Six top online and social sources for Top End cyclone information

By Tracy Jones

With the cyclone season now upon us, all of us in the Top End need to be prepared. With your cyclone kit packed, your insurance updated and your family emergency plan updated, you need to think about how you will access the information you need to get through.

Our research at Creative Territory has shown us that up to 90 per cent of Top Enders are now using the web and social media to find out what is going on. The problem is, the social media space is now so overcrowded with “experts” it is hard to know who to trust.

Here’s our advice on where to go, depending on the type of information you are looking for:

1.       For official weather information go to www.bom.gov.au The Bureau of Meteorology issues all official cyclone watches and warnings. It is also the place to watch the latest radar information. You can also see radar images by downloading the Rain? app on your mobile phone or tablet device.

2.       For official updates on government information and services, go to www.secureNT.nt.gov.au This site aggregates information from all NT Government agencies in one place. It also includes useful tips to help you get ready for the season. You can also like secureNT on Facebook (www.facebook.com/secureNT) or follow them on Twitter (www.twitter.com/@secureterritory). This is a trusted source for official information.

3.       If you are looking for more colour and interest but still want to have a reasonable level of trust in the information, use local traditional media outlets. ABC regularly updates its website with the latest information. ABC Darwin, The NT News and Nine News Darwin have very active social media channels through both Facebook and Twitter.

4.       A number of websites provide great professional and para-professional commentary on weather conditions as they change. Try www.northauschasers.com , the Weather Channel or Weather Zone.

5.       In Twitter, do a search for hashtags that will help you sift through information. For example, in the Top End, search for #topend which is used by many locals to help index their Tweets. Once a cyclone is declared, many Tweets will use the appropriate hashtag – for example, during Cyclone Carlos in Darwin many people used #Carlos or #TCCarlos  Just be aware that not all this information can be trusted – not because people are trying to fool you, but because not everyone has accurate information.

6.       Watch out for what your friends are saying and see what people you follow are saying. They’ll provide you with a very local weather forecast right from their own home.

6 Facebook tips to protect your reputation

By Tracy Jones

Facebook can be a booby trap for people in the public eye. And you don’t have to be famous to get caught out. I’ve seen public servants, senior executives, front-line staff and company representatives all find themselves in hot water with a simple slip of the mouse.

1.       Check your security settings regularly. Facebook is constantly changing its security settings. You need to stay on top of what you are and are not allowing others to see. Pay particular attention to the Timeline and Tagging settings, which control the level of privacy on what others are saying about you.

2.       Ditch the funny profile photo. I know of a case where two men were killed in a tragic accident. The media sourced photos of them from their Facebook profiles and plastered them all over the news – one posing in his uniform and the other obviously taken during a long Sunday-afternoon session with the boys.

3.       Be careful what you Like. Yep. That new Facebook page “I think the Government sucks and should be thrown out at the next election” was really funny. It’s just a shame you’re a public servant and your boss doesn’t agree. You might also want to think twice before Liking “I’m not an alcoholic – I’m Australian” or “If I could punch you without getting in trouble, believe me, I would”.

4.     Keep track of your friends. Remember your second cousin’s ex-girlfriend who befriended you on Facebook a few years back? She now works as a journalist for the local newspaper.

5.     Your friends have other friends. It’s a great lark when you and your friends share a “private” joke about what you got up to on the weekend. Just be aware that they have other friends who may not see the funny side. You particularly need to watch for this one if you missed point number 1.

6.     Don’t drink and drive. Don’t drive a car, a keyboard or a mouse.

Share your cyclone experience with us

How do people access information during severe weather events in the Top End? And has this changed since Cyclone Carlos last year? We’re trying to find out.

Creative Territory is encouraging people to tell us about their experiences during the recent cyclone and floods so we can find the best ways to communicate in the future.

This survey follows a similar one undertaken after Cyclone Carlos battered Darwin in February 2011, flooding properties and bringing down thousands of trees. That survey showed a growing reliance on the internet and social media as a means of accessing information. (You can see the results from that survey here)

This survey will help us understand if the trend has continued.

You can access this new survey here: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/Z9DQN7Z

We will publish the results of the survey along with an analysis of how information access has changed since Cyclone Carlos in February 2011 based on the survey we conducted then.

NT Facebook membership up 20% in six months

Facebook membership across the Territory has grown by more than 20 per cent over the past six months, according to the latest statistics compiled by Creative Territory.

There are now almost 85,000 Facebook users who list the Territory as their home, including 64,860 in Darwin and 12,920 in Alice Springs.

The raw data, drawn from Facebook’s advertising tool, shows more substantial increases in smaller centres such as Nhulunbuy and Tennant Creek. However, this is likely to be the result of more accurate data collection as the number of Territorians listed in “unknown” towns as dropped considerably since Creative Territory first started collating this data.

Facebook membership	Jun 11	Sept 11	Dec 11	Six-month Growth %
Total NT	69,620	72,420	84,580	21.49
Darwin	50,240	52,020	64,860	29.10
Alice Springs	10,060	10,260	12,920	28.43
Katherine	2,640	2,780	3,360	27.27
Nhulunbuy	1,280	1,380	1,960	53.13
Tennant Creek	780	880	1,160	48.72

Facebook usage is highest among Territorians in their 20s with almost 30,000 members. But don’t think that Facebook is not an effective means to reach older Territorians – there are still more than 10,000 Territorian members aged over 50.

While both men and women use Facebook at around the same rate while they are younger, women are more likely to be members as they age.

While LinkedIn continues to enjoy stronger growth than Facebook in the Territory, it has a long way to go before it catches up. At 31 December it boasted 11,091 Territorian members, about one-eighth the following.

LinkedIn Membership	Jun 11	Sep 11	Dec 11	Six-month Growth %
All major centres	8,177	9,494	11,091	35.64
Darwin	6,219	7,214	8,254	32.72
Alice Springs	1,344	1617	1845	37.28
Katherine	252	308	367	45.63
Nhulunbuy	462	555	625	35.28

5 steps to engagement through social media

By Tracy Jones

If you’re thinking about getting into social media, you need to employ the principle of MATES – Monitor, Act, Talk, Engage and Sustain.

We’ve coined the term MATES because it emphasises what communicators know to be the most powerful aspect of social media – its ability to engage in meaningful conversations rather than just mindless promotion.

These five steps will help you get started.

MONITOR: Start your social media journey by looking at what others are already saying and doing in the social media sphere. Google like crazy. Do some searches in Twitter. You may be surprised what others are already saying about you, your brand, your products and your competitors.

ACT: Take the plunge and set up some accounts. Start with Facebook and Twitter then add to your armory as you get more comfortable.

TALK: Now it’s time to say something. Start small by retweeting or sharing what others are saying. You’ll get bolder as you go along by adding your own original content and thoughts. Share your knowledge and expertise with your friends and followers. The most influential participants give something of themselves to their audiences.

ENGAGE: Now it’s time to become a real participant. Comment on other people’s posts. Reply to people who talk to you or about you. Say thanks to those who pass your posts along.

SUSTAIN: Now you’re in the space you need to participate at a sustainable level. Have a strategy for how often and when you will be posting and commenting. Dedicate resources to the task. Make it part of your job, not just a tack-on at the end of the day that is quickly forgotten when things get busy.

Creative Territory offers a mentoring package to help executives get social online. The package includes an analysis of your business and personal needs, setting up your accounts, three hours of coaching at your desk and three months of ongoing support and mentoring. Contact tracy@creativeterritory.com to find out more.

Twittercue: 5 steps to engagement through social media. #PR #socialmedia http://tiny.cc/esguk

7 tips for communicating when the electricity goes out

By Tracy Jones 

Anyone who has ever been through a natural disaster will tell you that one of the first things to go is the electricity. 

While mobile phone towers amazingly kept working following recent cyclones, floods, earthquakes and tsunamis across the world, power went out for prolonged periods.

For communicators used to having all the latest tools at our disposal, planning for how to get messages across in a blackout is critical.

Here are 7 tips to help:

1.      Rely on radio.

Even if people don’t have battery-powered radios, the one in their car probably still works. Use radio stations to get important messages out.

2.      Make every message self-contained.

People relying on their mobile phone for the internet don’t switch between Twitter, Facebook and the web during a crisis. They tend to stick with one application. There’s nothing worse than a Tweet that only tells you to “check our website for the latest update”. See our post on Twittercues for some hints on better tweeting. 

3.      Stay charged

Always keep your mobile and your laptop fully charged.

4.      Host your website in another city.

Or at least make sure your local provider is really, really ready for any risk.

5.      Use blogs and twitter to feed your content.

You can use blogs and twitter to feed content onto your website and facebook accounts. That way if everything else fails you can easily upload content via your mobile phone.

6.      Have a back-up email account

If your own business server goes down, a back up Gmail or hotmail account will see you through a crisis. 

7.      Remember the old tools

Once upon a time we relied on pen and paper and talking to each other. They still work. 

Twittercue: 7 tips for  communicating when the electricity goes out. #prtips #crisiscomms http://tiny.cc/7tipspower

Internet and radio leading sources of information in a crisis

The internet has emerged as the leading source of information during cyclone Carlos with radio a close second, a survey has recently found.


The survey, conducted by Darwin PR agency Creative Territory after Cyclone Carlos last month, found 75 per cent of people turned to the internet for information and that even more would do so in the future.

The rise of mobile internet devices including smart phones and iPads, means people use the internet and social media to get information even during power blackouts.

Creative Territory managing director Tracy Jones said social media and the internet have sped up the news cycle as well as allowing people to participate in discussions.

“Traditional media outlets that do not extend their offering into social media are in danger of lagging behind,” she said.

“ABC and the NT News did this really well dutring Cyclone Carlos and were rewarded with a high level of trust among residents."

The survey was conducted among 227 people in the weeks following the cyclone and found:

• People who felt the least informed were less likely to listen to ABC Radio and Internet and more likely to watch TV.
• People who followed Twitter felt the most informed.
• People who lost telephone services felt the least informed.
• In the future, people would switch to radio if they lost power for extended periods, although a large number of people would remain connected to the internet and social media via mobile devices.

  Tracy said the survey offered lessons to responders in future emergencies.

 

The survey results will be presented at a forum hosted by the Public Relations Institute of Australia and the Australian Marketing Institute in Darwin this week. The even will also feature experts from the Bureau of Meteorology, NT Police, ABC and Darwin International Airport.

 

When: Thursday 31 March, 12noon to 2pm

Where: Vibe Hotel, 7 Kitchener Drive, Darwin Waterfront NT

Cost: PRIA and AMI members $45

Non-members $55

 

Register online here.

 

10 New Year's Resolutions not to break

1. I will update my corporate profile. A good company profile is essential to selling your services to new clients and to attach to tenders. Make a point to update yours this year to save you time later.

2. I will finally do that media training. Don't wait for a crisis before you learn the basics of dealing with the media.

3. I will do my forward plan for the year before the end of March. Actually, I'd be happy if you managed to get it done before September.

4. I will update my website and remove profiles of the staff who left three years ago. Most of us are guilty of letting our websites get out of date. One of the ways to avoid this is to remove information that dates easily.

5. I will learn how to use Facebook, Bebo, Tagged, YouTube or LinkedIn. If not, make sure your children show you one of them.

6. I will schedule at least five networking functions with my peers and colleagues. It's easy to lose touch with peers and colleagues in the heat of doing business. Put them in your diary like every other important task.

7. I will subscribe to at least three newsletters, blogs, forums or publications that will help me learn more about my industry. Don't lose touch with the latest trends and news in your own industry.

8. I will check the news every day. Know what's going on in the world around you. If you can't catch the TV news, read a paper, listen to the radio or get your news online.

9. I will keep an eye on my competitors. After all, they might be doing something good that you can do better!

10. I will try at least one new marketing idea that I haven't been game to try before. Go out on a limb. Take a chance. Get creative. You might be surprised at your success.