Large-city fire departments with multiple PIOs have been showcasing their activities on social media for some time. If you have enough people, it’s no problem.
But what if you want to try to engage the community without those resources?
Social media can be a direct link with the customers your department serves, so it’s a no-brainer that you’d like to be all over Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, TikTok, and all the others. Even podcasts.
Not to mention that your message can be sent the way you want—not filtered through the editors and reporters of your local news providers.
How do you do it?
My two guests today come from the Central Arizona Fire and Medical Authority, or CAFMA. It’s medium-small career department, covering several small cities and a lot of rural area, populated by about 106,000 residents. They do it with 10 full-time stations and 2 reserve stations.
And NO full-time PIO.
Yet CAFMA’s social media program is impressive. And I’m saying this as someone who has seen the Los Angeles City Fire Department’s social media program at work.
My guests today are here to explain how they do it.
We’re talking with CAFMA Chief Scott Freitag, a frequent guest here on Code 3, and Kathy Goodman, Scott’s Community Relations Coordinator, who is the driving force behind this social media campaign.
Resources:
Article: Social Media and the Fire Department
Article: Fire Department Social Media Best Practices
Article: IAFC’s Social Media Toolkit
Video: Smart Social Media Practices for Fire Departments
CAFMA’s links: