Plataformas #paraservir. La estrategia digital de la Unidad Militar de Emergencias (UME) como muestra del potencial de las redes sociales ante situaciones de emergencia y protección civil

Alberto Martín García; Álex  Buitrago; Noemí Martín García

doi:10.7764/cdi.56.62489

Authors

Alberto Martín García Universidad de Valladolid, Segovia, España
Álex Buitrago Universidad de Valladolid, Segovia, España
Noemí Martín García Universidad de Valladolid, Segovia, España

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.7764/cdi.56.62489

Keywords:

UME; army; social media; emergency; communication

Abstract

The Military Emergency Unit (UME, by its Spanish acronym) acts in catastrophic and emergency situations in national and international territory. The professionalization of their communication has increased the reach and understanding of their actions. Starting from a qualitative content analysis, we delve into how the unit exposes its content on social media. Three main conclusions can be drawn from the results: a) communication on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram is well planned, relies on quality visual and textual elements and humanizes the professionals who work in the unit; b) the dynamics of content varies substantially when there is an emergency intervention, generating a permanent story that helps society to be informed from the field of action itself, and c) the reaction of users is highly positive and there are hardly any negative criticisms towards the UME.

Author Biographies

Alberto Martín García, Universidad de Valladolid, Segovia, España

Alberto Martín García, holds a degree in Advertising and PR and a Ph.D. in Communication with a thesis entitled Análisis de la figura del community manager como voz de las marcas en las redes sociales (Analysis of the figure of the community manager as the voice of brands in social networks). His line of research is focused on social networks. He has been a professor at the María Zambrano de Segovia campus of the Universidad de Valladolid for 12 years. He has written four novels, winning with his penultimate publication, entitled El silencio de Raquel, the Talento Caligrama 2019 award.

Álex Buitrago, Universidad de Valladolid, Segovia, España

Álex Buitrago, Ph.D. in Communication, extraordinary doctoral award, is a professor and researcher in the Department of Audiovisual Communication and Advertising at the Universidad de Valladolid (Spain). His lines of research address the field of media education and digital platforms. He has been a postdoctoral researcher (2019-2020) at the Digital Literacy Centre at the University of British Columbia (Canada). He is the coordinator of the Laboratory of Education in Social Networks at the María Zambrano campus in Segovia (UVA, Spain).

Noemí Martín García, Universidad de Valladolid, Segovia, España

Noemí Martín García, Ph.D. cum laude from the Universidad de Valladolid and graduated in Advertising and PR from the UCM. She developed her career as a media planner at Havas Media and Mindshareworld agencies. She teaches Advertising Effectiveness and Advertising Media Research: research, planning and management in the Advertising and PR degree at the UVA. She is the author of book chapters and articles on the relationship between advertising and the different media.

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