This discussion focuses on writing for the Web and Social Media. Social media is a specialized skill and additional training should be sought to enhance your knowledge, skills, and abilities with regard to social media. Social media platforms, analytics and audience usage frequently change. A PIO will need to stay on top of these changes. Either establish or follow a social media policy tailored to your organization. Social media use for PIOs is no longer optional. It is a major tool for a modern PIO.

For a more extensive look at how social media may be used in emergency management, you may want to take the FEMA independent study course IS 42: Social Media in Emergency Management, available at https://training.fema.gov/is/courseoverview.aspx?code=IS-42.

Using the Web and social media tools has become an effective way to:

• Maximize timely dissemination of information.
• Reach diverse audiences.
• Facilitate information sharing and interactive communication.

When writing for the Web or social media, standard guidelines still apply:

• Content should be relevant to your target audience.
• The most important information should come first (inverted pyramid).
• Language should be clear, concise, and easily understood.
• Use short sentences and paragraphs. Consider the maximum number of characters allowed for different social media outlets.