By Ashley Western, ACSR, MSM RMI | Wed, 11 Aug 2010

The American Red Cross recently released the results of a survey about the use of Social Media in Disasters or Emergencies.  You can view the survey results report at the following link:

http://bit.ly/cp16qa

Interestingly, over 75% of respondents said they would expect to receive assistance within an hour if requested via a social media network.

While this figure may be overly optimistic, it does indicate that social  media is beginning to play a larger role in our society today, and cannot be ignored as a means of communication with your important client base, especially during a time of emergency, or a time when there is a lack of availability of traditional means of communciation.

Simple suggestions involve having cell phone numbers for clients, in order to prepare a list for text messaging if traditional cellular and land line networks are down.  Also, having a blog or website that contains important real-time updates for your business can be valuable to retain communication with your valuable client base.  Twitter, Facebook, LinkdIn, and others can be free to sign up and utilize as part of your client communication outreach program.

A disaster plan is an intergal part of contingency planning for your business.  If you would like to learn more about developing a disaster plan for your organization, the following links may be helpful:

www.fema.gov

www.redcross.org

http://mashable.com/2010/03/09/prepare-disaster-social-media/

The Risk Management experts at Cravens Warren can help our clients to develop Disaster Plans.  If you are interested in learning more on how we can assist you in the development of a plan, please contact us.