The $100,000 Question: How Should Utilities Use Social Media?

What does effective social media outreach look like for a water utility? The Water Research Foundation (WRF) is asking that question, and it’s putting its money where its mouth is to find out.

The foundation “is interested in investing approximately $100,000 with an applicable company in order to succeed at marketing water utilities,” Everything PR reported.

Applicants are asked to apply through the foundation’s emerging opportunity program, which funds “time-critical” research. That means time-sensitivity is a key factor in funding decisions. About 20 percent of the foundation’s annual research budget goes to the emerging opportunity program.

“Such projects generally are of relatively short duration (3-12 months) and typically range in value from $25K - $200K. Project add-ons are limited to $25K. WRF often issues Requests for Proposals (RFPs) for Emerging Opportunities projects,” WRF explained.

Utility execs say social media has become a critical aspect of ratepayer outreach. Josephine Posti, an external affairs specialist for Pennsylvania American Water explained the new normal: “Even if we don’t have electricity, we can give real-time updates on what is happening during an emergency just by using our smartphones,” Posti said, per Water Online. “It is what our customers expect now.”

Still, over the years, many utilities lagged behind the private companies in social media adoption. A Pacific Institute analysis conducted a couple of years ago made this point: “My years as a communications professional in the water and environmental justice sector suggest that a smaller percentage of water managers are using social media compared to the business and non-profit sectors. It’s perhaps more apparent why a B2B/B2C company or a membership-based NGO would join Facebook, Twitter, and the like, but there is still a strong case to be made for why water managers should embrace social media.”

Sometimes social media helps utilities field concerns from customers. “For example, DC Water promoted Twitter as a channel for customers to report problems, resulting in fewer e-mails sent to the general purpose inbox. The utility has also been able to help consumers understand where their water comes from and how it is priced, and answer questions as they come in,” the analysis said.

That notion scares some utilities. They worry customers will bombard their public profiles with complaints.

Martina Tremmel, an advisor for Utilities Kingston, explained: “There was a lot of hesitation because people were worried about getting flack, by putting ourselves out there. But if you just give a human voice and don’t come off sounding like a robot, it can be a very positive way of handling people’s concerns,” she said.

To read more about how utilities interact with rate payers, visit Water Online’s Consumer Outreach Solutions Center.