Manatees, Beards, and the Thin Blue Line –Making Social Media Work for the PCSO

BY LAURA L. SULLIVAN

Our Social Media Communications Specialist needs YOU… to send her the photos, videos, and body cam that will remind the public that PCSO members are good people doing good things.

P.T. Barnum said there’s no such thing as bad publicity, but that couldn’t be further from the truth for law enforcement. Our Social Media Communications Specialist Ashley Cooley, with the Public Relations Bureau at her back, is on the forefront of the battle to keep the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office (PCSO) looking shiny. It should be easy, right? You know our agency – we have a responsive and responsible sheriff, outstanding training, and a close connection with our community. But law enforcement is unique among “brands” in that our agency can be condemned by the foolish or criminal actions of a cop across the country. And most of that ire is expressed through social media.

“There’s no other profession that, from a marketing perspective, has to deal with what we deal with on social media,” says Communications and Public Education Manager Ricky Butler. “If a barista messes up your order in Phoenix you’re not going to rage at one in Atlanta, but that’s what we have to deal with in law enforcement.”

Ashley stepped into the newly created position in 2021 and since then our social media reach has expanded exponentially.

“Before that everyone in Public Relations contributed to the social media effort, but it was a lot harder to handle without that central coordinating figure – the quarterback.”

What does that make you, Ricky? The coach? “He’s the ref,” Ashley says. “I ask him, can I do this? And he’s like hell no!” Ricky says that most of the time it’s actually hell yes, but sometimes he has to rein in certain things. “Would it be funny? Yes. Do I want to do it? Absolutely. Should we? Probably not.” As the sheriff himself says, just because you can, doesn’t mean you should.

Still, as you’ve probably noticed if you follow us on social media (You ARE following us, aren’t you? I think it’s mandatory. It’s in your job description.) we’re pretty funny, occasionally irreverent, and always informative. The standard law enforcement social media presence is – let’s be honest – stale. But that’s changing because of trendsetters like us. When Ashley entered the position, crime tips and safety information were mostly graphics, which garnered very little engagement. “I worked with Crime Prevention and Community Awareness to come up with different ways to present this information in a way that would get people to engage with it and, I don’t know, maybe lock up their dang car,” Ashley said. “Through training and researching and from what I know of my own social media use, I found that short form videos seem to be what people are interacting with the most.”

Enter Ashley’s creative, funny, brilliant reels that use pirates, Home Alone homages, and a whole lot of Deputy Chuck Skipper to deliver public safety messaging in a way that forces people to engage by sucking them in with high entertainment value. People think that social media is easy, that any teen with a phone can get a million followers, but Ashley has to be a writer, director, casting director, and researcher. “A lot of meetings, a lot of conversation and planning go into making the final product feel as organic as possible,” Ashley said. “If anything feels too branded, too polished, people will just swipe past it, they won’t engage with it. I’m trying to find a way to continually surprise people – not necessarily in a major way, but it’s all about that hook, that first second. Everybody’s attention span is so short. How am I going to grab someone’s attention so they watch for three seconds?”

Humor can be the key to engagement. “In every video we try to insert at least some fun – because we’re fun people. We want the public to know that we’re there to protect the public, enforce the laws… but we’re still human. Some people aren’t on board with that because they think that law enforcement should be very serious – and only serious.” Every time we post about reuniting a lost puppy with its owner, or playing ball with kids, or saving turtles, someone invariably asks why we’re not out catching the murderers and child molesters instead. Well, the public already knows we solve crimes – but do they know we also help kids at Christmas, and feed hungry families, and rescue baby alligators in swimming pools?

We want our social media to be proactive, to highlight the men and women of the PCSO and the good things we do in the community – and do it in a way that people respond to.

“We’re going to try to make it lighthearted