In a recent survey performed by Accenture, citizens were asked if they felt as though police agencies were maximizing their use of technology to communicate with the public.  The results of the survey were quite clear – three quarters of all respondents said they would like to see police forces using more digital channels to communicate, yet only 20 percent of respondents said their police forces are currently using digital channels to communicate.

At this point, it’s no longer a question of whether your agency should be using social media – you’d be hard-pressed to have read a public safety blog or magazine over the past several years that didn’t consistently sing the praises of social media.  The real question has become how to make the most of the resources you have available in order to provide citizens with timely, informative, and engaging information.  PIOpost is the answer.

PIOpost is a social media dashboard made specifically for public safety agencies – not bloated enterprise software made with businesses or corporations in mind, just the essential tools and features you need to get the job done.  How does it work?  PIOpost operates on three simple principles – Post, Inform, and Measure.

Click here for info about a free PIOpost webinar November 8th

 

 

Post – The foundation of PIOpost is in the way it captures information to be disseminated to the public.  One simple form with just three required fields can accommodate a nearly infinite number of scenarios.  Anything from sending out a quick note about a road closure, to posting a series of surveillance photos and videos from a recent string of robberies – PIOpost knows exactly how to handle and format your content. You can also save drafts, create templates for recurring notifications, integrate Google Maps and utilize numerous other features – all secured by 256 bit SSL protection.

Inform – Once PIOpost gets ahold of the content you want disseminated, watch PIOpost kick into high gear.  Videos are automatically posted to your agency’s YouTube Channel, images are organized into attractive photo galleries, and notifications are perfectly formatted to Facebook and Twitter’s specifications and posted to your agency’s respective pages.  We know not every member of the public is on social media yet though, so PIOpost also posts notifications to your agency’s existing public website, RSS feed, and instantly sends email notification to any subscribers.  All at the push of a button.

Having the ability to notify citizens through these different lines of communication is critical to keeping the public informed and engaged, but each online medium, whether it’s an email, or a 140 character tweet have their own unique limitations.  That’s why each notification sent out through PIOpost generates a custom webpage, branded to your agency’s specifications that contains all aspects of the notification – whether it’s additional text from a press release or videos, photos, and maps associated with the notification.  The link to this “expanded” view is automatically included in every post – something other social media tools like Tweetdeck and Hootsuite don’t offer.

 

Measure – No social media dashboard would be complete without the ability to measure the impact of your online efforts.  That’s why PIOpost allows you to easily monitor the total number of followers your agency has, review what notifications are getting the most views, and how citizens are getting to them.  These measurement tools will allow you to receive instant feedback on what type of information the public is responding to and give insight into how to better adjust how your agency sends out information.

PIOpost enforces an instant set of “best practices” learned only through first hand experience working within public safety.  It reinforces professionalism, consistency, and allows agencies to focus on the message they are trying to convey, rather than the technical speedbumps that inevitably come along with trying to manage a variety of online tools.

If your agency is looking to become more efficient in managing their online presence, or if your agency is new to social media, you need to check out our upcoming webinar “Introduction To PIOpost” HERE. Be sure to also visit http://piopost.com for a risk free 90 day trial and see why agencies just like yours trust PIOpost to keep citizens informed and engaged in the places they visit most online.

 

Brian Hurst

Brian Hurst has over 10 years of professional experience developing web based tools for organizations large and small, including multiple Fortune 500 companies.  Over the past three years Brian has worked within law enforcement to help agencies develop innovative public facing websites, and to establish effective and engaging uses for social media.  Brian has been awarded for his work in managing digital communication during numerous large scale events and emergencies which received national media coverage, and continues to find new and innovative ways to support public safety through the use of technology.  

Brian is the co-founder and chief application architect of PIOpost, a web based dashboard to assist public safety agencies in managing their online presence.