Eleven Myths About Social Media

And How to Overcome Them

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Presented by Samantha Villegas, APR

President, SaVi PR, LLC

January 10, 2014

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•20+ years in communications

•12 in water

•Accredited

•Environmental focus/social marketing

•Agency, government, corporate

The jury is

not out. It is applicable, and

worthwhile to water

utilities.

It will work, if

you know how

to work it.

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Our Customers

Aren’t Using Social

Media 1

According

to the

Pew

Research

Center

Yes, they

all are.

Social Media is

Not For Water

Utilities 2

Cooking

Use forCooking

Don’t

Drinking

Don't

Use Tap

The Trust Factor

Social Media and

FOIA Regs Don’t

Mix 3

0 20 40 60 80 100

White House

Agriculture

Commerce

Defense

Education

Energy

EPA

HHS

DHS

Other

Flicker

You Tube

Twitter

Facebook

1. Capture and

store records

2. Public

awareness of

public record

We don’t have

time for another

thing. 4

Your Company

Customer

Customer

Customer

Customer

Your Company

Customer

Customer Customer

Customer

It’s a fad. It can’t

be used for

serious social

issues.

5

Emergency Communications

No #fios in South Riding this am.

What’s up @verizonlocal?

Sam Villegas, APR @samanthajvilleg 29 July

Expand

Customer Service/Troubleshooting

@samanthajvilleg We can help you! Follow then DM us so we can get some more info from you.

Expand

Verizon Support @verizonlocal 29 July

Customer Service/Troubleshooting

Customer Service/Troubleshooting

Hi, I am in south riding, with no signal.

Hi, sorry for the troubles. Just to make sure we are on the same

page, its your internet signal, right?

Haven't checked Internet, it's my TV internet seems ok. just tv for now.

Have you tried rebooting the set top box? Unplug for about 15

secs then plug it back in. Let me know if that works.

Will try that, thnx

Great! Reach out to us here anytime. We are available 24/7.

Have a great day!!

This will just

open the

floodgates of

criticism.

6

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I can set it and

forget it! 7

I can give this job

to an intern or

college grad. 8

Yippee! More

ways to push our

messages out. 9

It works because

we have 1,000

followers. 10

Pinterest is just

for fashion or

crafts. 11

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Step One:

Identify Goals/Success Measures

38

Increase customer awareness of XX’s investments in infrastructure and the value of water and water service.

Improve customer perception of XX as a company that cares about its customers, and as a company customers can trust.

Educate customers about the various watershed and infrastructure challenges XX addresses through its community involvement, research and investments.

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Step Two:

Consider Your

Audience

40

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Bill-paying customers

•City A

•City B

•City C

•City D

Influential individuals

•City officials

•Chamber leaders

•Politicians

•Media reps

•Geographic influencers

Community partners

•Local environmental groups

•Local university personnel

•Local library personnel

•Other Utilities

•Miss Utility

•State DEQ and DH

•EPA Office of Water

Step Three:

Develop The

Content Strategy

42

Read Relevant News

Review Key Word Streams

Comment/Answer Questions

Reply

Post

*

43

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TWITTER FACEBOOK

106 as of August 15 | 250 as of Dec 31 49 Likes as of August 15 | 250 as of Dec 31

BRAND ATTRIBUTES (measured as % that says Yes/Extremely/Very Satisfied

Goal

42.6%

YTD

46.4%

Satisfaction for price paid

47.2% 44% Recognition of infrastructure challenges

16.8% 12.8% Awareness of infrastructure investments

56.8% 57.7% Awareness that portion of water bill supports investments in aging

infrastructure

Step Four:

Measure Your

Success

45

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Fans and Followers

Survey result changes

Sustained (daily/weekly) shares and engagement

Total number of shares, retweets, comments, interactions

Hi-profile shares and retweets – by target influencers

Step Five:

Evaluate and

Change

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Engage, Entertain, Empower and

Educate

Hi-rated content: operations response, archives, employee

news

Low-rated content: advocacy, press

releases, volunteerism

Genuine, human voice, not corporate

speak.

Shows customer appreciation

Live tweet events, with hashtag

created, so event and news is findable

Provide hours of response and

adheres to them

Allow 3rd-party postings

Quick response times

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[email protected]

571-577-7477