The Importance of Social Media in Crisis Communications

If you fear that your emergency communication plan is lacking a crucial element, or have already lived through a similar disaster and know you fell short of reaching most residents, it’s time to add social media to your communication mix.

As of 2023, in the United States, 90 percent of the population has at least one social networking profile.

If you think the people in your community may not fall in line with national trends, consider these facts:

• 74% of adults use Facebook
• 76% of women in the U.S. use social media
• The majority (80%) of social media users in the USA are Hispanic
• Twitter has 86% brand awareness in the US, followed by Snapchat (84%), Pinterest (79%), and Reddit (68%)

We can never predict local disasters, but we can prepare for them. By incorporating social media into your crisis communication plan, familiarizing yourself with key social platforms, and utilizing tools and technology to expedite multi-channel communications, you will be well prepared to keep people informed whenever disaster strikes.