*Storm image courtesy of Desten Lee Johnson (@DestenLee)
AIMCLEAR‘s headquarters city of Duluth, Minn., was rocked by a severe storm on July 21, 2016, leaving one-third of the city without power — local television stations included.
With the power out and television signals down, Duluth television station WDIO utilized Facebook Live masterfully to interact with and inform their audience. From a dark studio in a building that had gone black, the news team delivered pertinent information related to power outages and closed roads. Anchors conducted interviews through FaceTime with reporters in the field — and captured it all in-the-minute, relaying crucial news to the tens of thousands who tuned in.
They did a tremendous job. As a social media marketing and PR agency, we were impressed with their creativity and dedication to viewers. As members of this community, we were thankful. The news team realized the show must go on, and they used social media to get it done.
From a news perspective, Facebook Live serves as a medium to inform viewers in serious need of information. In this case, WDIO used it to disseminate information regarding road closures, power outages and general safety tips — and their audience responded with gratitude.
The Facebook Live feed also allowed the station to gather news from viewers, who were capturing the destruction from their neighborhoods and reporting current circumstances. It was inspiring to witness. Humanity + technology, for the win.
From a social media marketing and public relations perspective, the broadcast highlights the power of social media. It just goes to show that humans flock to social media sites to seek information and communicate with the world around them. And the platforms are constantly evolving to best meet user needs.
Simply put, no matter the audience, they’re present in social media platforms. Brands that realize this and understand how to truly connect on a human-to-human level are seeing the benefits… and will continue to do so. Yay, social media.
(Kudos to the all reporters of Duluth who strived to reach their audience through social media, no matter the platform.)
Not from the area and wondering what this storm was all about? Here are a couple of photos: Â
(Photo credit:Â AIMCLEAR Senior Creative Strategist Merry Morud)
(Photo credit:Â AIMCLEAR Senior Creative Strategist Merry Morud)
(Photo credit: Desten Lee Johnson)
