It may not be social, and it may not be media (as many people have opined), but social media is here to stay. And that means your utility must make use of it because it can be a helpful way to get your messages across.
There are lots of different social media outlets – just ask your kids – but your utility should stick with the most prominent, established ones. Let’s look at a few.
While it’s far from perfect and has a history of privacy concerns, Facebook remains the most important social media outlet for businesses of all stripes to use.
The reason is simple: Facebook has the widest reach and functionality. Ironically, the younger generations that popularized it have largely moved on, but they’re only a small portion of your target audience. Most adults who are online maintain accounts, even folks like my 82-year-old mother.
So, you may be asking, how should you use it?
You need to maintain an active, but not too active page; if you post too often, people will start to annoy you akin to the “boy who cried wolf. Most days, a post or two a day is fine. The exception is when you’re dealing with an emergency or weather event that mandates you to provide frequent updates, especially when there are widespread outages.
Feel free to tout any events you sponsor, both before and after they occur. After the event, post a bunch of pictures. Always be positive in these posts.
Post links to any favorable news coverage that you receive. Post it to your website as well.
It can be useful to include reminders about any services or programs you offer, complete with links. Customers tend to have short memories, so remind them that they can pay bills online or receive a rebate if they buy energy-efficient appliances (assuming you offer that kind of program).
When your employees do volunteer work in the community, showcase it. Not only should you let the community know, but your employees will appreciate the recognition.
It’s hard to go wrong with energy-saving tips, especially when extreme weather is on the way.
Holiday messages are well received as long as they’re nonreligious. Wishing customers a happy Fourth of July or Thanksgiving is safe. Stick with a “happy holidays” in December.
No matter what you’re touting, it’s imperative to illustrate it with good photos or graphics. And keep your messages brief. The online era has made attention spans increasingly short.
It’s also crucial to regularly monitor your Facebook page (as well as all social media accounts). Remove or report) any inappropriate materials others post as soon as possible.
And respond promptly to anyone who has an issue, a complaint or just needs help. Social media is appealing in large part because of the interaction people can have with friends, businesses and even celebrities. By dawdling before responding — or even failing to respond at all — you may generate ill will. If you respond, even if you can’t resolve the issue right away, most people will be appreciative.
X (Twitter)
X is good for immediacy; however, the character limits can be tricky, and a large chunk of the older adult population (also known as many of your customers) aren’t fans, even more so of late considering Elon Musk’s assorted shenanigans.
You can post many of the same things on X that you post on Facebook, but its primary value is in getting breaking news to the public. Just remember to make your post punchy and link to further details.
YouTube
If you have any explanatory videos, post them on YouTube. Video versions of the “don’t dig” and “be careful trimming trees and brush around wires” are great fits here.
You can also produce videos of your crews in action or on how to read a bill, for example. Plenty of other topics can be illuminated via video.
As you might expect, posting a few pictures on Instagram can be beneficial, especially if someone in your PR department has an arty side. A cool photo of a solar farm would be perfect for this outlet.
Avoid posting anything too weighty, however.
Other outlets
Snapchat seems too youth-oriented and disappearing messages are not what you want, so use it sparingly, if at all.
There might be limited uses for TikTok, but there’s so much junk on the platform that you probably want to steer clear rather than have your content lumped in with whatever narcissists and daredevil teens are promoting.
LinkedIn is more for job seekers and networking, but it’s OK to post the basics about your utility there and maybe engage in occasional thought leadership conversations.
