This presentation describes the elements of an effective communications plan. Topics include determining demographics, channel creation, interfacing with government agencies and public sector stakeholders, policy development, embracing the whole community approach (including second responders, local actors), marketing strategies and more. Practical information supplements speaker experiences as government and citizen volunteer communicators during Hurricane Irene, Superstorm Sandy, the Joplin (MO) Tornado and other emergencies. This was presented at the 2016 World Conference on Disaster Management in Toronto CA, June 7 - 8, 2016.

1. Disaster Info Team
Effective Whole Community
Digital Communications Planning
Recommendations from practitioners who have
actively participated
in disseminating information
during major disasters

2. Disaster Info Team
Today’s Topics
• Determining demographics
• Channel creation
• Interfacing with government agencies and public sector
stakeholders
• Policy development
• Embracing the whole community approach (including
second responders, local actors)
• Disaster Info Model template
• Marketing strategies
• Resources and Examples

3. Disaster Info Team
We’re Social
Percent of online adults who use:
– Facebook: 72% (71%)
o 1.65 billion users worldwide; 989 million mobile users daily
o 163 million visit daily (in the US alone)
o Fairly gender neutral
– Pinterest: 31% (21%)
o 100+ million users
o 85% women
– Instagram: 28% (17%)
o 400+ million monthly active users
– LinkedIn: 25% (22%)
o 443+ million users
– Twitter: 23% (18%)
o 310 million monthly active users
o 65 million of those in the US
Source: http://www.pewresearch.org/data-trend/media-and-technology/social-networking-use/
http://www.statista.com

4. Disaster Info Team
We’re Social
Source: http://www.statista.com

5. Disaster Info Team
We’re Mobile
• Smartphone growth has been in double digit
percentages for several years.
– 68% of US citizens have a smartphone
– 45% of US citizens have a tablet
– 823 million Facebook users are mobile only
– 54% log in from mobile only
• Tablet and smartphone growth continues;
phone, game console, e-readers flat
• Age demographics:
– 86% of those 18 – 29 have a smartphone (US)
– 83% of those 30 – 49 have a smartphone (US)
Source: http://www.pewinternet.org/2015/04/01/us-smartphone-use-in-2015/
http://www.pewinternet.org/2015/10/29/technology-device-ownership-2015/
http://expandedramblings.com

6. Disaster Info Team
Age Impact
• Gen-X (in 2016, age 36-51)
– Best educated: 29% have college degrees
– 41+- million
• Millennials (in 2016, age 20-35)
– Digital natives: never lived w/o technology
– 71+- million
• Gen-X and Millennials don’t read email.
They text, share photos & videos, and chat online.
• Fastest growing demographics
– Age 55-64 on Twitter
– Age 55+ on Facebook
Source: Prior sources, plus
http://www.smartinsights.com/social-media-marketing/social-media-strategy/new-global-social-media-research/

7. Disaster Info Team
The Growth of Social Networking

8. Disaster Info Team
The Growth of Social & Mobile Worldwide
http://www.slideshare.net/wearesocialsg/digital-in-2016?ref=http://www.smartinsights.com/social-media-mark

9. Disaster Info Team
Demographics Determine Channels
• Determine your audience
– Residents, commuters, local employees, seniors, disabled,
tourists, college students, foreign speaking populations,
homeless, minors, vulnerable populations
– A sustainable community attempts to reach its entire
population
• Determine age groupings for these populations
• Determine primary communication methodologies
– Match each audience and age grouping to its primary and
secondary communication methods
• Rank needed communication methods and channels
– Cover all audiences with at least one channel
– Don’t forget traditional methods: paper, bullhorns, radio,
flyers at high-traffic areas, etc

10. Disaster Info Team
Preparing a Digital Communications Plan
• Discuss, decide and document:
– Where will information originate?
– Who may speak for your agency?
– How will you control channel creation?
– Which social channels will you use?
– What will be the process, the flow?
– What policies will you implement? What will they say?
– How will you engage visitors?
– How will you handle records retention?
– Do you need to address employee use as part of your plan?
– Will you post other than government information?
– How will you handle citizen publishers?

11. Disaster Info Team
Interfacing with Government Agencies
• Be Prepared in Advance
– Meet with government officials, including OEM
o Build trust in you and your efforts
o Stress cooperation, not competition
o Find out how your efforts can be most helpful
– Explain how your efforts will add value
o In any large scale disaster, traditional government communications will
be overwhelmed
o Citizen actors can assist and offload gov’t communicators
– Document your strategy and plans
o Share contact data (yours and theirs)
o Collect useful area documentation and links
– Use follow up letters, emails and/or phone calls to keep
channels of communication open
– Consider a school board liaison (school board member,
school PIO or similar role)

12. Disaster Info Team
Interfacing with Government Agencies
• Considerations during an event
– Have lots of coffee available
– Refer often to official sources in your posts
– Interface with unofficial viral sources
o Wade through the noise: monitor social sites
o Manage rumors: fact or fiction
– Report rumors and misinformation to gov’t officials for response
– Investigate rumors as appropriate on your own
– Post official responses on your sites / channels
– Share official sources on unofficial sites
– Include officials as editors on your sites / channels
– Design your sites / channels to function as alternatives to
official sites if they go down

13. Disaster Info Team
Interfacing with Private Sector Stakeholders
• Include, at a minimum:
– Chambers of Commerce
– Utility companies (public and private)
– Economic Development organizations
– Faith-based groups
– Local and national non-profit organizations (Kiwanis, Rotary, Lions,
Red Cross, Salvation Army, etc)
• Have at hand links to their emergency channels
• Provide them with links to your channels
– Be sure to include official government channels in your literature
– Remember: cooperation, not competition

14. Disaster Info Team
Policy Development
• Have Policies in Place Before Launch
– Adopt an internal policy to control social channel creation
– Adopt “Use” and “Commenting” policies
o Indicate your pages are not forums, but moderated
discussions
o Monitor your social channels and handle violations
o What others can say on your sites; What you can say and
how to say it on your own sites; What your representatives
can / should say on other sites
– Copyright infringement
• Update Policies and Rules Frequently
– Inconsistency of application for Terms of Use with
government requirements (liability issues, state laws)
– Consistency and compliance with court decisions,
legislative changes, and federal gov’t requirements.

15. Disaster Info Team
Embracing the Whole Community Approach
o People feel invested and empowered in a community-based effort.
o People want to help. The whole community approach provides a structure
where they can do so.
o Giving people something to do calms them during an event.
o FEMA Recognizes and Recommends the Whole Community Approach
– “We fully recognize that a government-centric approach to emergency
management is not enough to meet the challenges posed by a catastrophic
incident.”
– “When the community is engaged in an authentic dialogue, it becomes
empowered to identify its needs and the existing resources that may be used to
address them. ”
– “Engaging the whole community and empowering local action will better
position stakeholders to plan for and meet the actual needs of a community
and strengthen the local capacity to deal with the consequences of all threats
and hazards.”
Source: http://www.fema.gov/whole-community

16. Disaster Info Team
Second Responders / Public Actors
• Second responders are those members of the public who
feel like they have something to offer and want to help.
– They don’t know what to do and will, sometimes, do things that
are counter-productive to rescue and recovery efforts.
– Important to identify them, keep them engaged, focus their
energies, support official government response efforts.
• Have a place for people to register before or during
– Ask for location, skills, equipment so people can be used where
they’re needed
– Have a form ready so info can be turned over to an agency or
group to vet those offering to help
– Don’t allocate individuals on your own.
– Announce volunteer opportunities on your sites / channels.

17. Disaster Info Team
Disaster Info Model Template
• Developed after experience
with Joplin Tornado
• Provides a defined
methodology for the Whole
Community Approach
• Advance planning builds
trust among all entities
• Pre-planning helps to avoid
last minute hijacking of
response and recovery
efforts by otherwise well-
meaning citizens

18. Disaster Info Team
Disaster Info Model Template
√ Develop a “Whole Community” Communications Plan
√ Determine the demographics for the targeted communications area
√ Write and adopt policies needed to implement the plan
√ Evaluate appropriate social channels, administrators, content
publishers, and monitors
√ Use a consistent, generic email address for channel registrations
√ Determine a work flow, including all stakeholders
√ Set up a multi-level, broad based organizational contact list
√ Build rapport and trust among public sector, private sector,
non-profit and volunteer leaders
√ Set up public social channels based on demographics
√ Set up private communication channels for group communication
√ Develop a Marketing Plan, including cross channel and cross sector
marketing
√ Become THE trusted source for information

19. Disaster Info Team
Marketing Your Strategy
• Start out slow. Build momentum before an event.
• Consider
– Press releases, church bulletins, flyers
– Speaking engagements for local civic groups
– Local buy and sell newspapers or websites,
– Local community social channels, apps like NextDoor
– Official government e-newsletters
– Facebook or Google advertising
– Cross-marketing with other Twitter, FB, Instagram or G+ channels
• Get friends to write about your site(s) on social media
• Act as if you have thousands of followers even if you don’t
Add value and they will come!

20. Disaster Info Team
Useful Links
• Disaster Info Model Template
– DisasterInfoTeam.org & Stormzero.com
• Resources
– https://stormzeroconsulting.wordpress.com/resources/
• Policies
– http://archivesocial.com/social-media-resources-for-government
– http://www.qld.gov.au/web/social-media/principles/
– https://www.nlrb.gov/news-outreach/fact-sheets/nlrb-and-social-media
– http://www.govtech.com/social/Can-Louisiana-Public-Agencies-Control-
Employees-Social-Media-Posts.html
• Municipal Certifications
– Example: SustainableJersey.com with Action Plans for Developing
Communication Plans
o Emergency Management & Resilience
o Public Information and Engagement

21. Disaster Info Team
Contact Information
Carol A. Spencer
Stormzero, LLC
Rockaway, NJ 07866
973-637-0483
Stormzero.com
carol@stormzero.com
Rebecca J. Williams
Disaster Info Team, LLC
Neosho, MO 64850
417-434-0379
DisasterInfoTeam.org
rebecca@stormzero.com