The question I have been asked most often in the last 5 months is; ‘how does an E&P guy like you wind up doing social media?’  Hint: There is a reason why Twitter is the first thing foreign governments shut down when major civil unrest occurs, most recently in Tunisia, Egypt, Libya, and Syria. Another hint: If you think the Keystone XL State Department review was delayed by a few banner-waving protesters, think again.  Answer: Strategy & influence. (Author’s note: on January 18th 2012, the Obama administration rejected the Keystone XL application)

First, a little background may be in order.  Having spent the majority of my career working in LNG and refining operations & maintenance, exploration & production, facilities construction, procurement, and contracts, it may seem like a perfectly logical question to ask. 

One of the most interesting areas I have ever worked in is the area of process information management.  From the process control data in the refinery control room, to the desktop of the facility engineer, to the screen of the business unit manager, it was easy to see the tremendous value in getting important data in near real-time onto the screens of those who needed it most to facilitate efficient decision making. 

I became an early-adopter of social media in my personal life as a way to communicate with my children as they were transitioning into high school and eventually when they left for college.  Again, I saw the incredible potential for communications and influence management.  This is where the similarities between social media for personal use, and social media for corporate strategy end however.  Knowing the difference between the two had a big impact on how I have developed strategies designed to add value as well as developing policies outlining the rules of engagement.

As social media became more mainstream, early adopting companies were quick to see the marketing value in establishing and managing these communication channels to connect with customers and to benefit the bottom line.  Typically, this involved retail companies that needed a heavy marketing presence.  Energy companies however, were not so quick to do so for various reasons, not the least of which was that it was not in their dinosaur DNA (pun intended) because doing so went against every old instinct to protect any and all company information so as not to give away too much information to the competition.  Oh how times have changed. 

For the executive who may not be familiar, let’s take a moment to review the basics in lay terms:

Social Media - Various methods of communicating thoughts, ideas, and company views (and receiving feedback) in real-time via websites like Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, LinkedIn, etc. (think influence management on a global scale).   A platform to promote your company or industry agenda that reaches a mass global audience.

  Twitter - Allows you to post short 140 character messages called ‘tweets’, usually to break news about important events in your company (be mindful of SEC rules here).  Your HR department may also use it to attract new talent by ‘tweeting’ new job openings.  If you scroll to the bottom of this page, you can click the ‘Follow @ChrisGabriel1’ button to follow me on Twitter (if you find that what I have to say interesting), tweet this blog entry to your followers on Twitter, or share this blog entry on LinkedIn with your professional network.  BP has almost 33,000 followers on its Twitter feed.

  YouTube - A site that allows your company to set up a company-branded page to show videos about your company, or industry issues.  A good example is industry videos showing animation of hydraulic fracturing as a way to educate the public and influence regulation.  When your videos go ‘viral’, that means they are getting played heavily and reaching a lot of people (stakeholders).  YouTube is owned by Google and is also used by many individuals.

  LinkedIn - The largest professional networking site used by experienced talent and targeted by recruiters. 

  Facebook - The largest social media site in the world.  Allows you to create a company page to engage stakeholders who can ‘like’ your company, its initiatives, or become ‘fans’.  Chevron has over 148,000 fans. 

Digital Media - For the purposes of this discussion, your company’s external (Internet - general public) & internal (Intranet - employees only) websites.

Web Analytics - Capturing the data from communication and interaction with stakeholders who have engaged on your digital and social media properties and using it to formulate future strategy.  All of the tools above have the capability to leverage detailed analytics about traffic to your digital and social media properties, including real-time measurement of stakeholder sentiment.  Analytics are an invaluable way to target your media budgets to the most effective channels and stop wasting money on ineffective campaigns.  Allows your company to integrate traditional media such as television, radio, and newsprint with your digital properties to drive traffic and influence the conversation.

Governance - Your company’s written policy that serves as the guideline for employees and external stakeholders regarding the ground rules for engagement.  For convenience, here is a link to an Australian government tool used to roll out their policy - it is one of the best I have seen and serves as a great example (thanks to @DeniseWhitaker for retweeting this) scroll down to bottom of page and play the video: Social Media Policy Rollout

Since most of your employees are probably using social media in one form or another outside of the workplace, not having a clear policy at your company is like playing with fire - eventually you will get burned.

Now that we have the basics out of the way, let’s get to the important questions:

How should I think of social media in the context of an energy company that just explores for, and produces oil & gas? - Some of the biggest complaints I hear from energy executives are that their companies do not have access to resources, are often misunderstood, the public is not well informed regarding industry issues such as hydraulic fracturing, etc.  When you think of social media, changing some of the words might make it more clear to you.

For example: Facebook has 800 million users worldwide.  You should think of it like this: Facebook has 800 million potential company stakeholders worldwide who have the capacity to influence and/or be influenced depending on how my company engages them.  Another point to consider is that industry opponents also use these same tools to influence and mobilize stakeholders and to enlist new supporters to their various causes.  Do you want these opposition groups to define key industry issues, or do you want your company and industry to? (Think Shell’s Alaska efforts, and Keystone XL)

How do these tools add value to my company? - Using social media is like having the most powerful lobbyist on the planet working for you 24/7, 365.  You get to define your company, its views and positions on key issues, and engage & influence key stakeholders on a global scale.  You should think of it like this: My company can use these tools to go way beyond our typical ‘write your congressman now’ form letters and instead influence the entire constituency of the congressional districts in which we have an interest, and let the entire district lobby for you.  Your company can also use these tools to manage crisis communications and dispute inaccurate information provided by outside sources.

How does my company get started? - The short answer is that your company may already be using these tools, and you were not aware of it.  At a minimum, consider the following:

1. 1.As a senior company executive, educate yourself about digital & social media and ask questions of your staff about how your company is using it. 
   

2. 2.Make sure any policies regarding your company’s use of social media come from the top and are effectively communicated to your employees.
   

3. 3.Make sure your company has a vision and a mission for its use of these tools where the central theme is to add value such as stakeholder influence management, communications, crisis management, and reputation management.
   

4. 4.Don’t do social media for the sake of getting something out there.  Proceeding without a strategy can be potentially very harmful.  Hire people who know the energy business and are also personal & corporate social media savvy and know the difference between the two.
   

5. 5.Most energy experienced professionals and college new-hires are already proficient in the uses of most or all of these tools and they are seen as a key method to facilitating knowledge sharing, effective communications, and attracting & retaining talent.  Ineffective use of these tools runs the risk of your company being viewed as a ‘dinosaur’ whose industry has passed it by.
   

In conclusion, digital and social media tools definitely have the potential to add incredible value to your energy company if done correctly.  Your company will have the platform to define itself, rather than having others define you, and will also be able to promote your company or industry agenda to your key stakeholder groups.  It is important to hire people who know the energy business, and the difference between social media for personal use, and social media as a key part of your company’s strategy.  When you think of social media, think influence media.  Don’t be viewed as a dinosaur!