Natural disasters are hitting the U.S. and abroad more often, it seems. In an attempt to connect after disasters hit, family, friends, rescuers, relief agencies, healthcare workers and others have turned to social media – which one expert says is the right tool for the job.

Glen Gilmore, principal at Gilmore Business Network, a social media marketing firm, an adjunct professor of social media law and digital marketing at Rutgers University and an adjunct instructor at Texas A&M University's National Emergency Response and Rescue Training Center, shared 30 reasons why it pays to use social media in an emergency.
 

1. It's real time
2. It's self correcting
3. It instantly connects you to millions of people around the globe.
4. It never sleeps.

                                                                                                     
5. It connects you to hundreds, if not thousands, of relief agencies.
6. 

It connects you to thousands of emergency response professionals.


7. It's almost always at the scene of an emergency when it happens – or it's there moments afterwards.
8. It lets emergency responders monitor actual conversations at the scene of the emergency in real time


9. It provides numerous, real-time reports on the effects of the emergency.
10. It provides real-time photos of the effects of an emergency.
11. It provides real-time videos of the effects of an emergency.


12. It provides numerous, real-time reports on the success or failure of relief efforts.


13. It provides real-time photos of the success or failure of relief efforts.


14. It provides real-time videos of the success or failure of relief efforts.


15. It takes away much of the guesswork of emergency response.



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