Many of the tools that are available to the public are absolutely free to use.  Blogs, micro blogs, Facebook, MySpace and YouTube accounts all cost nothing! Any agency can afford free.  Those accounts are excellent for establishing a voice within the SM conversation.

Officer Resources

Take a look around your department, there are more than likely several officers engaged within SM already.  Most are doing it on their own time with personal accounts while some talk about their duties.  Either way, your basic resource demand is met…they already understand the theatre of SM.  Empower those officers to Tweet, Blog and engage the community in a professional and respectful way representing the agency.  You might be amazed how many safety, educational and crime prevention tips are generated by an officer that can educate the community.

Time

This to me is a no brainer.  A well-balanced SM strategy can leverage an officers/agencies time on an exponential basis.  How long would it take an officer to attend 50% of the schools in your jurisdiction to talk about Internet safety?  Now take that officers lecture, put it into an agency blog and blast that information to your community through any number of SM platforms.  That information now has the potential of being accessible anytime, anywhere and by not only the intended students but by their parents, community leaders and even other agencies.

Social Media is not new and there are many examples of agencies and officers that are doing it.  The major difference that I have been able to find between the doers and spectators is courage; Courage to embrace ‘new’ technology, courage to not think, but act outside the box and courage to really communicate with their community.

There are many other objections, but these are the most often said ones.  Are you saying no with a reason, an excuse or a lack of knowledge.

Remember this quote before you stage your next objection:

“Those who say it can’t be done should get out of the way of those who are doing it.”

Posted in Resources | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Law Enforcement doesn’t need Social Media

Posted on October 13, 2011 by Tim Burrows

If you know anything about me, you know that I really don’t mean that, but I got your attention didn’t I!!

For the past 30 months I have both professionally and personally made a study of the use of Social Media.  As a law enforcement officer that looks for ways to communicate community and road safety, Social Media was a logical choice as a tool to effectively and efficiently talk to my community.

I learned very quickly that some platforms were great for spreading the safety messages I needed to push out in an unedited, rich and convenient manner.  Others, did nothing to advance those messages.

As I have studied, used and evaluated those tools and the volume that can be created through them, I started to realize what their use truly is.

When I started out I found the term interesting at its core.

Social is the engagement, conversations, networks and people.  Long before Social Media became the term of reference we would consider the people on the networks the kids in their parents basements talking in chat rooms or conspiracy theorist trying to debunk government accounts and those people that viewed the ‘establishment’ as evil and something to be ignored, if not feared.

Media is many things. It can be the platform for communication, the mainstream media or the medium in which you present your topic.  When you look at it in terms of the mainstream media, the two terms would never seem to be bedfellows. Social and Media? Not ever would the two combine so nicely before now.

Lets start at the beginning; after all, it’s a very nice place to start.  Stop talking about Social Media and start talking about what it really is.  Tools to COMMUNICATE!  Want to know about the irrelevance of Social Media, take a read of Why Social Media Doesn’t Matter Anymore…but only after you finish reading this article.

If you are having trouble convincing your agency that they should be talking with your community through the platforms of Social Media and your argument is falling on deaf ears change language to something that doesn’t seem so scary.

Your strategy is not to venture into and use the muddied waters of Social Media.  Your strategy is to communicate.  Don’t create a Social Media strategy.  Create a Communications Strategy that considers the uses of layers of tools that can effectively convey your message to as many people as possible.

You can’t use terminology specific names like Twitter, Facebook and YouTube.  As much as it makes my heart stop to say Twitter might not exist in two years, the reality is that the next great tool to communicate could very easily replace it.

And here is my bonus tip of the day: Your messages should always convey three strategies.

  1. Marketing
  2. Sales
  3. Branding

That’s right…very successful businesses use those three strategies all the time and so should law enforcement.

Comments, like it, hate it? Let me know leave a comment and engage in the communication.

Posted in Communication | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

Does your strategy actually have a strategy

Posted on October 12, 2011 by Tim Burrows

I am not a fan at all of people, organizations or companies that think they should use Social Media as their communications strategy.  Social Media is a communications tool, plain and simple.  I’m sure that you don’t have a policy or procedure on the use of a fax machine as your communications strategy.

Every business or organization that uses Social Media as a form of communication needs to understand and recognize that it should be part of your greater communications strategy and a tool to advance your overall strategy to engage your community, customers, clients, etc.  This includes Law Enforcement.

Having said all that, you do need to determine what platforms you are going to use in Social Media and what your intent is for using them.  Since one of the major resources you will commit to Social Media use is time, you must have clear direction and intent so that you maximize the benefit.

You need to decide if you are going to be fully engaged with any feedback that comes in or if you will pick and chose to respond, or if you will have two-way communication at all. (If that is your choice, you are missing the point of Social Media).

Will you allow uncensored open dialogue, or will you put in place a mechanism for vetting comments that are defamatory or hateful in nature?

Beyond conversation, you need to define what your purpose is.  Are you going to concentrate on community safety, crime prevention, traffic awareness, education?  Or are you going to promote your service as a great employer, pillar of your community and trusted source for information?

Without some defined direction you could end up spinning your wheels throwing tons of information at a well-intentioned Facebook page but having very little traction because it is so scattered.  You could be so busy monitoring conversations that you miss content.

The easiest way to define your strategy is to look no further than your agency’s mission statement, values and vision. Design your strategy around those.  Make sure that Social Media and how you intend to use it fits into your agencies overall communication strategy.

When I went down the road of Social Media, I looked at the platforms, the tools and took the plunge, but it was always with a clear strategy in mind.

Every tweet, status update, video favorite, blog post, etc is always geared to the strategy of finding ways to meet that goal, which is governed by the mandate and mission.

The Social Media strategy is to compliment the overall communications strategy.

So tell us what your strategy is. Do you have one? Do you shoot it all against the wall and hope some will stick? We would love to hear your feedback.

Posted in Strategy | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment