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Social media – is it the scourge or saviour for local authorities in helping them communicate with their communities? Recent commentators have questioned whether councils should spend time, effort and resources in embracing social media and suggest it should be limited when it comes to the business of a local authority. As I said to a group of European partners who were in Doncaster last week to look at work we are doing around using social media during flooding, those same commentators would probably have decried any investment by local authorities in telephones had they been around at the time of Alexander Graham Bell's marvellous invention. The debate has many sides and, whether we like it or not, social media is being used by our communities to talk about and to us. Some 57% of people in the UK use social media so it is perfectly feasible that we, in the local authority community, engage online. More and more of us are seeing online engagement as a quicker, more effective and cost-savvy way of communicating with some of our communities and encouraging them to click to access our services. Communications is changing and we have to try to keep up with the times. That brings me back to one way Doncaster MBC has used the reach of social media - in emergency planning situations such as flooding. We are working with the University of Sheffield on a European Union-backed project where communities in flood risk areas can share local information about flood risks to a central web page through a mobile phone app. The system also gathers information from Facebook and Twitter. The total EU investment now stands at 107,000 Euros, including a recent grant to invest in technology. The response from local people has been fantastic and they have even been updating the system on Christmas Day. The benefits of the project were highlighted during a recent incident of flooding. Our technology alerted us to flood reports being circulated on social media before it was officially reported to authorities via 999 calls. Being better informed enabled us to respond quicker and direct our resources more effectively. And, of course, we use social media to share advice on other emergency risks such as severe weather, major road closures and gritting routes. Communities are increasingly using social media as an accessible and preferred information source on actions they can take to keep themselves and their families informed and safe. Another example of how Doncaster MBC uses social media during emergencies was after a major fire in a much-loved heritage building. Even before the fire was under control there was a high amount of community concern about the future of the building - not just from Doncaster residents, but ex-residents as far away as Australia. Social media was used to share information and pictures about the state of the building and provide assurance about the future viability of this iconic community building. These messages were reinforced by local ward members who used social media as an effective communication tool to provide fast and accurate information around the world. So should we engage in social media? I believe the answer is becoming more and more rhetorical. Why should we stand on the e-communications sidelines when we have so much to gain? Jo Miller is chief executive of Doncaster MBC

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Social media puts councils ahead of the game

By Jo Miller | 30 January 2014

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