Giving the Public a Seat at Our Table:

Social Engagement as an Agent of Organizational

Change

The Fundamental Shift

Social sites are not another media channelA fundamental shift in the way people communicateChanging expectations from the public

Our Social Engagement Goals

1. Carry out the organization’s mission online.2. Give the public a seat at our operational table.

3. What is our mission?

The Red Cross Social Community

Local chaptersVolunteersDonorsStudentsEnthusiasts

How do we empower our community?

Relationship building on individual level

Helping make connections

Building tools to help them share and mobilize

Social Engagement Certification

Digital volunteerism

How do we use it?

What we do every day onlineWe listen to and interact with our stakeholders; volunteers, general public, politicians, donors (blood and financial), corporate sponsors and others who are interested in the Red Cross.

Interact with news outletsAnswer questions (tough ones, easy ones)Take complaintsAnswer pleas for helpShare Red Cross storiesServe as a news source/Crowdsource

6

Roy’s fire

EXAMPLE FROM CHICAGOBREAKING NEWS< THE

PHOTO WE POSTED ON FACEBOOK<

TWITTER POST ETC>

EXAMPLE FROM ROY’S FIRE AND CHICAGO BREAKING NEWS

7

Best Practices

•Listen•Insert your voice•Respond immediately (otherwise the phone/customer service line goes unanswered) •Engage •Be personal•Make friends without asking for anything•Follow others

Case Study:Social Engagement and

Disaster Relief

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Social Media Becoming an Integral Part of Disaster Response

Growing trend in U.S. and across the world in disasters to use social media to seek help.

Survey finds more people using social media, mobile technology and online news outlets in emergencies.

Trying to learn more about the disaster Asking for help Sharing information about well-being with family and friends

2

Red Cross Digital Operations Center

Visualizes information from social sites

Coordination center for social engagement with the public during disasters

Helps us better manage data so it will be useful for decision makers

Requests from the public (Alabama Tornadoes 2011)

Snowmageddon

#Snoprah Groundhog Day Blizzard Feb 1,

2011 20.2 inches of snow

Hundreds stuck on Lakeshore Drive

Businesses, schools & roads were closed

@ChicagoRedCross 90% volunteers Crowd sourcing, sharing

information More than 360 commuters

were taken to shelters that night

#snOMG

Tweeting for Help Research by the Red Cross shows

that 74% of those surveyed believe an emergency responder would hear an SOS tweet. “They believe you would respond within an hour –the public thinks you’re listening.  People think if they tweet about an emergency, then someone will come with help.

We soon caught media attention. In some cases, reporters found the Red Cross tweets more timely than information coming from official sources.

“Chicago Red Cross started preparing for the blizzard because we knew everyone would be talking about it. By following popular hashtags such as #snOMG, #ChicagoBlizzard, @snowmageddon, #snowpocalypse and #snoprah

Engaging during the Midwest Tornadoes 2012

MOBILE

Midwest Floods 2013

IssueChanging location of bulk distribution sitesSupplies were running out quicklyCircumstances beyond our control with various municipalities, delayed vehicles etc.

Solution@SaminDispatch Twitter account, staffed 24-7 by volunteers

Tornado, Wildfire, Shelter, Team Red Cross & First Aid Apps

The Red Cross Shelter View app displays current shelter information from the National Shelter System.Launched February 2011Updated every 30 minutesShows detailed location of shelter and includes population countOne of iTunes top apps in August 201125,000 in August

Thank you

Jason Golden@jasondgoldenLinkedIn – Jason D. Golden