POLICE
DEPARTMENT
SocialMedia
The Media Office began focusing on fan experience and tourism over the
past year. Most organizations are posting feel-good stories that resonate
with either a public safety theme or enhance an organization’s standing
in the community. While there is definitely a need to do that, APD also
believed that there was a necessity to go one step further and reach out
to other community sectors and venues that draw visitors to the city. By
working together with a particular entity,
APD can enhance economic activity
through our tourism-based policing
philosophy.
The feedback from the community is
overwhelmingly positive. Elected officials
and city executives have taken notice
and recognized the many benefits gained
by having a multipronged approach to social media platforms. The
Convention and Visitor’s Bureau enjoys a fantastic relationship with APD’s
social media team and regularly collaborate on major events.
The secret to the success falls under a simple premise – highlighting
events and venues that draw visitors to the city and making them feel
welcome so they desire to come back. This can be accomplished
by utilizing an approach to social media termed as “fan experience.”
Fans could be identified as tourists coming to a game, visitors to a
neighborhood park, or citizens coming to a special event that the City is
hosting.
APD attends these events, shaking hands with attendees, passing out
badge stickers to kiddos, and taking photos of families. The photos are
then tweeted out and put on Facebook for the world to see. Hashtags
for events are identified and Twitter handles of the teams or venues are
mentioned for greater reach and exposure.
The reaction from the community has been that they enjoy seeing
police officers in a different light. Let’s face it, the majority of contacts
with law enforcement deal with someone being victimized or some
type of enforcement situation. When citizens see police in a friendly
role of positive interactions and posting visitor’s experience, the policecommunity relationship takes on a w