Idle Thoughts Follow me on Twitter @tomidle
On 18 January, the PR and marketing team at McDonald’s
thought it
would be a good idea to start sharing stories about its hard-working supply chain that provides the fast food chain with its food. It set up the hashtag #McDstories on Twitter
and started posting positive messages. Within minutes the hashtag had been sabotaged by Joe Public, keen to share its own nightmare tales of the company (less ‘sustainable farming’ and ‘wellbe- ing’, more ‘vomiting’ and ‘diarrhoea’). You can still follow the cringing hashtag trail online. The commonalities shared by the concepts of both sustainability and social media will not be lost on anybody that has ever engaged in the worlds of Twitter or Facebook. The authenticity, creativity and transparency offered by social media websites has proved a great inspiration to the increasing num- ber of corporate PR and marketing teams charged with making sustainability messages stick – and pay. According to a new report by Social Media Influence (SMI) and Wizness, 108 companies now dedicate specific time and resources into a running a social media channel (whether Twitter account, YouTube channel, etc) focusing purely on sustainability issues – up from just 60 in 2010. The two organisations have produced a Social Media Sustainability Index, designed to rank which companies are using the platform most effectively. It certainly makes for interesting reading.
The top ten looks like this: GE, IBM, Ford, PepsiCo, BBVA, Allianz, VF Corporation (home of Timberland), Levi’s, Siemens, Kimberley-Clark and Fed Ex. Unsurprisingly, the consumer goods firms ranked highly, oil and gas not so. Most of the 108 companies use Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and their own blogs, but many have plugged into things like LinkedIn, Slideshare and Google+. European and US firms dominate the top of the
Sustainability and social media are great bedfellows. But there are risks attached
chart. And more companies are now using social media as a way of sharing their annual sustainability report (36 of the 108, up from 15 the previous year). By running a channel, a blog, a feed or an account to promote their wares, brands and businesses have become publishers in their own right and they “need to think like editors,” says Matt Yeomans from SMI. Those that have embraced and understood that con- cept are making the most of social media. Those that haven’t, well, aren’t.
Companies shouldn’t be afraid to dip their toe in these fairly new waters. But, you’ve got to tell an interesting story. Remember, social media channels are not a platform to sell. This is your chance to engage with your community, add to the debate and show leadership. It’s not about numbers; it’s about engaging with the right audience, not the biggest. As the #McDstories example shows, there are huge risks to getting involved. But if you get it right, the opportunities are bountiful.
As I outline in more detail over the page, these are exciting times for Sustainable Business. The magazine you hold in your hands is the last to be printed. We have taken the sustainable deci- sion to become a purely digital entity, taking full advantage of the plentiful opportunities that allows (not least, launching an iPad edition from next month). Rest assured, you will get the same quality content you have come to expect from SB. It just won’t be delivered to you on paper.
TOM IDLE EDITOR
These are exciting times for Sustainable Business.
Find out why...
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OVER THE PAGE
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