How EMS Agencies Could Be Using Twitter Effectively

Posted by David at 5 June, 2009, 9:00 am

Twitter.

Chances are that if you are reading this then you have undoubtedly heard about Twitter. I’ve already written about how I myself explain what Twitter is to other people. So how could an EMS Agency use Twitter effectively?

Before an agency begins to use Twitter, they need to decide if they need to use Twitter. This is often a mistake companies make when something gets hooked onto the buzz train. They blindly jump onto it before understanding both its true value, potential pitfalls, and investment required. The true value of Twitter is it’s ability to get out a direct message (140 characters or less) quickly to those who are potentially interested in the message while simultaneously being able to hold a conversation. Companies such as ComCast use it for customer service, while Starbucks uses it for primarily for promotion.

The Burning Man Festival has their Emergency Services Department using a Twitter Account. Their tweets include information related to the upcoming festival as well as information about community members in crisis and what can be done to help them.

5 Types Of Tweets For EMS Agencies

Promotional- Promote the fundraising, blog posts, and social activities of your agency
Informational- Share information from your agency (i.e. EMS Week, AED Awareness Week)
News- Link to news articles on the local or national level that may effect your agency
Conversational- Use a tool such as Tweetdeck to search Twitter for mentions of your agency, and then converse with the Tweeter about their Tweet
Alert- In the case of a city/county/state wide emergency, tweet alerts for the community as the emergency develops

: Image via CrunchBase

EMS Agencies who choose to use Twitter should organize exactly how they are going to use it. Will it be just an agency account, or will their different departments or department heads/personnel also maintain agency oriented Twitter accounts? The question of organization is key to answer before doing anything else because whatever gets Tweeted is representative of your agency. Based on their own needs, agencies may decide to have a Chief, a Director, a Supervisor, a Field Training Officer, or their Public Information Officer be the primary Tweeter. Whoever is chosen to perform this task should be knowledgeable of the Agencies Social Media Policy and of how Twitter actually works.

The Northwest Fire Department in Tucson, Arizona maintains a Twitter Account. Their tweets are primarily nationally news based links.

Steps To Effectively Use Twitter As An EMS Agency

Establish a Twitter Account
Upload a clear picture of your agency logo as an avatar
Begin Tweeting Your Messages
Follow related Twitterers in both your service type as well as geographical location
Register with the Wefollow Twitter Directory using the tags: EMS, (Your Town/City as one word), (Your State as one word)
Publicize your Twitter Account in e-mail, your website, and in memos

The Virginia Office of EMS also has a Twitter Account. Their tweets are primarily broadcasts about news, available new training aides, and important information based on current issues.

The greatest strength of Twitter is also its biggest pitfall. It is actively hyper dynamic. Your message does not necessarily have staying power. If you send out a Tweet there is a strong possibility that a high percentage of your followers may not see it due to the variables of the time of day, their ability to monitor Twitter, how many other followers they are following and their Tweet velocity.

It is important to remember that Twitter is a tool for quick, direct, timely messages and has the ability to aggregate a conversation.

It is the modern watercooler.