A social media public information officer used web-based tools and simple hardware devices to create, share, and distribute information to enhance their agency’s mission. I have been thinking about a list of essential skills for social media PIOs. Can you do all of these things for your agency’s social media presence?

1. Upload a video to YouTube or Vimeo from your handheld camera, smartphone, or webcam. Then embed the video into a blog post or page.

2. Allow readers to subscribe to your blog posts and enewsletters using a double opt-in email subscription client like Aweber.

3. Email a picture from your smartphone to Flickr or TwitPic.

4. Add a Facebook Fan Page badge or Twitter button to a blog page or sidebar. (how to add a badge or button post and screencast)

5. Record a phone call as an audio file using Skype or Google Voice. Then post the audio file to a blog post.

6. Create or find the RSS feed for your agency blog and allow readers to receive email updates of your RSS feed.

7. Record a podcast, take live calls, and embed the recording in your web page using a tool like Blog Talk Radio.(blog post about Montgomery County Fire Rescue use of Blog Talk Radio)

8. Host a ustream broadcast during a public injury prevention program, training event, or actual incident to give real-time updates.

9. Hyperlink to other websites so the new page opens in a new window instead of opening and replacing the referring page.

10. Monitor your social media presence with Twitter Search, Google Alerts (screenr how to), and One Riot.

What would you add to this list?

Ask if you want a screencast made on how to do any of these skills.

About The Author

Greg Friese has authored 45 articles for PIOSocialMediaTraining.com

Greg Friese, MS, NREMT-P is an author, podcaster, blogger, and advocate for emergency response agencies to use social media before, during, and after any incident. Greg is the Director of Education for CentreLearn Solutions, LLC. He is also the co-host of the EMSEduCast podcast and is a paramedic for a 911 agency in northeast Wisconsin

Blog | Follow on Twitter | Be a friend on Facebook

Related posts:

1. 5 Video Production Tips for Social Media PIOs
2. 5 Reasons and Methods For PIOs To Develop and Distribute Social Media
3. Email the #1 Social Media Tool
4. How The #iPad Changes Things for PIOs
5. FAQ: Social Media Tool Descriptions