Communications

Using Social Media to Shape Public Perception

Build credibility, strengthen public trust, and create a consistent, practical communication strategy.

Course Details

Course Overview

Practical Context Before the Next Decision.

Public perception is shaped every day, not only during a crisis. This course helps public-safety and municipal leaders use social media with greater purpose, consistency, and credibility. Participants examine how content choices, timing, tone, visuals, internal coordination, and audience expectations influence trust. The course also addresses how routine communication builds the foundation an organization needs when a high-profile event occurs. The focus is a practical approach that agencies can sustain with the people, approval processes, and resources they actually have.

Designed ForPublic safety & municipal leaders
Format1 day
Course AreaCommunications

Course Focus

Building a consistent public voiceContent strategy and message disciplineInternal coordination and approvalUsing routine communication to strengthen trust

Instruction

Meet the Practitioners Leading This Course.

Course leadership is matched to the subject and grounded in direct professional experience.

Matt Petrillo headshot
Instructor of Crisis and Strategic Communications

Matt Petrillo

Matt Petrillo is Director of Communications for Temple University's Department of Public Safety. He previously spent more than a decade in television journalism, including reporting for CBS News Philadelphia on breaking news, crime, public safety, and major incidents. That combination gives him firsthand knowledge of how information is gathered, framed, and distributed under pressure. Matt's instruction focuses on message discipline, media relations, internal coordination, strategic storytelling, and the choices that shape trust before, during, and after a crisis. He helps leaders understand what to say, when to say it, and how communication decisions affect operations and credibility.

Crisis Messaging, Media Relations, Public Narratives, and Organizational Credibility