Models of Social Media Adoption in Emergency Management Organisations
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Judith Newton Research Associate, Queensland University of Technology Models of Social Media Adoption in Emergency Management Organisations
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Over the past few years, the popularity and usage of social media has grown rapidly, with social media now being seen as an essential component of the communication mix. Recent disasters such as the South East Queensland floods (2011 and 2013), the New Zealand earthquakes (2010-2013) and the Bohol earthquake in the Philippines (2013) have seen social media platforms changing the face of emergency management communication, not only in times of crisis and also during business-as-usual operations. With social media being such an important and powerful communication tool, especially for emergency management organisations, the question arises whether the use of social media in these organisations emerged by considered strategic design or more as a reactive response to a new communication phenomenon. This paper reviews the ways that the social media function has been positioned, staffed and managed in government and corporate organisations throughout the world, with a particular focus on which factors influence the style of communication used on social media platforms. This study finds that the social media function falls on a continuum between two opposing models, namely the authoritative one-way communication approach of command and control and the more interactive approach that seeks to engage with the community through two-way communication. Factors such as the size of the organisation; dedicated funding to the social media function; organisational culture; management style and knowledge about social media play a key role in determining where on the continuum organisations sit in relation to their social media capability. This review, together with a forthcoming survey of Australian Emergency Management Organisations and Local Governments, fills a critical gap in the current body of knowledge about the social media function in the emergency services environment. These findings will be fed back to industry for potential inclusion in future strategies and practices.
Transcript of Models of Social Media Adoption in Emergency Management Organisations
Judith NewtonResearch Associate, Queensland University of Technology
Models of Social Media Adoption in
Emergency Management Organisations
Contents• Rise of Social Media
• Social Media, Emergency Management Organisations & Change
• Information Technology & Social Media Adoption in Organisations
• Factors that Influence Organisational Social Media Adoption
• Social Media Adoption Models
• Future Research
Introduction
Social media is “a critical and indispensable element in disaster & crisis communication”.Source: Haddow, Bullock & Coppola (2014, 148)
• CC
Flickr Creative Commons: US Geographical Society
Social Media Adoption?
Flickr Creative Commons: Dan Foy Flickr Creative Commons: Nate Steiner
The Rise of Social Media
• Globally 1 in 4 people use social media
• Australians are strong social media users
• Facebook most popular (95%); Linked In (20%); Instagram (16%); Twitter & Google + (15% each)
Source: Sensis 2013 Flickr Creative Commons: Staffan Scherz
The Rise of Social Media
• Frequency of social media use also grown
• Growth in use of smart phones & tablets
• Australian business social media use less than proportion of Australians using social media
• Growth in social media use across small, media & large businesses (2011 to 2013)
Source: Sensis 2013
Social Media, Emergency Management Organisations & Change
• Social media used in disaster & normal day to day communications– Community safety & crisis information– Emergency alerts & warnings– Intelligence gathering– Notifications to staff & volunteers– Requests for assistance from the community– Recovery information & advice
Source: Lindsay 2011, 3-5
Social Media, Emergency Management Organisations & Change
Changes that impact on disaster communications:
•Citizen journalism•Blurring of lines of communication•Amplification of word of mouth communication
Social Media, Emergency Management Organisations & Change
• Social media and potential risks
- posting of misinformation
- hacking of social media accounts
- security breaches
• Perceived loss of control for emergency management organisations – direct contrast to command and control approach
IT and Social Media Adoption
Flickr Creative Commons: Ted Sakshaug Flickr Creative Commons: Jason Howie
Differences between InformationTechnology & Social Media adoption
IT Adoption
• Catalyst – need to rectify organisational problem
• Policy developed prior to technology being used
• Adoption process out of public view
• Uses organisation’s own information & communication infrastructure
Social Media Adoption
• Driven by change in consumer communication preferences & behaviour
• Policy developed after using social media
• Adoption highly visible to online community
• Uses third party platforms, not controlled by organisation
Factors that Influence Social Media Adoption in Organisations
• Organisational culture
• Management style
• The size of an organisation
• Knowledge and understanding about social media
• Social media champion
• Resourcing & Training
• Mission statement & strategies
Mission statement, strategies & social media
Location Strategy Business Value
Tactic Policy Resources
IT Department
Represent InformationBroadcast
Push No interaction allowed
None
Public Affairs Office
Engage Education Pull Commenting Policy
Dedicated staff & $
Knowledge Experts
Mingle TransactionalEmpowering
Network Open exchanges within SM guidelines
Dedicated staff & $+ Expert accounts
Source: Mergel 2013, 129
Social Media Adoption Models
• Centralised model - policy & direction from one senior level in department
• Distributed strategic model – each department has own policy & direction
• Coordinated hub and spoke model – framework from senior management & implementation at individual department level
Social Media Adoption Models
• Multiple hub and spoke model – each department implements framework, with variations of implementation occurring at the unit level within each department
• Holistic model – social media used freely by all, individual efforts then coordinated
In Addition to yourNormal Duties Model
•No increase in staffing
•Social media added to existing duties
Flickr Creative Commons: bark
All In Model
•Everyone in organisation can use social media
•UK Police Forces & Twitter
Flickr Creative Commons: Nicole Yeary
Let’s Get Together Model
•Not a separate entity•Integral to other parts of organisation•Physical location•Narrowing approval processes
Flickr Creative Commons: susan
Future Research
• Forthcoming Survey• Australian EMO &
Local Governments• Positioning of social
media function• Resourcing, staffing,
policies, roles & responsibilities to post of social media
• Aim to commence survey late 2014
• Project finish date -December 2015
• Findings fed back to Industry
Contact details:[email protected]
Questions?
Flickr Creative Commons: Scott McLeod
References
Haddow, George D., Jane A. Bullock and Damon P. Coppola. 2014. Introduction to Emergency Management. 5th ed. Waltham, MA: Butterworth-Heinemann, an imprint of Elsevier.
Lindsay, Bruce R. 2011. Social Media and Disasters: Current Uses, Future Options, and Policy Considerations, Report to Congress. United States of America: Congressional Research Services. Accessed 22 March 2014. https://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/homesec/R41987.pdf
Mergel, Innes. 2013. “Social Media Adoption and Resulting Tactics in the U.S. Federal Government.” Government Information Quarterly 30: 123-130. Accessed 27 March 2014.
http://www.sciencedirect.com.ezp01.library.qut.edu.au/science/article/pii/S0740624X13000063?via=ihub
References
Miller, Andrew. 2011. “Cultural Barriers to Organisational Social Media Adoption.” In Social Knowledge: Using Social Media to Know What You Know, edited by john P Girard and JoAnn L. Girard, 96-114. Hershey, PA: IGI Global. Accessed 28 March 2014. DOI: 10.4018/978-1-60960-203-1
Patel, Laleh. 2010. “The Rise of Social Media.” T&D 64 (7):60-61,8. Accessed 13 March 2014. http://gateway.library.qut.edu.au/login?url=http://search.proquest.com.ezp01.library.qut.edu.au/docview/608037080?accountid=13380
Sensis and the Australian Interactive Media Industry Association. 2013. “Yellow Social Media Report”. 3rd Edition. Accessed 13 March 2014. http://about.sensis.com.au/IgnitionSuite/uploads/docs/Yellow%20Pages%20Social%20Media%20Report_F.PDF
Acknowledgements
Photographs from Flickr Creative Commons•Slide 2: Flood by US Geographical Society•Slide 4: Planning Close-up by Dan Foy; Panic by Nate Steiner•Slide 5: Texting by Staffan Scherz•Slide 8: Blog Ideas by Owen W Brown•Slide 10: This morning in the computer lab by Ted Sakshaug; Social media apps by Jason Howie•Slide 16: Work by bark•Slide 17: Fabulous Chicago ladies tweet @ChefMarcela by Nicole Yeary•Slide 18: Integration by susan•Slide 20: Question mark cookies 3 by Scott McLeod
