Social Media for Sustainability Communications Best Practice Guide Infographic

Best Practice Guide Social Media Communications for Sustainability BEST PRACTICE ADVICE UNDERSTAND THE NATURE OF SOCIAL MEDIA: STEP Social media is not just another channel for push messages, it's about meaningful conversations to develop mutually beneficial relationships. 1 SET YOUR OBJECTIVES AND STRATEGIES: STEP 2 Be clear about the reason why to do social media, define your objectives that fit that purpose and develop a robust strategy to achieve them. INVOLVE EVERYONE IN THE ORGANISATION: STEP 3 Get your employees and the C-Suite involved in social media and sustainability and train, educate and inform them about the company's sustainability efforts and aspirations. CONCLUSION: Social media and sustainability should not be standalone practices. They must be embedded within and across the organisation. HOW TO AVOID PITFALLS THE DON'TS: THE DO'S: • Do have a robust strategy. • Do define your KPIS carefully. • Do identify your stakeholders, where they are online and which platforms are best to reach them. • Do listen to what people are saying and monitor the brand's mentions. • Don't be fearful. • Don't rush in before you know what you are doing. • Don't persuade or broadcast. • Don't just throw issues around. • Don't hide behind the true agenda. • Don't lie. • Don't ignore your audiences. • Don't delete comments or conversations. • Don't do it just because everyone else is doing it. • Do acknowledge the opinions of others. • Do send a positive response to whatever the negativity is about. • Do admit shortcomings and be transparent. • Do be factual, honest and authentic. • Do engage in real, genuine, human conversations. • Do update the platforms regularly with relevant content. • Do manage expectations and have a crisis plan. • Do walk the talk. "Social media is less about technology and more about anthropology, sociology, and ethnography." Brian Solis REMEMBER PLAY BY THE RULES TRANSPARENCY AUTHENTICITY RELIABILITY Be human Listen to what people are saying Get to know your stakeholders well and show empathy. Acknowledge what people ăre saying Be honest Don't be vague or use general statements; be authentic and specific. Admit when you are Back up Be patient your statements with facts wrong Remember that social media success doesn't happen over night; be committed to do it properly and the ROI will come. Dedicate O Develop enough time and effort long-term relationships USEFUL TIPS HOW TO DRIVE MEANINGFUL CONVERSATIONS BASIC PRINCIPLE: Have the right message for the right audience on the right channel using the right language! Tell an authentic, never ending story, admitting that there are challenges but showing that you are committed to sustainability in the long-run Know what platforms are available and understand what they offer to allocate resources to the right Get creative with your storytelling and make it emotional, provocative, different, motivational, exciting and relevant Create and frequently share content that is relevant and truly interesting to your stakeholders ones MAKE USE OF VIDEO INVOLVE STAKEHOLDERS GUEST BLOG USE GAMIFICATION Try sites like TriplePundit.com and GreenBiz.com to reach a highly targeted audience Create apps in the form of games with animation to make it Try Vine or Instagram's new video feature to Try Hangouts on Google+ for news conferences or make it more interactive panel discussions and engaging more fun Created by Iliyana Stareva @lliyanaStareva http://iliyanastareva.com