A social-media crash course for the water sector. How the tools of social media can help, perils to avoid, and practices to emulate.

1. Social Media Crash Course
Brian Gongol
DJ Gongol & Associates, Inc.
July 18, 2019
NWOD Heartland Operators Conference
York, Nebraska

2. Public works, socially: A case study

3. Good: Acknowledge the problem

4. People appreciate a response

5. But where's the follow-through?

6. The mockery begins in earnest

7. Once it begins...

8. (It's a dirty job)

9. ...But the mockery continues

10. Making good of a bad situation

11. But it's still a shame

12. WHAT'S THE POINT?

13. What's the point of social media?

14. "Dreamland" S2:E6 "Starting the Conversation"

Natalie: Who are we supposed to be engaging with?

Rhonda: Our stakeholders!

Natalie: What does that mean, though?

Rhonda: What do you think it means?

Natalie: The federal government who pay 5 billion dollars for a project. I call them a stakeholder.

Rhonda: Yes.

Natalie: Construction firms, financial institutions, expert consultants: stakeholders.

Rhonda: Tick.

Natalie: Some cranky retiree who suddenly discovered Facebook? I call him a pest.

Rhonda: We can't afford to ignore anyone.

Natalie: We can.

Rhonda: No. We need to inform, engage, consult. What's the other one?

Hugh: Collaborate?

Rhonda: Yes. With all of our stakeholders.

Natalie: In order to build what?

Rhonda: Engagement! Honestly, when is that going to sink in?
https://www.netflix.com/watch/80064344?trackId=200257859 @ 11:30

15. It's where attention has gone

16. It's where attention has gone
"Adults 18+ spent on
average 45 minutes
per day on social
media during first-
quarter 2018, with
most of that time
coming from
smartphones."
- Nielsen Total
Audience Report

17. Meet the customers where they are

18. A great resource to watch

19. How many American adults use them?

20. How many American adults use them?

21. How many American adults use them?

22. How many American adults use them?

23. How many American adults use them?

24. How many American adults use them?

25. How many American adults use them?

26. How many American adults use them?

27. You might not be in the target demographic

28. The big reason why

29. SURVEYING THE LANDSCAPE

30. Facebook

31. Twitter

32. Instagram

33. YouTube

34. Snapchat

35. LinkedIn

36. MySpace (just kidding)

37. But also...

38. Facebook Messenger

39. WhatsApp

40. Pinterest

41. E-mail newsletters (don't neglect the classics!)

42. The medium is the message
Text Pictures Video
Facebook ☺ ☺ ☺
Twitter ☺ ☺ ☺
Instagram ☺ ☺
YouTube ☺
Snapchat ☺ ☺
LinkedIn ☺ ☺ ☺
Pinterest ☺

43. WHERE TO INVEST YOUR TIME

44. Prioritize your efforts

45. Real-time outages and alerts

46. Weather-related advisories

47. Projects and construction

48. Job openings

49. Scheduled seasonal reminders

50. Make it personal

51. Industry news and events

52. Keep people interested

53. And...respond!

54. You don't always know who has an audience

55. Be flexible
"A sound battle plan provides
flexibility in both space and time
to meet the constantly changing factors
of the battle problem in such a way as to
achieve the final goal of the commander."
- Dwight Eisenhower

56. EMULATE THIS

57. DMWW

58. Ames Water

59. Metropolitan Utilities District

60. Pittsburgh Water and Sewer

61. San Francisco Water-Power-Sewer

62. Denver Water

63. DC Water

64. (Twin Cities) Met Council

65. Follow the leader

Watch utilities and operations bigger than you

Watch those in the same region

Watch those at the same latitude

Watch your peers, locally and elsewhere

Copy the good ideas you find everywhere

Let well-funded operations with big marketing teams do
the heavy lifting of generating good ideas: It's very social
to copy them! (Just put your own spin on it.)

66. BEST PRACTICES

67. Use hashtags

68. Be visual

69. Customize page names

70. Take fights offline

71. Drag influencers into conversation

72. Schedule messages ahead

73. Pick a theme (like IDOT Message Monday)

74. Go retro

75. Did you know?

76. Say "thank you", and say it often

77. Know thyself: Protect your image by sharing

78. Have it instantly ready in emergencies

79. Connect the physical and digital worlds

80. PERILS AND PITFALLS

81. Don't try too hard to be clever

82. Angry customers

83. (Oh, but they will still talk about you)

84. Customer shaming

85. Trolls

86. Don't go dormant

87. Don't be afraid to use a crutch
Popular daily topics used by
"everyone"

#MusicMonday

#TuesdayThoughts

#WednesdayWisdom

#ThrowbackThursday

#FollowFriday
Sample topic-starters we
sometimes use:

#MunicipalMondays

#TuesdayTip

#WaterQualityWednesday

#TechThursday

#FlowFridays

88. ASSIGNING ROLES

89. Top managers should be top communicators

90. Someone should have posting duty

91. Someone else should have checking duty

92. Be sure the admin password is locked

93. ...and pay your vendors if you have them

94. Set alerts on your own accounts

95. CREATING POLICIES

96. It doesn't have to be hard, it just has to be
Start with the "AWWA Social Media Guidelines"
and build out from there
https://www.awwa.org/resources-tools/public-affairs/communications-tools/public-
communications-toolkit/awwa-social-media-guidelines.aspx

97. Keep it simple

98. Setting boundaries
How quickly do we respond?
During what hours do we respond?
Do we have "off-ramps" for unproductive conversations?

99. Manage expectations from the start

100. There is no substitute for customer service

101. To recap

102. A final case study

103. A little gentle snark is expected

104. But some people can't help themselves

105. Bring the facts

106. Expect misunderstandings

107. Join the conversation fearlessly

108. Some honest questions will ensue

109. You're still the expert

110. Customers may still test your patience

111. Educate the bigger audience

112. "I'm just asking questions..."

113. This off-ramp deserves a gold star

114. Questions?
Thank you for your time and
attention!
Ask questions anytime:
Brian Gongol
DJ Gongol & Associates, Inc.
515-223-4144
@djgongol
info@djgongol.com

115. Credits and references

Media usage from Q1 2018 Nielsen Total Audience Report

https://www.nielsen.com/us/en/insights/news/2018/time-flies-us-
adults-now-spend-nearly-half-a-day-interacting-with-
media.print.html

Data on social media use from "Social Media Use in 2018." Pew Research
Center, Washington, D.C. (March 1, 2018)

http://www.pewinternet.org/2018/03/01/social-media-use-in-2018/

Used in accordance with http://www.pewresearch.org/terms-and-
conditions/

Screenshots of specific social media uses are used for educational
purposes and are the property of their respective creators