By James Mayse
Messenger-Inquirer
OWENSBORO, Ky. — The Owensboro Fire Department was looking for a way to reach people about fire safety and what’s happening at the department.
OFD was already on Facebook, but officials wanted something additional — something that could grab people’s attention and give them a laugh while also providing important information.
So the city’s marketing department came up with an idea: Why not put OFD on TikTok?
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Shaelie Velez, the city’s communications and marketing manager, said while the page will carry information specific to OFD — such as videos about the department’s current recruiting drive — posts about fire safety can reach far outside city limits.
“If someone in California goes and checks out their batteries (for their smoke alarms because of a video) they’ve done their job,” Velez said.
Velez said the idea came when she and city communications and digital marketing coordinator Maddie Haynes attended a social media conference.
@owensborofiredept We’re on TikTok! If this is where you are, this is where we’ll be. We’ve got important fire safety information to share, and we’re willing to get creative to make sure you see it! Follow the Owensboro Fire Department on Facebook, Instagram, and now TikTok.
♬ original sound - Owensboro Fire Dept.
The department’s TikTok currently has 1,400 followers, “and we literally just started the TikTok last week,” Haynes said. “Our growth is huge on there.”
Some videos, Velez said, have already been viewed thousands of times. The department’s first TikTok has more than 15,000 views, while the Valentine’s Day video has been viewed just under 6,000 times.
Haynes said it is becoming more common for fire departments to be on TikTok.
Battalion Chief Brian Roberts, the department’s public information officer, said the videos are meant to be fun.
“We started dabbling with funny videos around the holidays,” Roberts said, while also doing videos about safety issues such as the proper use of space heaters.
“On the internet, everyone is yelling, so humor is a good way for people to come in, stop scrolling” and to learn about fire safety, Velez said.
TikTok, with its emphasis on short, snappy videos, can reach a wide audience, Roberts said.
“I think it’s hitting all ages, and not just a certain demographic,” Roberts said. “I think all ages are on Facebook, but there are younger (people) on TikTok, and they need to hear the message.”
City Fire Chief James Howard, who did his first TikTok for the department this week, said, “We are looking at how we are getting the message out” about the department.
“All ages could be on Facebook, but we want to make sure we are capturing as much of the demographic as we can, and that means being as diverse as we can,” Howard said.
According to Haynes, the videos are fun and meant to entertain, but the department sees them as a communications tool.
For example, a video posted Thursday shows Howard promoting the department’s current hiring process to a group of paparazzi.
“Everything has a message,” Haynes said.
“You’re not going viral just to go viral,” Velez said.
Howard said, “It can be fun, but it can’t just be about fun.”
Roberts said the idea of making videos for TikTok was met with some trepidation at first among staff, but people quickly caught the spirit.
“I think everybody is like, ‘I’m not doing that,’ ” Roberts said. “But as soon as we’re done, it’s like, ‘when’s the next one?’ ”
“You’ve got 100 different people, so that’s 100 different personalities” at the fire department, Roberts said. “Some were made for that.”
Making social media videos is also a chance for people to see city firefighters in a different light than when they’re responding to an emergency.
“We are normal people, like everyone else,” Roberts said.
“This is a job that is not always cute and fun,” Howard said. But with the department’s new TikTok, “the guys had fun with it,” he said.
While some of the videos will be geared toward OFD initiatives, the fire safety messages provide useful information to everyone, Roberts said.
The hope, he said, is that people will learn how to protect themselves from fires from any department with a social media presence.
“We are not picky” about how people learn about safety, Roberts said, “as long as the message gets out.”
Is your department using TikTok? Tell us how and send us your link!
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