Police Marketing 101: Start Borrowing From the Pros!

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Have you been put in charge of your police agency’s social media channels but have no design experience, no marketing degree, no budget, no direction, and really no clue of how things should look?  I’ve got the easy solution for you and it’s not quitting...keep reading! 👀

Hey everyone, it’s Tom Sye your Police Marketing FTO and this week, let’s talk about where to go when you don’t really know where to go to get started with your police marketing. 🗺️

I’ve talked to so many of you who have just been thrusted into trying to recruit police officers with little to no direction and really no experience in designing or handling a social media page and I know that situation can be very intimidating and can make it feel like you’re never going to be able to do this.  But trust me...everything’s going to be ok and I’m gonna help you figure this out.  🙌

Obviously, my upcoming courses are going to fix a bunch of this for you, but if you have no training budget or just want to get started without making any commitments, both of which are completely ok, I just wanna see you do well, here’s an easy jumping off point to get your social media designs headed in the right direction without spending a single penny and that is...borrowing from the pros. 💡

When you’re first getting started it’s so natural to just look at other police related social media accounts and try to copy the same things that they’re doing.  They’re putting out police-related content so it must be the way it’s done you think to yourself.  The problem with that strategy is you really don’t know who actually knows what they’re doing and what’s actually working or not. 😳

So, when I say borrowing from the pros I’m talking about major companies in an array of industries.  I’m talking about your McDonald’s, Wendy’s, the NFL, the NBA, Nike, Adidas, Maytag, Apple...the list goes on and on, but you see what I’m getting at here...big companies.  Here are the three main reasons why borrowing from the pros can take your social media posts from drab to fab. ✨

1.  Pro Knowledge

Unlike us cops, human resources associates, and administrative assistants who just get thrown into the role of social media marketer, major corporations don’t do that.  The people in charge of running those accounts spent years in college earning marketing degrees, learning different styles and techniques, and certainly have experience in what they’re doing with graphic design and post structure. 🤓

By following what they’re doing, you get the advantage of all of that experience without ever stepping foot inside one college level marketing class!  You can rest assured that what they’re doing is what is trending in advertising right now...because big corporations don’t resort to trial and error or let’s see if this works.  👍

Marketing is something the pros think of 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year.  They live and breathe it...and make sure that whatever they’re putting out looks good and is going to work.  Borrow that knowledge. 🧠

2.  Proven Techniques

When you borrow from big corporations, you’re also borrowing, free of charge, the hundreds of thousands of dollars each of them has spent on market research to learn what potential customers in their target demographics are into. 💸

So, if you’re looking to find out what 21–25-year-olds are into, you know, the typical age of someone applying for a police officer job, you should look to see what major companies targeting that age group are doing.  🤔

I’ve mentioned coffee giant Dutch Bros before in this newsletter and I’m gonna do it again because they are experts at reaching this age demographic and converting them to loyal fans and customers who keep coming back for more.  From amazing stickers to their hip and attention-grabbing designs and even the way they write their captions, Dutch is speaking the language of their customer base and if you want to start attracting them as well...you should be too! 🗣️

3.  Instant Inspiration

How many times have you sat there, staring at your screen, wondering what the heck were you going to post?  How many times have you spent 30 minutes to an hour scrolling through the endless pre-made design templates on whatever platform you use but couldn’t seem to find just the right one? 😒

If you’re anything like me, probably a ton of times, but I’m telling you, borrowing from the pros will get you out of that funk very quickly, every single time. 💥

When you go to a pro made account, it won’t take you long to find something that impresses you.  Again, this is what they do...they’re experts at making things look great.  If you really want to speed up the process, visit the accounts of a major companies that you’re interested in, and the ideas will hit you in the face over and over and over again.  I like to call that passion poaching.  This is a really effective way of getting your brain moving again and coming up with ideas to fill up your social media feed.  🤩  

So, there you have it.  You ready to get out there and start borrowing from the pros?  Before you go, please remember this...no one on this planet...not one single person or company can market your agency better than you. 💯

Recruiting like it’s 2025 is not hard...it’s just different.  You don’t need a marketing degree, a massive budget, fancy websites or recruiting videos, or a company trying to do it for you.  You got this and I’m behind you all the way.  Together, we’re going to change the future of police recruiting!  🚀 

Looking for some more direction to get your police marketing headed down the right path? 

My Road to Better Recruiting course is exactly what you’re looking for!  You can learn more about the course, what you’re gonna learn, and how it will absolutely change the way you think about police recruiting at forcopstraining.com/rtbr. 

Also, give this video a like or share it with someone at another agency so they can learn too.  Our profession is a lot stronger when we’re all in it together.  🤝

Have more questions about police recruiting, marketing or anything else you're struggling with? Don't hesitate to reach out...I’m always here to help. ⛑

Until next week my Police Marketing Squad, happy recruiting! 😃

Tom

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👋 I’m Tom Sye, your Police Marketing FTO. I founded ‘For Cops’ Training to teach Police Departments how to attract more qualified candidates through the same tried and tested methods I’ve used for the past ten years at my own department to keep up with turnover and stay ahead of vacancies.

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