Agenda at a Glance

This panel features agencies of various sizes that will share their experiences building community, trust, and brand awareness with limited resources. Topics include:

• Insights into how to brand and increase community interaction for a small department
• What brand building means for a larger agency and how to manage social media platforms without drowning the feed with content
• Finding the styles of content that perform well and build your brand on social but don’t require a lot of manpower or budget
• Leveraging content and brand consistency to help your community recognize you as a trusted source of information

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We’ve all heard a picture is worth 1,000 words, but how much do you think 30 seconds of video from an incident scene is worth? As staffing for traditional media outlets dwindle and social media becomes a more prevalent news source, capturing and distributing content to bolster your agency's work is imperative.

This session will show you ways to bring your audience into the perspective of your agency using videos and images captured from incident scenes. This session will highlight engagement opportunities with media partners, residents, visitors, and your personnel.

You will learn to:

• Distinguish alert moments vs. storytelling posts
• Identify benefits and develop success strategies
• Manage the tone using platform tools and captions

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The Lee County Sheriff’s Office boasts thousands of followers on Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok, making LCSO one of the top-followed in the country.

Its witty commentary and deputy-driven content attract viewers from all over the state, but we couldn’t do this without the help of the men and women in uniform.

In this session, you’ll learn how the Lee County Sheriff’s Office incentivizes and encourages deputies and command staff to submit content and participate in content creation.

This session will highlight the importance of involving employees while balancing fun/creative content with arrests and press releases.

Takeaways include:

• Feeling comfortable reaching out and encouraging sworn staff to create/participate in content creation
• Finding a balance in posting a wide variety of content
• Utilizing different platforms for different messages
• Emphasizing the importance of social media to agency members

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280 characters is all it takes to tell your story. In this dynamic presentation, dive into the art of utilizing X (Twitter) as a strategic tool to connect with communities effectively. In a world where attention spans are fleeting, harnessing the creativity of social media becomes crucial. This session isn't just about tweets; it's about creating engagement that resonates with the public. From crafting compelling tweets during emergencies to building a social presence that fosters trust to telling the behind-the-scenes stories of first responders, explore the best practices that will elevate your impact on Twitter.

Key learning points:

1. Crafting Attention-Grabbing Tweets: Learn techniques to compose concise yet impactful tweets that grab attention.
2. Building Trust Through Social Presence: Understand how to cultivate a trustworthy and approachable online persona, strengthening the connection with the community.
3. Crisis Communication Strategies: Explore best practices for utilizing Twitter as a real-time communication platform during emergencies.

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There are many audiences with whom your agency needs to communicate. When reaching residents in the neighborhoods and service areas where they live, 6,000 public agencies turn to Nextdoor. In this short session, you learn about the unique capabilities that make Nextdoor a must-have in your communications toolbelt.

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Rise above the noise - that's the name of the game for the public sector on Facebook. Learn how content can be your best storytelling advocate and what type of content works best to elevate your voice on one of the most popular social media platforms in the world. 

Takeaways include:

• Easily create content that will capture attention and get audience members conversing with your agency
• Elevate your Facebook profile by learning about best posting times, two-way engagement, and other tips and tricks
• Find ways to breathe new life into routine posts through fun, alternative informational post ideas

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Join us for an insightful presentation on enhancing your Instagram engagement with valuable insights into content best practices. In this session, we'll delve into the intricacies of Instagram, covering the nuances of stories, reels, and carousel posts. You'll also learn how to craft compelling and creative content, employ effective social media hooks, and navigate the evolving landscape of dark social media.

Topics covered:

• Understanding Instagram Features: Distinguishing between stories, reels, and carousel posts.
• Creative Content Creation: Crafting visually appealing and engaging content.
• Social Media Hooks: Strategies to grab attention and maintain user interest.
• Dark Social Media: Exploring the rise of dark social media and how to navigate the challenges and opportunities in this evolving landscape.
• Maximizing Instagram Engagement: Proven tactics for boosting engagement on Instagram.

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Video creation is an integral part of public safety communication strategies, but creating great videos can feel like a daunting task. During this session, participants will learn what equipment is available, the most efficient ways to utilize it, and the basics of editing for the best storytelling. Exciting options for all budgets and skill levels will be included to help participants feel confident going into their next video project.

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Canva is a versatile and user-friendly graphic design platform that empowers individuals, businesses, and organizations to create stunning visual content without requiring extensive design skills. Launched in 2013, Canva has become the go-to tool for professionals and amateurs alike seeking to produce engaging graphics, presentations, social media posts, and more. With its intuitive drag-and-drop interface, a vast library of customizable templates, and an extensive collection of high-quality images, fonts, and design elements, Canva simplifies the design process and enables users to bring their creative visions to life effortlessly.

One of Canva's key strengths lies in its accessibility available as both a web application and a mobile app, it allows users to create, edit, and collaborate on designs seamlessly across various devices. The platform has become particularly popular among public safety professionals due to its cost-effective approach to design. Canva's commitment to democratizing design is evident in its mission to empower individuals worldwide to design anything, and its continuous updates and features ensure that it remains at the forefront of the graphic design landscape, catering to the diverse needs of its ever-expanding user base.

In this tutorial-style session, you’ll learn: 

• What is Canva?
• Canva Free versus Canva Pro
• Navigating Canva like a champ
• Tips & tricks for creating engaging and unique content
• Timesaving design shortcuts and templates every public safety professional should be using
• Wait, there’s more – noteworthy apps to push your designs even further

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Creating and implementing a social media policy for employees can seem like a daunting task, but it is imperative to have such a policy in today’s world. Captain Brennan Matherne of the Lafourche Parish Sheriff’s Office will give you the tools and knowledge you need to create and implement a policy at your agency, including a model policy with best practices, strategies for employee education and implementation, and how a social media policy is primarily an extension of policy governing employee conduct.

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• How to determine the right level of engagement for your agency.
• What "putting the social in social media" really means and easy ways to implement this at your own agency today.
• How to use the comments section as an opportunity for education, connection, and trust-building.
• How to close off comments on popular social media sites (and why that may not be the best approach).

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While public safety has renewed its commitment to transparency and legitimacy, malicious actors are taking advantage of AI technology to further create fear, anger and divisiveness in our communities.  AI-generated photos, video and audio, amplified by bots and click farms, can falsely generate a true crisis for an agency. Learn how and why groups are using the technology and tips to help protect your agency’s reputation from malicious disinformation.

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Recruitment is an ongoing challenge that many public safety agencies encounter. Between an ever-changing hiring environment, limited staff capacity, and budget challenges, it's not an easy endeavor. Thinking about throwing funds at a pricey new program or costly campaign? Before you do, make sure you're taking full advantage of the free and inexpensive opportunities at your fingertips. This session will empower agencies to use social media to help attract, hire, and retain quality employees.

Attendees will learn how to:

• Audit and amplify existing recruitment efforts
• Develop a low- to no-cost digital recruitment strategy that complements offline activities
• Define realistic goals and success metrics

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Dive into the strategy behind some of the largest Orange County public safety agencies. We’ll walk through considerations on adding social media channels, deciding what channels are appropriate to get communities the information they need, and how even small agencies with limited resources can expand their social footprint in an impactful way. 

We’ll share some of the best practices for training your social media teams and resources you can share with them to ensure their success – from those just starting on social media to seasoned professionals who need to stay up-to-date with social media trends. 

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