A few weeks ago, the City of Moore was hit by a devastating EF5 tornado that took lives and caused mass destruction in the heart of Oklahoma. In the wake of this unprecedented tragedy, there was a huge influx of information that needed to be communicated to the citizens of Oklahoma, including recovery progress, organizing clean up efforts and more. State and local government had to act fast.
As part of the relief effort, the State of Oklahoma launched OK Strong, the official website of response and resources for those affected by the tornadoes. While the website serves as a crucial centralized hub of resources for tornado victims, the state also needed to build an audience they could communicate with through a variety of channels. In conjunction with the website, OK Strong partnered with GovDelivery to launch email and wireless updates to keep their community informed.
OK Strong went the automation route and was able to leverage the content they were already putting on their website for repackaging as digital communications. By using GovDelivery’s Page Watch functionality on the RSS feeds generated by OK Strong’s website, email and wireless updates are automatically deployed to subscribers when new information is available.
With this automated process, OK Strong is able to send many of the typical communications needed before, during, and after a critical situation – without adding extra staffing resources. Some examples of the content that OK Strong distributes are:
- Weather Information and Warnings
- Rumor Control
- Volunteer Requests and Information
- How to Register for Federal Assistance
- Animal and Livestock Location
OK Strong also offers a digest of the tweets from their organization as a daily email. This allows anyone who doesn’t have Twitter, or who doesn’t check Twitter often, to see the content OK Strong distributes through social media in their email inboxes. All emails have also been optimized for mobile viewing, including the addition of a thinner banner in the header of the emails with a clean and simple template.
Reaching as many people as possible was critical to OK Strong’s mission, so they employed best practices to quickly get large groups of people subscribed to their updates. Beyond adding a prominent email sign-up box to their website, they also promoted their sign-up options to their audiences on social media. These promotional efforts helped convert casual browsers into direct subscribers.
One of the most impactful strategies they used to grow their list came from their participation in the GovDelivery Network. Many other Oklahoma State Agencies, such as the Department of Health and Department of Education, are able to promote OK Strong through their own digital communications by leveraging the automated GovDelivery Network. The City of Moore itself also promotes OK Strong’s sign-up options as well. Through these cross-promotional partnerships, relevant agencies and cities have contributed over 80% of the new people signing up for OK Strong’s informational updates.
On May 31st, a second wave of powerful storms hit Oklahoma, but this time, an established communications platform was in place. The site was ready, and with a built in base of subscribers, Oklahoma was able to distribute information to citizens before, during, and after the storms.
For more information on OK Strong, visit their website and sign up for updates. If you are ready to begin thinking about how your organization will keep the public safe during emergency situations, click here to download our free eBook: Leveraging Digital Communications in Emergencies.