Social Media & the Waste Management Sector

Jill Dobson

Who am I?

• Jill Dobson, PR and marketing consultant

• Set up October 2011

• PR Manager for South Tyne & Wear Waste Management Partnership

• When social media arrived• What exactly, is social media• The advantages• The issues• How and why the waste sector is using it• When it goes wrong• How to manage it

We’re going to talk about...

Major changes in communications

Newspaper 1650

Telephone 1876

Radio 1902

TV 1927

Internet 1994 Helllooo WORLD!

Blogging 1999 Everyone gets a voice!

Facebook 2004

YouTube 2005 Broadcast yourself!

Twitter 2006

1. Internet-based tools for sharing and discussing information among people

2. Internet media that has the ability to interact with it in some way

3. Facilitation and practice of engagement and conversation online

• TWO-way communications• It’s “social” meaning INTERACTION

What is social media?

What is social media?

What is social media?

Users create a Profile about themselves and connect with friends. 955m+ users.

Facilitates real-time personal “status updates” through short broadcasts to other subscribers. 500m+ users.

Online networking community for business people. 161m+ users.

Just another communications tool?

• Yes!• Treat with same caution you would when

dealing with media• Should be used as part of wider

communications strategy• Social Media can compliment other PR

tools

Social media – the pro’s

• Free to use• Chance to broadcast ‘non news’!• Drive traffic to your website• Raise awareness of your services/product• Direct engagement with customers• Increase loyalty amongst customers• Can improve customer service

Social media – why is it feared?

• Audiences TALK BACK and sometimes you don’t like what they say!

• Leads to an organisation devolving some control over message and brand

• Requires mix of authenticity, openness and transparency

• Culture change...

Common issues

• Giving content a personal, as opposed to a corporate voice

• Difficult to quantify R.O.I• Perception of wasted of time & resources

Waste sector is mainly using…

- Reach consumers

- Consumers or businesses

- Professionals or businesses

Why do they use it?

“I'm researching why waste companies use social media to communicate. What are your top reasons for using SM please?”

Why do they use it?

• Makes customer service more responsive• Demonstrate expertise/thought leadership• Build our brand

Why do they use it?

• Promoting news about the company• Promoting job vacancies• Watching competitors - monitoring

news/announcements, gossip etc• Monitoring customer or public complaints,

or any other noise about us and responding if necessary

Why do they use it?

• Direct, informal engagement • Easy way to find target clients• Easier to build rapport ‘offline’ if have

chatted online first• Free and easy to manage• Tell customers our news• Demonstrate capacity and credibility

Why do they use it?

• SM allows us to connect directly with our stakeholders in a quick & informal way - if you have no presence - you have no voice

Why do they use it?

• Helps achieve two-way communications• “Social media has changed the way we

communicate – we are more open and transparent than ever before”

• To get corporate messages and news out there

• We like to share images of our work to show the “real us”

Why do they use it?

• Few facility in Suffolk• Has opposition and it’s own Twitter account• 100 followers • Site manager tweets updates• Promotes openness and readiness to answer

questions in public way • Nothing to hide

Why do they use it?

“When you make something with pride people can taste it” – McD Potato Supplier #McDStories

When it goes wrong

“I once found a piece of meat in a McDonalds burger” #McDStories

“Once I walked into McDonalds and could smell Type 2 diabetes in the air and I threw up” #McDStories

“I haven’t been to McDonalds in years because I’d rather eat my own *****” #McDStories

• Be selective with media you use• Most important rule: ‘Don’t be stupid!’• Broadcast all your good news• Monitor what others say about you• Don’t slag off your competitors• Interact with and respond to your audience• ‘Rage Monitor’ - do not fight back or get

angry with negative comments

How to manage it

• Ensure messaging remains clear and targeted to your audiences

• Create valuable content• Respond in good time• When responding – personalise it

How to manage it