One aspect of the move to social media communication is the interest the public has in the fire department and emergency medical service operations. People are naturally inquisitive about happenings in their community and the fire and EMS system provides news and information. But, let’s fact facts; most people “follow” fire and EMS social media, because they want to know “what’s going on”?
So, let’s capitalize on this aspect!
When you have an incident, provide a brief description including photos if possible and permitted. Between incidents, send afire or injury/illness prevention message……..OR
Focus on a member’s activity. Recognizing volunteers for their service is a significant motivator for people who donate their time. This is a great opportunity to recognize and thank that member, while asking the public if they have an interest, how they, too, can become part of a community organization
These are the times where you can accomplish two key personnel management objectives:
- Acknowledge the good performance of the members of the organization and give credit to the members who did the good work.
- Recruit new members by constantly asking individuals to join your organization.
An effective way to accomplish this it to develop a standardized message for recruiting. The message should always have an ask – “PLEASE JOIN THE MYTOWN FIRE AND EMS DEPARMENT”. This can be accomplished via a simple tag line to place at the end of the social media post or any in conjunction with any printed document you prepare and distribute.
This constant and consistent approach to messaging with help you accomplish both retention and
recruitment at the same time.