Transcript Implementing Social Media to Communicate with Your Customers

Implementing
Social Media to
Communicate
with Your
Customers
APPA Business & Financial Conference
September 16, 2009
Chris M. Gent
Kissimmee Utility Authority
About KUA
• Founded in 1901
• Florida’s sixth largest municipally-owned
utility
• Provides service to 62,000 customers
• 325 employees
• Corporate Communications department
budget has been cut by nearly 50 percent
this year
In tight financial times,
communications expenditures are
often the victim of a
utility’s reduced budget.
That's why we need to
be creative in how we communicate
with our customers.
Definition of Social Media
• Social media describes a set of Internet
tools that enable shared community
experiences, both online and in person.
• Social media tools make it easier to
create and distribute content and discuss
the things we care about.
• It’s simply about joining a conversation!
Resistance
• Don’t understand it
• Government/corporate America often
moves slowly
• Resistant to change
• Fear of the unknown
• Don’t want to leave anyone behind
Obstacles
• Lack of technical expertise
• Corporate firewalls that restrict access
• Lack of personnel policies to govern
employee use
• Liability
Benefits
•
•
•
•
•
Customer communication
Employee communication
Recruitment
Training
Conversation!
What happens if you don’t listen???
What One Person Can Do
• Dave Carroll
• Lead singer in Canadian band ‘Sons of
Maxwell’
• Traveling from Halifax,
Nova Scotia to Nebraska
via Chicago’s O’Hare
Airport
What One Person Can Do
• Baggage handlers damaged his $3,500
guitar
• Bad customer service experience
• After nearly a year of frustration, Carroll
promised to write and post three songs on
YouTube
• First song released in July: 5 million+ views
• Second song released in August
What One Person Can Do
REFRAIN
United... You broke my Taylor guitar.
United… Some big help you are.
You broke it, you should fix it
You're liable, just admit it.
I should've flown with someone else
Or gone by car
'Cause United breaks guitars.
What One Person Can Do
• The video, produced for just $150,
achieved 4.6 million views within its first
three weeks on YouTube, including
21,000 comments
• Within four days, United's stock price
plunged by 10 percent, costing
shareholders $180 million. (They could
have purchased 51,000 replacement
guitars!)
Bottom line:
Social media
levels the playing field
for your utility and
your customers!
Social Media Tools
• Research
– Survey Monkey, Zoomerang
• Communication
– E-mail, Constant Contact, Facebook, Twitter,
Google Maps, TinyURL, bit.ly
• Multimedia
– YouTube, Vimeo, Flickr
• Collaboration
– Blogs, Google Groups
Monitor
• Google Alerts
• Technorati
• Wikipedia
Recruitment/Training
• Use the RSS reader in your Internet
browser and subscribe to blogs about
HR and recruiting
• Set up content watchlists in Twitter
• Join groups on LinkedIn and contribute
to the conversation
• Start a YouTube channel with training
videos
Communication
• How-to and energy conservation videos
on YouTube
• Information sharing, outage updates on
Twitter
• Photos, videos
and information
on Facebook
Media Relations
• Photo and video
sharing
– Flickr
• Mapping
– Google Maps
• Twitter
How to Use Them
If you’re not using them
now, at least reserve
your organization’s
name for future use.
Go out and join the
conversation today!
Thank You!
Chris M. Gent
Vice President of Corporate Communications
Kissimmee Utility Authority
[email protected]
w 407-933-9836
c 321-624-3383
twitter.com/chrisgent