Step 1 in social media use
By Rob Reardon
On an average day at the firehouse, people would ring the doorbell in need of assistance. When we answered the door, many times people would say, “Sorry, did I wake you?” Why did so many people think during the day that their firefighters were sleeping? If you think back to all the children’s books about firefighters, many would show them in bed sleeping during the day. More importantly is the fact that people just don’t know what we do.
For years, we relied on others to tell our story and what we were doing, but that has all changed with social media. Social media is a tool that allows you to tell your taxpayers about your brand. Your brand is your department. It’s important that you know what your brand is and be consistent when selling it before you start on social media.
The purpose of your social media account is to use it as a platform that promotes what your department is doing daily. If you don’t tell people what you are doing, they won’t know. We often assume that people know what we are doing, but truthfully many people think all we do is fight fires.
