Canadian Red Cross, Social Media and You

On Tuesday, October 9th, 2012, the Canadian Red Cross released a survey that they conducted with Ipsos Reid to gauge how we feel about social media and they work that is done by them, social media and being prepared.

The results, while not earth shattering to anyone who has been keeping tabs on disaster response, emergency management and education / awareness, have some very interesting results.

There is no doubt that in an emergency, people will turn to social media to talk about, learn about and share their experiences when disaster or emergencies strike.  That is the new normal when it comes to information, due in part to the immediacy and availability of information in real-time and the research supports this:

“A majority (54%) of Canadians would use social media channels  such as Facebook or Twitter to let their friends and family know that they are safe in the event of an emergency”

Here is one of the scary issues that emergency responders are going to have to take very seriously:

“One-third (35%) of Canadians think that emergency services such as fire or police would respond to a request for help over social media.”

I honestly believe that 100% of emergency services would respond to a call for help over social media…IF they know about it.  Herein lies a real issue.  While social media occurs 24/7, emergency services don’t monitor the channels in this way at the present time. Emergencies and disasters can strike anywhere at any time and the dependence of a message reaching the right people at the right time diminish dramatically based on time, resources, operational requirements and staffing.

Now… here is the most concerning issue:

“Of those who think that these services would respond, most (74%) believe that the response time would be an hour or less.”

I believe that 100% of those responses should be measured in minutes, not hours, but if the message isn’t seen how can there be a response.

The simple fact is that nothing will beat the immediacy and attention that a 911 call will receive.  911 HAS TO BE THE FIRST CHOICE in any emergency or disaster situation.

There are two very important messages in this survey that cannot be ignored by our emergency services.

1.) Our public has an expectation that if we are using social media, we need to be aware of what is being said and talked about and be in a position to respond.

2.) We need to ensure that public awareness of the limitations or design of an agencies social media presence is communicated on a regular basis so that there are no false expectations or beliefs of what an agency can and can’t / will and won’t be able to do in a crisis.

There has been a great deal of discussion in interoperability, emergency management and  social media circles about the use of SM in emergencies.  Here is one example from Japan.

The survey also included a very important piece about preparedness that needs to be better communicated to the public and also internally to our own members.

“While many Canadians say that they have personally experienced emergencies, two-thirds (66%) of Canadians have not taken steps to prepare themselves in the event of a disaster.  One-third (34%) of Canadians, however, say that they have taken steps to prepare for such situations.”

PUBLIC: A prepared population can significantly reduce the need for resource allocation during an emergency.  Even though 2/3s of us have experienced emergencies, only 1/3 have prepared for it.  That means by average, 2 in 3 people will not be in a position to be self-sufficient and will need assistance.

TRI-SERVICES: In an emergency or disaster event, we may be away from our families for an extended period of time.  In some cases, our families may be directly impacted by the event itself.  Are we in a position to care for our community when our families also need that care.  Make sure that you are prepared with a 72 hour emergency preparedness kit for your home and yourself.

I encourage you all to take a look at the survey results: It really is a great snap shot of the issues I have discussed here and many more facts and figures that can help you in your messaging.

Canadian Red Cross Blog

Ipsos Reid Release

Infographic courtesy of the Canadian Red Cross

Congratulations to the Canadian Red Cross for such a great survey that so many of us can use.  You really are a great partner in public safety!