Santa Fe Internet Marketing: Social Media: Helping Communities Help Each Other

Social media is known for a great many things, ranging from being a great business marketing tool to simply serving as a digital water cooler for catching up on the latest gossip. However, more and more, social media is becoming known for something else entirely – a way for real life, flesh and blood communities to come together and help one another.

Fighting Crime

Graffiti is a problem plaguing many urban areas. However, social media is making it more difficult for taggers to hide and easier for law enforcement to catch them. A recent article in the Santa Fe New Mexican entitled, “Social media tip leads to graffiti suspects,” highlighted how social media can help communities fight crime and help local law enforcement. In this instance, over 30 local businesses had been tagged with graffiti before an anonymous tip led to a social networking site where evidence was found linking suspects to the graffiti.

While the use of social media outlets by local law enforcement is still relatively new, it has already been very successful. In an article on Mashable Social Media, author Lon S. Cohen outlines several ways in which law enforcement utilizes social media. One of the most effective techniques involves requests for tips and information by a particular local law enforcement agency on their Facebook fan page and Twitter feed. People with information can post it immediately, making that information instantly available to local law enforcement.

Crisis Management

Not only has social media proven its usefulness in helping fight crime, it’s also been shown to be an extremely effective tool during the course of an emergency. Michelle Lyon, Social Media Manager at MEC International, wrote about how social media brought community together after the recent riots in London. A call to action on Twitter resulted in over 80,000 volunteers almost immediately coming together to help clean up and reach out to those in need.

Twitter was used to organize the volunteer effort, letting people know exactly where they needed to go and what they needed to do to help. Even beyond the hands-on help being received by the local community, the Twitter feed was also used by local businesses as a way to offer free services to the people most affected by the riots.

Local Events

There doesn’t have to be a crime or crisis for social media to help build community. It’s extremely common for local chambers of commerce to feature updates and local events on social media platforms. Whether it’s a neighborhood farmer’s market or a local charity event, cities, large and small, are reaching out through social networking sites with great success.