Social Media Can Drive Environmental Goals Forward

Sometimes a picture is worth 200 Twitter follows. That’s what Ceres‘s online communications director, Brian Sant, learned when he ran a campaign to stop natural gas flares in North Dakota. Oil companies use these flares to burn away unwanted natural gas they do not plan to save or sell.

North Dakota’s natural gas flares are visible from the night sky and rival major cities in their brightness. Sant circulated the following photo of the night landscape of North America via social media and email. The response was electric. Writers picked up the story.

A photo from Ceres’s campaign to stop natural gas flares in North Dakota.

Sant showed the results of this campaign at New England Women in Energy and the Environment‘s March 14 panel discussion, Social Media Success in the Energy and Environmental Sectors. He also described how he uses podcasts, videos and infographics to make data attractive for social media distribution.

Sarah Finnie Robinson, founding partner at Practically Green, talked about her exploration of the nuances of behavior change. Working with an enthusiastic group of interns and staff, she develops social software that companies and individuals can use to alter their environmental behavior.

Practically Green is building on the current wave of interest in gamification – making activities more like computer games – and integrating that approach with social media. The resulting product makes conserving water and other resources less like doing a chore and more like using Facebook.

“You’re not alone,” one of Robinson’s slides said. Robinson wants her software to engage people in communication, not just give them tasks to do in isolation. Based on the rapid expansion of demand for her product, this approach is certainly working.

Cindy Jolicoeur, vice president of Marketing Drive, used a different tactic in her work with the Mass Save energy efficiency program. She leveraged consumer interest in sharing information about deals and taking advantage of discounts to build the fan base for the Mass Save Facebook page from around 2,000 to over 15,000. These likes came as a result of targeted promotions and advertising across multiple media. Consumers developed a relationship with Mass Save and used the page to ask questions about energy efficiency.

“People want to connect with people,” said Cindy Hoots, corporate social responsibility account director at Cone Communications. She encouraged the audience to be informal on social media. Being able to respond on the fly is crucial, she said. She recommended keeping an unofficial FAQ on hand to use in response to stakeholder comments.

“Not all these stakeholders are friendly,” Hoots said. “Some can be a thorn in your side. Others may have an activist bent.”

Building relationships with stakeholders is a complex process, Hoots said. First, one needs to identify who they are. Second, one needs to understand their values and priorities. Third, one needs to learn how to reach them. And that’s just the first phase of action. One also needs to prioritize influencers, reach out to them, and offer them resources they want.

Hoots recommended two online tools for identifying influencers: Traackr and SocMetrics. These sites can give one basic information about the behavior of influencers and help one develop a plan for building relationships.

There are many ways communicators can engage stakeholders and build support for sustainable actions. This discussion demonstrated how Twitter, Hootsuite, Facebook, and other social media tools can support energy and environmental organizations in reaching their goals successfully. Sometimes, all it takes is a surprising picture.

What Facebook Pages and Diamond Rings Have in Common

A recent article from NetSquared profiles best practices from environmental nonprofits’ Facebook pages. The article quotes researchers who recommend using photos (with or without overlay text), sharing links to other websites, and experimenting to find out what succeeds or fails.

Here are a few tips from my own experiences with Facebook page management. I maintain pages for multiple nonprofits and am perennially looking for new tools and resources to improve our content and engagement. Since many people are working on building reputations as social media professionals, there are plenty of publications out there on this subject.

1. Be inspiring. Consistently, my posts that get the best responses are inspiring. They may be visually striking images or inspirational messages that speak to the imaginations of my audiences. For example, one of my audiences includes people who are in a stressful profession. Posting tips on relaxation and mindfulness caught their interest.
2. Ask simple questions. Questions pique readers’ curiosity, but asking people to engage at a high level too quickly may discourage them. Asking questions on Facebook is like dating: would you bring out a diamond ring on the second date? Of course not. Similarly, with social media, you need to build rapport before making major requests.
3. Leverage your e-mail list and website. Use e-mail to direct people to your Facebook page by mentioning exclusive content that is only available on Facebook. You can also use your website to point people toward your Facebook content.
4. Have the scoop. What information do you know that your audience might want to learn? What resources are at your fingertips – or sitting in your in-box, gathering dust? What tips and ideas can you add to your social media content to make it valuable to readers?
5. Be newsworthy. Tie your Facebook content in with current events, major news stories, and local announcements that will be of interest to your visitors. Keep your content timely, interesting and relevant.

Dale Carnegie’s advice holds true for social media managers: if you want to earn the respect, interest and trust of your audiences, be a good listener. Don’t talk about yourself or your organization continually. Talk about other topics of mutual interest. Share other articles. Be a good conversationalist and social media will reward you.

My father could have been a great social media professional. He is over 80 and still does not have an e-mail address. But he is an excellent networker. He keeps index cards with the contact information of people he has met, sends them news clippings that interest them, and engages in long conversations. He does all of this by snail mail and phone after an opening conversation where he learns what their interests are.

This is exactly the same approach one should take toward building connections on social media. Figure out what you can offer your audience. Share stories with them. Develop relationships through communicating about ideas, asking questions, and sharing news. Add value to their lives. Don’t assume that your organization’s updates have intrinsic interest for all your readers. Make your conversation two-way. And don’t get out the diamond ring too soon.

“Will you share my Facebook page with all 200 of your friends?”

How to Engage Online Communities

A recent article claiming that 84 percent of one’s Facebook page fans are lurkers raised an interesting question for me. How does one get communities to “gel” online? What are some of the tricks of the trade that help web communication professionals engage their audiences?

The ideas below are based on my experiences with organizing meetups, including NetSquared Boston; producing news content for an online community of graduate students and professors; and building the audience of an energy-related newsletter.

1. Make Your Most Important Content Visible

Journalists know that the first few seconds of reading will determine whether your audience reads the whole article or puts down the paper. Your title, subheading, and any content that is highly visible will attract readers’ attention.

Here are a few tips:

• Choose clear, attention-getting headlines
• Test your web content using the Five Second Test
• Think about the first sentences you use
• Choose interesting topic headings

2. Organize Your Site Logically

Take a look through a website usability guide and use those principles to organize your content clearly. Will a new visitor to your site know where to find information? Try to keep the number of levels in your site map to a minimum. This will make it easier for website visitors to find the content they need.

3. Use Your Audience’s Favorite Media

If you know how your audience already finds information, you can communicate with them using their preferred media. For many audiences in the United States, e-mail is still the best way to present information. If you make your content conversational and entertaining, you can also use Facebook to reach a large audience. Sites like Twitter and Quora can give you access to professionals in specialized fields like journalism and IT. Some audiences spend long hours on YouTube.

If your audience isn’t RSS-literate, they won’t subscribe to your blog’s news feed. On the other hand, if your audience knows how to subscribe to your meetup calendar, they may be watching all of your events without even being members of your meetup. Twitter users may add you to private lists without following you openly.

4. Build Your Niche

What does your website provide that other websites do not? Is your meetup unique, or is it the same as another meetup in the next town? Like running a business, running an online community requires that you provide added value. You should make your content easy to use and worthwhile.

If you have a niche for which there is not much demand, recast your focus so that it addresses needs that people know exist. You may be absolutely convinced of a need that others don’t see or recognize; this will make your job more difficult. I’ve seen scientists experience this problem often. Simplifying your message and making it convincing can help your website gain support.

5. Know Your Audience’s Priorities

Knowing the priorities and values of your audience can help you move your website into their “to visit” list. What do they need to know? Can you make their lives easier by providing networking or useful information? If your site looks like a resource library, you should work to make your content more immediately useful and action-oriented.

Some audiences dislike spending time online and will not surf in search of resources. Other audiences may own mobile phones but not computers. The more you know about what matters to your audience, the easier it will be for you to integrate your site or community into their everyday workflow.

Ask your audience what they want to see. You may be surprised. I used a poll in a meetup recently. I discovered – unexpectedly – that most of the respondents wanted to do outdoor activities this spring and summer. Because I did this poll, I’ll schedule the kinds of activities they requested.