electric power assns and social media
DESCRIPTION
Workshop on social media and Twitter for communications, marketing, and member services professionals from electric power associations and cooperatives in Louisiana, Mississippi, and Arkansas in Natchez, Miss., on Nov. 12, 2009.TRANSCRIPT
November 12, 2009Presented to “Navigating the River of Change”
Member Services, Marketing and Communications ConferenceNatchez, Miss.
Copyright 2009, The KARD Group
Speaker Information
Kristie Aylett, APRThe KARD Group PR/Marketing
Twitter.com/KrisTKLinkedin.com/in/KristieAylett
1999Mass media rulesFaxes, pagers, memos“You’ve got mail” Y2K on horizonAverage 8 hours
online/monthColumbine shooting
2009Mass media in troubleBlackberrys, smart
phonesSearch enginesSocial networkingAverage 75 hours
online/monthIran’s election
It’s a Different World
Have things really changed?Many everyday communication tactics remain
effective.News releasesNewslettersBrochuresSpecial eventsAnnual reportsMagazinesBill inserts
United Breaks Guitars
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5YGc4zOqozo
Terrifying“Let’s deal with this quietly and hope it goes away.”Instant
No more “magic hour” to issue statement after crisisMiracle on the Hudson (US Airways 1549)
First photo uploaded to Twitter 1 minute after landing Citizen journalism -- amateur video, photos
Ongoing and everywhereAll day, every day, global
Rumors go viral. Truth and good news doesn’t.Customers now complain online vs. calling hotline.
Social Media = Electrifying
Customer RelationshipsOngoing CommunicationDirect Sales
Blendtec’s $50 investment resulted in 43% increase in sales in 2006. Will It Blend?
Dell Outlet has sold more than $3 million in PCs and accessories as a result of Twitter messages.
Customer Service @ComcastCares on Twitter – I’m sorry. How can I help?
Marketing, Promotion, Contests Tiger Woods YouTube video
Media RelationsConvergence
Print, online, video, photos, blogsNewsroom layoffs
Traditional media turn to social media sites for sources, ideas, buzz
Online newsroomsSocial Media Releases, with links to online contentGoogle News Alerts, automated monitoringHelp A Reporter Out (HARO)
Free 3x daily emails of media queries
Employee RelationshipsBuild community Share knowledge
IntranetsVirtual townhallsE-newslettersWikis
BlogsMore than moms and CEOs
Yammer.com = Twitter-like service for internal communications
Research ToolsSurveyMonkey.comTechnorati.comBlogpulse.com (Conversation Tracker) Alltop.comCompete.com
Social Networking SitesMySpace – 65 million U.S. users, average four
hours/monthFacebook –
More than 300 million active users More than 150 million log in daily
Tremendous growth among older users Groups and pagesTargeted advertising
LinkedIn – business networking, 51 million strongNing – niche communities
Facebook Users by State
State July 2008 July 2009 % growth
Louisiana 264,600 664,180 151%
Mississippi 175,360 374,680 113.7%
Arkansas 295,280 535,040 81.2%
TwitterA free micro-messaging service that limits messages
to 140 charactersTweets can be sent and received via the Web,
smartphone app, text message, etc. Established March 2006Early adopters include tech, IT, bloggersBreaking news, citizen journalism
EarthquakesMiracle on the Hudson
Some statisticsTwitter usage is spiking1374 % jump in unique visitors in one year
February 2008 = 475,000February 2009 = 7 million
April 2009 – Twitter enters mainstream @aplusk vs. @CNNBRK in race for 1 million followersOprah signs upNew users spike but most remain inactive
August 2009 = 23.6 million
How does Twitter compare?
What’s Twitter good for?Communicate with key publics
MembersEmployeesVolunteers
Allow members to communicate easily with youRespond quickly to service issuesReceive feedback on programs, activities
Drive traffic to Web siteBuild reputation by building relationships
Glossary of termsTweet = (n) a message posted to TwitterTo Tweet = (v) to post a message to TwitterFollow = to sign up to receive someone else’s updatesRT = ReTweet, to forward someone else’s tweet to your
own followersDM = Direct Message, a private message sent to
someone who follows your updates. DM messages don’t appear on your profile or in public stream.
@username = How to refer to another Tweeter. A reply message begins with @ and the username.
# = Hashtag, a symbol used to simplify monitoring or searching a conversation thread (#Ida, #energy)
Glossary of termsFavorites – Marking a tweet to preserve it
Your favorites are part of your profileShortening a URL address
Bit.lyTinyurl.comBudurl.com
Auto-DMs = automatic message thanking new followers. Often causes negative reaction.
Auto-tweet = automatic updates documenting new Web content, headlines, etc.
Getting startedSign up online at www.Twitter.com
Must be linked to an email accountLimited to one account per emailSelect a username (easy to text, easy to remember)
Create a profileAvatar (photo, logo, or other image) that will appear next to
your tweetsBio (brief description of account; becomes metatag)
Protect your account or notTo restrict access to your updates to only users you
approve.
Finding other users“Find people” option on main menuwww.search.twitter.comwww.twellow.com
http://www.twellow.com/twellowhoodwww.wefollow.comwww.nearbytweeps.comwww.localtweeps.com
Finding other usersReview profiles of users who follow the same people
you doLists allow users to categorize other users
Identify hashtag that interests you and find others who follow that conversationhttp://wthashtag.com
#journchat #energy
Applications aboundTwitpic – allows users to upload a photo and tweet
the linkTwitdoc – an app for documents. Upload, post link,
print, track usage (Coupons, forms)TweetBeep – alerts for Twitter mentionsTweetDeck – a browser to organize the conversationTweetGrid – follow conversation streamsTweetChat – another way to follow multiple streamsTwitterBerry – a way to tweet from a Blackberry
Case Study: Basin ElectricOne of the largest electric generation and
transmission cooperatives in the United StatesConsumer owned by 136 member
cooperative systemsserves 2.8 million electric consumers in nine states:
Colorado, Iowa, Minnesota, Montana, Nebraska, New Mexico, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Wyoming
Uses free social media channels to extend its communications messages
Getting started was scary“I thought, ‘Like it or not, social media is going to
impact corporations’ public relations practices.’ That scared me, because at Basin Electric, we weren’t using any social media at all. And using these tools is free of charge.”Mary Klecker-Green, Basin Electric supervisor of
public and member communications.
Social media enhances, extends traditional channels“I don’t see social media replacing any of our
traditional outlets, such as press releases, Basin Update and Basin Today. The survey told us we have very high readership in those areas. But social media can help get the word out in more ways – to an audience we didn’t reach before.”Mike Eggl, senior vice president of External Relations
& Communications,
That holds true for social media too.
Now it’s up to youIgnore the conversationMonitor itParticipate and engageEmpower your employees, members, volunteers,
etc. to become true ambassadors
You cannot control the conversation or stop it.
Next step? Do some research Identify social media users among your employees
Form a committee? Ask target audiences about their use of social media
Which sites do they visit?What would they want to receive from you on that site?
Study sites, applications to find best fitsDevelop social media policy for your organization
Scenario: An employee blogs about workIdentify others in your industry who use social media
What do you like, dislike about their approach?
Kristie Aylett, APRThe KARD Group PR/Marketing
Twitter.com/KrisTKLinkedIn.com/in/KristieAylett
Copyright 2009, The KARD Group