Canton on Emergency Management

Crisis Communications: Why don't they listen to me?

I was reading an article on the recent tornado in Missouri and was struck by the comment of one of the victims. He talked of how they had heard the warning sirens and had gone outside to look but saw nothing so they took no action. When the sirens sounded a second time, it was too late for him to seek shelter.

Unfortunately, this is not uncommon. I've blogged elsewhere about the hesitation of local officials to sound warnings but it's worth noting that even when they do so in a timely manner, the public doesn't always react. We've got a considerable amount of research showing that people no longer trust official warnings. Instead, they seek verification from other sources, usually within their circle of family and friends.

The lesson for crisis communicators is obvious. We can't assume that because our message has been released through the media that people will act on it. Instead, we need to make sure we are using multiple sources, especially those used by people to communicate with each other. We need to be part of the conversation.

Emergency Management Solutions - Liability: Words Can Hurt

Emergency Management Solutions May 2011

Liability: Words Can Hurt You May 2011

Download Liability - Words Can Hurt You May 2011

Crisis communications: what do social media and jazz have in common?

Several years ago my brother treated me to a jazz concert. I remember being incredibly disappointed in how bored I was (even fell asleep). He, being an aficionado, thoroughly enjoyed himself. In the discussion that followed, I realized two things.  The first was that jazz is esoteric - you need to have an understanding of what's going on to truly appreciate it. The second was that I really didn't like jazz and that what I thought was jazz was really the blues.

What's this got to do with social media? As I spend more time learning about social media, I'm beginning to realize that Twitter is a lot like jazz - it's pretty hard to appreciate it if you don't take the time to understand it. The aficionados think it's the best thing since sliced bread while the rest of us scratch our heads trying to decipher twitter-speak and figure out how to use a hash tag. Secondly, once you do begin to understand it, you begin to learn its limitations and find it may not really be what you're looking for to solve your crisis communications problems.

My point is that not all of us are going to take the time to learn the intricacies of jazz and, even if we do, we may not like it. The same is true of Twitter. It's a great tool for some but is not the answer for all. Let's continue to keep diversity in our crisis communications.