New Name Change

 

NEW NAME CHANGE

 

STATE FIRE ORGANIZATION CHANGES NAME

 

The Firemen’s Association of the State of Pennsylvania, their name since 1883, has officially changed its name to The Firefighters’ Association of the State of Pennsylvania.

 

At an Association meeting in the summer of 2019, then President Kathleen Snauffer of Montoursville, PA brought up about being asked by other states’ fire organization members if the Association would ever consider a name change. After much input and discussion the Association Board and members voted and approved the modernization of the Corporation’s name. Over the Covid pandemic the Association attended to much clerical updating and activities. The new corporate name will truly serve our Association for the coming decades. Kathie announced to the general membership that they were now officially The Firefighters’ Association of the State of Pennsylvania. Their business address is 484 Allegheny Avenue. Suite 2-D, Franklin, PA 16323.

Your Digital Marketing Site

 

Once you have established your organization’s presence on a website, facebook, Instagram or other social network, you have entered the world of digital marketing. Digital marketing is defines as the component of marketing that utilizes internet and online based digital technologies such as desktop computers, mobile phones and other digital media and platforms to promote products and services.[1]

 

The website or “landing page” is probably the most important marketing tool your organization has. The page becomes the focal point for all the reader “sees” about their potential involvement. They can either see themselves benefitting by being in your organization or not. For example, landing on the page and immediately being told the candidate will have to work three fundraisers a month and attend only training every other week (only held on Tuesday nights and is mandatory), and then having to fill out a 40-question application, may be a turnoff……yet such sites exist and wonder why they get no recruits.

 

Remember the world of communication with potential candidates has changed. Use your facebook page to get people to your website and to the volunteer/recruitment page. Even if you use traditional marketing techniques like fliers, posters, yard signs, etc., drive the readers to your website for next steps.

 

Also, linking your landing page to newsletters by your municipality, school district, local colleges, business groups….and the list goes on…….

 

All of this takes us to a concluding point for driving people to a highly functional website. If you want to meet potential volunteers in their environment, it MUST be via an on-line presence. Using as many social media and traditional sources as possible to create an interest and driving these candidates to a highly-engaging webpage may be you best bet in today’s world to recruit new members.

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digital_marketing

Your “Volunteer” Web Page

 

Most fire and EMS agencies have a “recruitment”, “join now”, or “volunteer” page on their website; or some type of related reference on facebook or other social media to a single location for potential members can access to learn more about your organization and potentially join. The “page” MUST be one that encourages getting involved. It may well be that lynch-pin as to whether the person engages or not. Therefore, the “page” must be designed and function purposefully. The “page” must be built to spark action, to convert inquiries into volunteer commitments, and create engagement. You may well need assistance to make this happen.

 

Website designers advocate four key components[1] to a truly effective volunteer engagement page:

1. A strong “hero-image”, header and sub-header
2. Components that “build trust”
3. “Nested” information to create an interest and a link to details
4. A very clear request to join or a “call to action” to be engaged

For these reasons alone, the use of professional web-design services may benefit your efforts at developing and implementing an effective recruitment or volunteer page on your website. While facebook may be a great way to begin engagement with interested persons, your website is your most powerful took to actively bring the prospect into the organization.

An important consideration is the user experience, not necessarily what the organization’s vision of what content should be. To make sure the right perspective is achieved, it may be valuable to engage members who recently joined, or non-members, to help identify and create an effective recruitment page on your website.

For those of you that already have a website that you believe is effective, please contact us via www.becomeapafirefighter.com to post your information on the site and possibly be focues in a future “Tip of the Month”.

[1] https://volpro.net/your-volunteer-webiste-2/

Business Social Media Recruitment and Retention Techniques We Can Use

 

Social media has proven to be very valuable in the business community to recruit and retain staff and we in the emergency service community can learn from them, particularly regarding potential and current member/employee engagement.

 

Businesses have realized that they can no longer recruit good people by just posting a job or relying on word of mouth or traditional sources. Even our competitors for volunteers have realized this and both have begun using social media techniques to accomplish recruiting members and employees. For example, your social media sites can be used for

• Posts and messages about your meetings, training, incidents, fundraisers, etc.
• Informal networking, where you are simply posting stories about your organization or its people
• mining for talent of simply posting for openings – asking openly “Are you interested in supporting your community?” “Want to learn some live saving skills?”.

 

Also have a method to get interested persons to your website, which MUST have, a recruitment page, a link to your application (preferably fillable), and information about benefits and value of joining. Another consideration is posting stories about your members – anniversary announcements, promotion announcements, what else they do in the community, their full time job, etc.; all make excellent posts.

 

Employees and members tend to feel more engaged if they are informed and feel as though they contribute. Communication can be to the members and about those members. Social medial enables timely communication of key information and member engagement. Recent published items include news articles and social media posts about

 

Clearly, we in the fire and EMS community can learn a lot from the business community about successful social media techniques to recruit and retain people. Here’s an idea – reach out to a business (or college) in your area that uses social media for recruiting and retaining personnel and ask them for some assistance!

Recruitment & Retention Social Media Considerations

 

We have been discussing the expanded use of social media techniques to recruit and retain fire and EMS personnel, but with any social media platform, there are a number of benefits and challenges and it is important to know them as you select a media platform for your efforts.

This starts with understanding why you need an official social media presence regardless of the size or location of your organization. There are a number of reasons to have this on-line presence that includes the following.

• The facilitating of improved open communication with your community, and building your credibility, reputation and base of contacts.
• Your members can post news, engage the public with questions to respond to, and ask them if they will join, what might engage them to join, etc.
• Your organization can broaden it visibility with the business community and enhance their role in your recruitment, retention and operations.
• You can target a broader audience, even neighboring organizations, possibly embracing regionalization of recruitment, retention and operations.
• Expanding your opportunity to engage the public and business community for non-recruitment/retention efforts such as public events, fundraising and fire/injury prevention programming.

There are some challenges as well, starting with security, legal liability and those who are not fans of your organization. Don’t be frightened or use this as an excuse. Key to the challenges include the following.

• Making sure that security is in place on the site to limit fraud, spam and virus attacks.
• Making sure there is monitoring to limit data and identity theft or compromise.
• Making sure members do not use the site to distribute illegal, objectionable, offensive materials.

Knowing these values and challenges will help you understand the effectiveness of having on on-line presence and what to include

credit: “Managing and Leveraging Workplace Use of Social Media”, SHRM website