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Practical PIO

John Collins

Are you a firefighter, medic, police officer, or emergency manager who got “voluntold” into the PIO role? Get weekly breakdowns of real emergency services social media posts: what’s working, what could be better, and practical tips you can use immediately. Written by a fellow first responder.

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creenshot of a social media post with text and three images of a collision between a pickup truck and school bus. Full text follows in the newsletter.
Featured Post

Are the kids OK? (Answer that question first.)

Issue 2 Are the kids OK? (Answer that question first.) Practical PIO analyzes real social media posts to help you improve your communications. All identifying details are blurred or removed because our goal is growth, not criticism. You’re writing about a school bus collision, involving a fire. You have all the times and details. But don’t give in to the temptation to work chronologically. Your neighbors scrolling Facebook don’t need a timeline. They need to know if the kids are safe! Full...

about 18 hours ago • 3 min read
Screenshot of a social media post with the text Press Release - Fatality Traffic Collision <redacted> and a screenshot of press release. Full text follows in the newsletter.

Issue 1 Reports are for lawyers. Releases are for neighbors. Practical PIO analyzes real social media posts to help you improve your communications. All identifying details are blurred or removed because our goal is growth, not criticism. You’re writing a release about a fatal crash. The report is sitting in front of you, full of details. It’s tempting to just... use that language. But here’s the thing: reports are for lawyers. Releases are for neighbors. Full text Here’s the full text so you...

8 days ago • 4 min read