Social Media: Changing How We CommunicateYour host: Trish Freshwater, APR

AgendaIntroduction/Overview of Social MediaUtilities Blazing the PathCase Study: South Carolina Electric & GasSocial Media = Media RelationsSocial Media and Crisis CommunicationIn-depth: TwitterBest Practices, Legal Concerns

Introduction/Overview of Social Media

Utilities Blazing the Path

Case Study: South Carolina Electric & Gas

Social Media = Media Relations

Social Media and Crisis Communication

In-depth: Twitter

Best Practices, Legal Concerns

What is Social Media?Relationship BuildingConversationsUnscriptedMultimedia

Social Media Landscape

Social Media ExpectationsInstantaneousCommunityTransparencyListenParticipatoryMonitorWant it nowI’m a part of somethingYou’re not hidingSomeone heard meJoin in/have funFind the talkers

A closer look at the Conversation Prism

Social Web – Reputation Management Cycles

Utilities Blazing the Path

Twitter is getting crowded …Alabama Power / AlabamaPowerAmeren Illinois / IllinoisOutageAmeren Illinois / ActOnEnergyATCO Gas / ATCOGasAustin Energy / austinenergyAvista Utilities / Dan_At_AvistaAvista Utilities / AvistaCaresBasin Electric / Basin_ElectricCalifornia PUC / californiapucDirect Energy Texas / DirectEnergyTXDuke Energy / DukeEnergyStormENERGY STAR / ENERGY_STARFirst Choice Power / firstchoicepwrFlorida Power & Light / InsideFPLFlorida Power & Light / FlPowerAndLightFlorida Power & Light / fplgroupGeorgia Power / GeorgiaPowerGexa / GexaGexa Energy / GexaEnergyLee Wind Energy / LeeWindEnergyMidwest ENERGY Assoc / MEAenergyMemphis Gas, Light and Water / MLGWNational Grid / national_gridNashville Electric / NESpowerNebraska Public Power District/ itsyourpowerNV Energy/ NVEnergyOklahoma Wind Energy / OKisWindEnergyPNM / PNMtalkProgress Energy / progressenergyProgress Energy / EnergyAdvisorsPSNH / psnhSantee Cooper / santeecooperSCE&G / SCEGNewsSouthern Company / SouthernCompanyTacoma Water / TacomaWaterThe Gas Company / TheGasCompanyTri-State G&T /tristategtTXU Energy / TXUEnergyWatertown Utilities / watertownmuWe Energies / we_energies

YouTube’s Show and TellDuke Energy Media CenterFlorida Power & LightLuminant PowerProgress EnergyPSNHSouthern CompanySCE&GNational Grid Polar BearsNational Grid crew repairing power linesNational Grid corporate sponsor of Volunteers’ Week

Duke Energy Media Center

Florida Power & Light

Luminant Power

Progress Energy

PSNH

Southern Company

SCE&G

National Grid Polar Bears

National Grid crew repairing power lines

National Grid corporate sponsor of Volunteers’ Week

Flickr – A picture is worth 1,000 words

Exelon’s Benchmarking StudyJune and July 200917-questions about attitudes toward and the use of Social Media30 utilities participated:• Ameren• American Electric Power• Central Vermont PS• Colorado Springs Utilities• ComEd• ConEd• Constellation Energy• Dominion• DTE Energy• Duke Energy• Energy Future Holdings• Entergy• Florida Power & Light• Integrys• Kansas City P&L• NIPSCO• PG&E (delivery)• PG&E (generation)• PacifiCorp• Progress Energy• PECO• PS New Hampshire• Puget Sound Energy• SCANA• Southern California Edison• Southern Company• TVA• WE Energies• Xcel Energy• “Company X” (anonymity preferred)

Case Study:South Carolina Electric & Gas

SCE&G’s Social Media GoalsMedia RelationsCustomer ServiceBrandingBuild two-way communication,engage customers

SCE&G’s Social Media ChannelsEnergy Wise BlogYouTubeTwitter“Limited” Newspaper Commentary

Energy Wise blogBlogging provides …Narrowly defined presenceForum to interact with customersInterconnection with other channels, i.e. Twitter, blogs, web sitesSupports the brand campaignhttp://sceg-energywise.blogspot.com/

Building the Blog Brand Through Advertising

2009 SCE&G Blog/Advertorial CalendarLast Update: June 4, 2009

2009 SCE&G Newspaper Column QuestionsAdvertorials directly tie-in with what we are doing in the blog

Blogging invites ConversationFrustrated customer:Our Response:

YouTube Channel Can have links from blog to company videos Post videos we already produce, i.e. Eye On SCANA segments Comments sectiondisabled for nowBenefits: Helps offload bandwidth from our site Improves SEO Improves viewership Eighty percent of Fortune 500 businesses are using it in some form

Can have links from blog to company videos

Post videos we already produce, i.e. Eye On SCANA segments

Comments sectiondisabled for now

Twitter – Customers/Media are Talking

Twitter – SCE&G Quietly Talks BackEyebee replied back: @sallengI hear you, but can't help compare to when I lived in Europe, and lines in towns were all underground. Had 2outage in 15 years. It was his last rant about us for several days.

Twitter – SCEGNews

Newspaper Commentary

Future EffortsFormal Newspaper CommentaryFlickrFacebookLinkedIn

Social Media = Media Relations

Online Trumps NewspapersAccording to a recent Opinion Research Corporation study comparing data from September 2008 vs. September 2009:Daily newspaper usage dropped 4.1 percent to 19.4 percent, while television news dropped 3.6 percent to 31.1 percentOnline news usage increased 1.9 percent to 14.6 percent, and radio increased 2.9 percent to 19.4 percentAdults ages 18-34 get more news from online sources, at 22.2 percent.

Social Media Allows Companies to …Get their message heardBetter manage messagesRespond quickly, efficientlyCommunicate effectively with plain EnglishBe influential

Changing ExpectationsTwitterMost major news outlets publish stories via TwitterJournalists now seek story ideas and corporate contacts through TwitterBlogs, Flickr, YouTubeTell your story, your wayUse multimedia, be interactive

Social Media and Crisis Communications

Silence isn’t GoldenOnline conversations through social media outlets are taking place with or without us.Ignoring social media Eliminates you from the conversation Removes your company from the radar screens of your customersJoining the conversationDecreases the demand from the mediaAllows you to manage communications remotelyGives you influence on the messageDirect connection to the publicNo media filterQuick implementation

Traditional Media is no Longer EnoughCalifornia Wildfires 2007Of 307 people surveyed affected by the fires…A majority (54 percent) indicated they used mobile phones to contact friends or family to get tactical information about the fires (road closures and fire line status)A significant majority (76 percent) consulted information portals and Web sites. Just like you wouldn’t ignore TV, radio or print; online communication needs to be the fourth table leg in any communication plan.

A majority (54 percent) indicated they used mobile phones to contact friends or family to get tactical information about the fires (road closures and fire line status)

A significant majority (76 percent) consulted information portals and Web sites.

Just like you wouldn’t ignore TV, radio or print; online communication needs to be the fourth table leg in any communication plan.

Social Media puts the “public” back in PRSocial Media is less about …One-way communicationControlHierarchyNews reportersSpin and more about …Two-way communicationInfluence“Findability”CommunityAuthenticity

One-way communication

Control

Hierarchy

News reporters

Spin

Two-way communication

Influence

“Findability”

Community

Authenticity

Managing Your Message

Case Study – PSNH 2008 Ice StormYouTubePSNH created a series of videos to showcase the work being done by crews to restore power after one of the worst ice storms in their territory.Click the imageto view the video.

Case Study – PSNH 2008 Ice StormFlickrPSNH also posted online photo albums to show the scope of the storm damage and its crews working to restore service.

Case Study – FP&L Hurricane PreparationsBlogFPL created an online Storm Center based on a new corporate blog that highlights various educational posts. So far, posts have been centered on general storm safety and hurricane preparation topics.

Case Study – FP&L Hurricane PreparationsTwitterFPL also created a Twitter account to accompany its Storm Center. Here, the company references new posts to its blog and provides real-time storm information.

In-Depth:Twitter

Twitter BasicsOlder users than Facebook, primarily people 30s-50s; more professional audience.Primarily a tool for news and cutting edge information.Twitter allow us to communicate in almost real time with reporters and customers. We can provide accurate information on gas leaks, outage updates (refer them to our Web site) and other events.Limited to 140 characters per message, or Tweet.RT = ReTweetDM = Direct Message@ Reply = Username Mention

Twitter and HashtagsConvenient way to “bookmark” tweetsDirectory: www.hashtags.orgIndustry Examples:#energy#energytip#electricity#GreenEnergy#RenewableEnergy#solar#utility#utilities#utility-expert

What are they saying about YOU?

National Grid “News” via Twitter

A Missed Opportunity?

Best PracticesandLegal Concerns

Be PoliteAcknowledge new followersChoose quality over quantityBe helpfulDon’t spamSay Thank You

Be Human

Pick Your BattlesShould we respond or let it go?Anything regarding your company that may be inaccurate or misleading. Is it gaining traction or is it being overlooked?Anything where a customer needs help. Some complaints, not rants, i.e. SCE&G are all thieves, etc. Let ‘em rant, we’re not going to change their minds anyway. We should be proactive during a situation that demands it, i.e. storm outages, nuke emergency, some other major incident where we’re in the news.

Working with the LawyersTake time to educate your legal team about social media and its benefits.Start your journey into social media with a conservative approach, benchmarking successes.Be aware of Regulatory Agency concerns.Integrate the legal team into your social media team.Always alert your legal staff if a Tweet, newspaper comment, blog post or other message that raises a red flag.

Get Involved!

Where to find me …Trish Freshwater, APRtrish@trishfreshwater.com Phone: 315-944-0014Fax: 1-866-254-3283www.trishfreshwater.comhttp://socialutilities.ning.com