Reaching And Engaging

Customers Through Social Media

Tricia Williamson

Content • BACKGROUND

• BUILDING SOCIAL MEDIA CAPABILITIES: CRITICAL PILLAR OF

CUSTOMER ENGAGEMENT

• INFUSING SOCIAL MEDIA INTO THE BUSINESS PRACTICES & COMPANY CULTURE

• KEY ELEMENTS FOR A

SUCCESSFUL SOCIAL CUSTOMER SERVICE

• LEARNING FROM DIFFERENT SECTORS THAT CHAMPION SOCIAL MEDIA

• INTEGRATING SOCIAL

MEDIA WITH TRADITIONAL MEDIA FOR BRAND UNITY

Background

Jamaica Public Service Company (JPS): • Customer-base of nearly 600,000 • The sole distributor of electricity in

Jamaica. • Generation capacity that exceeds 620

Megawatts • JPS operates 27 generating units • We also purchase additional electricity

from 4 Independent Power Producers (IPPs).

A Little Social History on JPS

• JPS joined Facebook on September 13, 2010.

• March 17, 2012 the social media protest group- Fight For Your Light is formed.

• March 3, 2013- JPS hired its first Manager -Social Media & Online Communications.

Snapshot of our Main Networks JPS Facebook: +44,000 Fans (/myjpsonline) JPS Twitter: 6,000 Followers (@myjpsonline) Monthly Content Reach: 500,000 people Average Campaign Reach: 1.3 Million people

JPS eStore Facebook: +10,000 Fans (/estoreja) JPS eStore Twitter: 500 Followers (@estoreja) Monthly Content Reach: 100,000 people

JPS Foundation Facebook: +5,000 Fans (/jpsfoundationja) JPS Foundation Twitter: 500 Followers (@jpsfoundationja) Monthly Content Reach: 300,000 people

The charitable arm of the Jamaica Public Service Company.

The energy management retail chain of the Jamaica Public Service Company.

The Official Facebook & Twitter channels of the Jamaica Public Service Company.

Building Social Media

Capabilities:

Critical Pillar of Customer

Engagement

Building Social Media Capabilities:

Critical Pillar of Customer Engagement

Social Media is a valuable tool primarily for: • Customer Education • Engagement • Customer Service • Social Listening • Brand Management • Crisis Management • Safety and Awareness Tips • Energy Efficiency and more.

Building Social Media Capabilities:

Critical Pillar of Customer Engagement

Primary platform for electric utilities that need to provide: • Customer Service Support • Official News • Customer Education • Crisis Communication • Outage Advisories • Online Market Research • Events Details • Engagement (Competitions, Apps etc)

Building Social Media Capabilities:

Critical Pillar of Customer Engagement

The issues we typically handle for our customers on social media include:

▫ Power Outages (20%) ▫ Bill/Meter Query (18%) ▫ Late Bills (16%) ▫ General Queries (11%) ▫ Street Lights (6%) ▫ Power Quality (5%) ▫ Electricity Theft (4%) and more…

* September 2014 Stats for both Facebook and Twitter

Building Social Media Capabilities:

Critical Pillar of Customer Engagement

Customer Service support is a critical component for success for utilities in social media.

It is a fact that customer satisfaction can be significantly higher in this arena than other channels.

At JPS, our social customer service support lies in a cross functional social media team that is housed in Corporate Communications Department.

Building Social Media Capabilities:

Critical Pillar of Customer Engagement In our recent customer satisfaction survey of our Facebook and Twitter channels among pooling 30% of the customers we assist on social media. The March 2015 survey – 1st quarter results were excellent: • 95% Satisfaction Rating (with 90% being Very to

Somewhat Satisfied)

• 100% of respondents so far feel their choice to use myJPSonline was a good one.

• 95% would recommend our social media channels to a friend

INFUSING SOCIAL MEDIA INTO THE

BUSINESS PRACTICES & COMPANY CULTURE

INFUSING SOCIAL MEDIA INTO THE BUSINESS PRACTICES & COMPANY CULTURE

• JPS’ social media is the responsibility of the Manager- Social Media & Online Communications in the Corporate Communications Department.

• The management of our social media channel is supported by teams from across the Company including

• Corporate Communications

• Customer Satisfaction

• Customer Care Centre

• Parish Managers/ Operations

• Marketing

• IT, among others.

ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE- JPS

SNAPSHOT OF WHAT WE ARE DOING INTERNALLY?

• Social Media Training Workshops in the Company with key stakeholders to encourage adoption of relevant social media techniques:

• Customer Satisfaction Team

• Parish Managers

• Social Media Volunteers

• Social Media Crisis Response Team

• Social Customer Service Team

All Parish Managers, HOD-Customer Services, Customer Care Centre Manager and Regional Directors have Corporate Facebook & Twitter profiles.

This is part of our drive to increase engagement and improve experience with our customers.

SOCIAL CUSTOMER SERVICE GUIDE

The Social Customer Service Guide developed for the Company in October 2014.

A team of Social Media Associates are being trained to help the Company live up to its commitment to quality in the digital space.

LIVE CHATS- POWER TALKS Position your team members as experts and tackle issues with more public talks.

SOCIAL MEDIA POLICY

The Social Media Policy created April 2013 followed by a nine month consultation with key departments including Corporate Communications, IT, Legal, HR, Customer Services, Parish Managers etc.

JPS restricts access to social media sites to employees unless otherwise approved.

The policy is revised annually.

KEY ELEMENTS FOR A

SUCCESSFUL SOCIAL CUSTOMER

SERVICE

Key Elements for a Successful Social

Customer Service

• At JPS (myJPSonline), we humanize our brand by managing our customer service issues, communications & marketing messages and customer education all in one.

• To support this, we have in place the necessary internal organizational structure and support utilities can address customer issues, resolve complaints and improve satisfaction.

• Company wide training for social media team, senior managers, customer satisfaction team and parish managers that form part of our SM Ambassadors.

PARISH MANAGERS ON SOCIAL MEDIA

Key Elements for a Successful Social

Customer Service

• At our Company, we have rolled out a Social Media Ambassador program where all our state managers have Corporate Facebook & Twitter accounts along with strategically selected members of management including the Head of Customer Services and Manager for the Customer Care Centre as part of our strategy.

• If ever we need assistance with customers online we can make real time connections so issues can be addressed more speedily.

Key Elements for a Successful Social

Customer Service

• Let customers know when the channel is ‘live’ or being monitored and where to go outside of operating hours or for emergencies. Example:

Connect with us on FB Mon-Fri 8:00am-5:00pm. For emergencies, Call 1-888-225-5577(LIME) or 1-888-935-5577 (Digicel). Need more info, visit www.myjpsco.com

• Social Media Guidelines for Fans/Followers of

your page should be in your About section.

Key Elements for a Successful Social

Customer Service

• Let customers know when the channel is ‘live’ or being monitored and where to go outside of operating hours or for emergencies. Example:

Connect with us on FB Mon-Fri 8:00am-5:00pm. For emergencies, Call 1-888-225-5577(LIME) or 1-888-935-5577 (Digicel). Need more info, visit www.myjpsco.com

• Social Media Guidelines for Fans/Followers of

your page should be in your About section.

Key Elements for a Successful Social

Customer Service Share Customer Advisories and Emergency Advisories as Wall Posts that we can pay to promote to a wider audience as needed. Incorporate messaging across website, mobile app as well as traditional media (radio or television). If the issue becomes a crisis, we change our cover photo as well until the matter is completely resolved.

Key Elements for a Successful Social

Customer Service

Simple but key… • High quality & Engaging

Original Content • Proper Grammar • Speed of First Response

to Queries • Quality of Customer

Service All channels are an extension of your brand, your company… what you do here is no less important.

Key Elements for a Successful Social

Customer Service The right social media management tools and a presence on major networks like Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn is a necessity. • Hootsuite – Most Popular • SproutSocial-

Recommended • TweetDeck- Excellent for

Twitter • SocialMention.com-

Great for Social Listening

Learning from Different Sectors That

Champion Social Media

Learning from Different Sectors That

Champion Social Media Restaurants & Social Media • The restaurant industry has always been in the mix of

social media from customers reviewing online listings to sharing their reviews.

• With social media, everyone now has to deal with continuously creating original and engaging content.

• While most restaurants would have maintained blogs, many have now expanded to social media with more “bite-size” bits of information.

• Importantly, social media is an extension of customer service. In this digital arena, where everyone has a voice. Positive or negative reviews have far-reaching impacts.

Learning from Different Sectors That

Champion Social Media Industry: Restaurant • Utilize visual hammers- high quality photographs

from your company as well as crowdsourced. • Take complaint management from public to private

conversations. • Multiple channel options-Facebook, Twitter,

Instagram, WhatsApp… But you cannot be everywhere- so go where your target audience is.

• Be consistent in your engagement. • Listening to what people are saying about your

brand and connecting with the people.

Learning from Different Sectors That

Champion Social Media Industry: Cosmetics • Incorporate social media with traditional and online

marketing. • Monitor and listen to what is customers perceive

your brand to be and provide customer support. Focus on engagement and building your online community.

• Publish content that positions your company as experts in your industry.

• Use social media for market research. • Reward your fans with great gifts/rewards/ online

exclusives.

Learning from Different Sectors That

Champion Social Media Industry: Retail • “Humanize” your brand with a balance of corporate

communications, marketing messages, customer service support in the right voice.

• Pay attention to your social media accounts and engage with your audience to build lasting relationships.

• If you are considering multiple Facebook and Twitter accounts for various suites of the business- ensure customers get a personal experience across the board.

Learning from Different Sectors That

Champion Social Media Industry: Retail • “Humanize” your brand with a balance of corporate

communications, marketing messages, customer service support in the right voice.

• Pay attention to your social media accounts and engage with your audience to build lasting relationships.

• If you are considering multiple Facebook and Twitter accounts for various suites of the business- ensure customers get a personal experience across the board.

Learning from Different Sectors That

Champion Social Media Industry: HealthCare • Curate and share stories that are relatable and authentic. • Move from just pushing content to building an

interactive customer experience. • Do not copy and past the same content across all your

channels. • Engage in conversation on topical issues affecting

customers/ industry. • Use big data to drive your strategy. Tap into the insights

provided by Facebook and your social media management platform (SproutSocial, HootSuite etc)

INTEGRATING SOCIAL MEDIA

WITH TRADITIONAL MEDIA FOR

BRAND UNITY.

JPS POWERSMART ENERGY CHALLENGE

www.jpspowersmart.com

Reality Show on National TV & Social Media for Customer Education on Conservation!

JPS POWERSMART ENERGY CHALLENGE

www.jpspowersmart.com

On March 10, 2015, we launched our JPS PowerSmart Energy Challenge (#PSEC) Competition. This reality show which airs on national television in Jamaica and will run over a 3 month period. We have also created an App that will track the families over the campaign and engage our online audiences with energy saving trivia questions and opportunities to support their favourite families.

JPS POWERSMART ENERGY CHALLENGE

www.jpspowersmart.com

The TV show will allow members of the public to watch our six (6) exciting PowerSmart families, compete to see who can decrease their energy consumption by the greatest percentage decrease. The winner will get the Grand Prize of J$1,000,000 in cash and prizes!! The families are very excited and the engagement is high, and it is expected that the show will capture the attention of the Jamaican public, giving them an opportunity to see real life examples of conservation at work. The public can get live updates during the shows’ airing on our Facebook & Twitter channels (@myjpsonline) as well as track the families’ progress on our App- www.jpspowersmart.com

JPS POWERSMART ENERGY CHALLENGE

www.jpspowersmart.com

Feedback on our Facebook & Twitter the show was overwhelmingly positive and engagement was high: • Sadeka Haylett Great show! This will help us as customers to conserve...I

enjoyed every moment of the show.. • Christopher Maxam Not bad at all i like this @JPS • SunshineDiva Simmonds Go JPS, I enjoyed the show not too long ago • Jacinth Taylor I have learnt a lot already • Licensed Electricians Connection I am watching • Marilyn Smith Don't want to miss it • Mark Johnson Good to go • Kimonie Bennett I like it, good conservation tips. • Sherika Walters Competitors you all stand the same chance of winning

this competition once you remain disciplined. It cant be won by you sticking to your old habits. Be smart and take steps to adopt and implement the conservation tips from your mentors

JPS POWERSMART ENERGY CHALLENGE APP

www.jpspowersmart.com

Over the life of this 3-month reality TV showcase, we have also created an App that will engage our online audience right throughout the campaign. The app is also accessible via our facebook page and is compatible with Android and iOS mobile devices. www.jpspowersmart.com

JPS POWERSMART ENERGY CHALLENGE APP

www.jpspowersmart.com

Even if you missed an episode of #PSEC on national TV, you have a 24/7 online portal where you can get to know the families and energy mentors, vote for the favourite conservation tip for each family and more. www.jpspowersmart.com

JPS POWERSMART ENERGY CHALLENGE APP

www.jpspowersmart.com

The Public will be able to log into the App using their Facebook accounts and answer trivia questions for a chance to win prizes from our energy management store- the JPS eStore www.jpspowersmart.com

I LOVE MY LIGHT HIGH SCHOOL DANCE COMPETITION

www.jpspowersmart.com

I LOVE MY LIGHT HIGH SCHOOL DANCE COMPETITION

www.jpspowersmart.com

• For any social media strategy, knowing your audience is key. Jamaicans love music, love to compete and love to dance!

• So to engage the youth of Jamaica in energy education, we invited fifteen high schools, which are a part of the JPS Foundation’s Energy Clubs programme, to compete in February 2015 for the chance to win up to $100,000 in cash and prizes, plus an appearance on a national TV show.

• JPS Foundation's Energy Clubs programme was launched last year, as part of its focus on energy education and innovation. The programme also aims to assist the participating schools to manage their energy consumption.

I LOVE MY LIGHT HIGH SCHOOL DANCE COMPETITION

www.jpspowersmart.com

• The “I Love My Light” song was available for download on JPS’ SoundCloud and is played on radio every hour on the major radio stations of our target audiences: https://soundcloud.com/myjpsonline/i-love-my-light-trever-off-key-mix2

• The exciting dance-off, supports JPS’ national energy conservation Campaign. The campaign included news articles & paid advertising in leading newspapers in Jamaica encouraging persons to visit the JPS Foundation Facebook page to view and vote for their favourite video.

• The campaign could be seen across all out touch points- digital screens in our customer service offices, website, online channels to ensure unity of our brand message.

I LOVE MY LIGHT HIGH SCHOOL DANCE COMPETITION

www.jpspowersmart.com

• To build engagement online, “voting” meant that #EveryLikeShareandCommentCounts

• Online Voting ( February 27- March 1) of the dance videos on the JPS Foundation Facebook page accounted for 50% of the overall score for the participants in the competition. Judging by a JPS panel will account for the other 50%.

• To watch the videos you can visit our JPS Foundation Page: https://www.facebook.com/JPSFoundationJa

I LOVE MY LIGHT HIGH SCHOOL DANCE COMPETITION

www.jpspowersmart.com

JPS Foundation Facebook Page Over 19,100 stories were created from our content and shared by 12,400 users, with an average reach of over 25,500 persons per post. Engagement reached a high of 134,844% or 72,870 Jamaicans engaged in our competition at any given time. ILML Dance Competition Online Voting · Network: Increased by +90% to current 5,202 fans · Total Reach: 369,127 persons (Up 60,512%) · Engagement: 72,870 persons engaged (Up 134,844.4%)- o 99.9% positive sentiments o Over 12,000 comments received. o 70% Female Audience o 62% of engaged persons were aged 13-24

COMING SOON… JPS TV ON SOCIAL MEDIA

www.jpspowersmart.com

The #InDiLoop Show

will be streamed on

Facebook and shared

on Twitter and Digital

Screens in JPS Offices

islandwide.

It will feature ‘light’

and fun segments with

the President & other

top executives and

customer education features.

Big Up from

#TeamJPS in

Jamaica!

For more info, you can reach me via:

Tricia Williamson Social Media & Online Communications, JPS

twilliamson@jpsco.com

tricia.williamson@gmail.com

876-878-3750

876-448-4565

LinkedIn: jm.linkedin.com/in/triciawilliamson/