Tweet nothings

Exclusive research for Utility Week reveals that Ecotricity and British Gas are the best-performing utilities in the social media space. But Derek Eccleston says the sector as a whole needs to spread its wings

More and more consumers are taking to their Facebook or Twitter accounts to not only interact with their friends and those who share their work interests, but also to engage with brands and contact companies. Some FMCG (fast moving consumer goods) brands and retailers are on top of this. Topshop, for example, is close to breaking the three million “likes” barrier, while KitKat had one of the most successfully integrated social media campaigns to date with its KitKat champion competition earlier this year.

So how are utility suppliers doing? eDigitalResearch has been benchmarking retailers in the social media sphere for more than two years. In that time, we have seen a number of trends come and go as brands attempt to attract social followers to their offering and engage with them, hoping to turn mere users into brand advocates. On behalf of Utility Week, we’ve now turned our attention to the utility market, benchmarking firms’ social media performances with a view to helping them to understand better the social media environment and how to make more of an impact on followers.

The Utility Social Media Benchmark measures the number of followers a provider or supplier has on Facebook, Twitter and Google+, benchmarking their performance against one another (the numbers are as of October 2012). It also measures growth figures (new followers attracted July-October 2012) as well as activity and engagement levels.

The very first Utility Social Media benchmark results show that, on average, energy providers are performing better across all three social media platforms and engaging with a higher number of users than water suppliers. Green energy provider Ecotricity performed particularly well, with a bigger social media fan base than anyone else, claiming the top spot on both the Facebook (17,834 followers) and ­Google+ (276 followers) league tables and beating its big six rivals. British Gas came top in the Twitter league (12,714 followers).

Ecotricity has deployed a variety of features on its Facebook page to keep users interested and engaged, helping to push it to the number one spot. It encourages users to get involved through a number of different page apps, as well as pushing the brand’s overall messaging by re-posting external content, such as relevant news stories on climate change and green energy initiatives. Perhaps more impressive is the sense of community Ecotricity has managed to create by sharing company news and its history, as well as developing fun page apps, such as Dump the Big Six.

British Gas takes the number two slot for follower numbers on Facebook, followed by EDF Energy. Scottish Power has the fewest followers of the big six, just 637. Scottish Water does well as the only water firm to make it into the top ten for Facebook followers (at number eight). It also has the most impressive follower growth (measured July-Oct 2012), up 242 per cent. There was also good growth at Eon (up 132 per cent) and EDF Energy (up 120 per cent).

Meanwhile, Ecotricity is the only active utility on Google+, providing industry best practice by just using it. All other energy providers and water companies are simply “holding” the social space, acquiring followers through their brand name alone. However, doing this opens up a whole wave of potential backlash, especially from users who prefer Google+ to other social platforms such as Facebook and Twitter. It is likely the industry’s poor performance on Google+ is replicated on other new and emerging social media sites.

British Gas claims the top spot in the Twitter league table. It encourages two-way communication between the user and the brand. It has a dedicated customer service channel to ensure marketing messages don’t get lost, and to deal with queries and questions from customers. It also uses a variety of multimedia in posts to entice followers and keep them interested in the company’s overall message.

Ecotricity and Good Energy take the second and third place slots on Twitter, with just over 9,000 followers each. Two water companies – Thames (7036) and Yorkshire (5702) – do well to get into the top five Twitter ranking, beating the remaining five of the big six energy suppliers.

In terms of new Twitter followers, EDF Energy performs best, with follower numbers up 261 per cent – possibly a result of its involvement with the Olympics. Of the water companies, Anglian attracts the most new interest, up 38 per cent.

However, it is worth noting that while these utilities are demonstrating best practice within their field, they are still a long way off reaching anywhere near the sort of follower numbers and engagement levels that retailers outside the sector are achieving.

The benchmark also looks at a company’s “talking about” number, which measures the amount of people on Facebook talking about certain brands, taking into account wall posts, comments and page shares. Again, Ecotricity is the most talked about utility, followed by British Gas and then Eon. Worryingly, talking about numbers for utilities are much lower than their follower levels, demonstrating suppliers aren’t doing enough to engage users.

On the whole, utilities are far more active on ­Twitter than on Facebook (there is very little activity at all on Google+), but many are failing at the most basic level to update their accounts on a regular basis. In particular, posts over weekends are few and far between. Eon and Scottish Water are the most regular Facebook updaters. Npower and Thames Water update Twitter the most.

There is a substantial difference between numbers at the top and bottom of the Utility Social Media Benchmark leader boards, suggesting that a lot of utilities could do better in their market. Although it is not comparing like for like, lessons from higher performing sectors are instructive. Consider Topshop had 2,856,139 Facebook followers and 430,998 Twitter followers last month.

The eDigitalResearch Retail Social Media Benchmark shows it is essential that brands remain active on social media sites. Content should be updated on a regular basis and in line with the rest of the company’s marketing channels. This will encourage followers to get involved and help to create a sense of community around the brand. There’s not much point having a Facebook company page or verified Twitter account for the sake of it – you need to actively use it to get any real value, and that includes posting material on an almost daily basis.

Once you become more active on social media sites, it’s important to take a look at the sort of things you’re posting. Most companies that are successful use a relaxed and informal tone, helping to give their brand a persona and encourage two-way communication. Similarly, by asking your followers to get involved through games, forums, polls or competitions, you can actively gather information from them and use the data gleaned to improve social media strategies, as well as develop your business.

It’s also important to encourage engagement with a variety of page features. The more there is to do, the more likely a user is to spend time on your page, interacting with the brand and hopefully eventually turning into a brand advocate. It also increases the chances of a follower sharing your content with their friends, helping to boost engagement levels, “talking about” numbers and attracting new followers.

Perhaps most importantly, it is essential that brands make their social media experience worthwhile. The modern day consumer is demanding, so it’s important that utilities give them what they want and a little bit extra. With that in mind, it’s often a good idea to survey your followers and find out exactly what it is they want. Social media users often differ according to channel and it’s important to bear that in mind. For example, users might be more engaged on Google+, while your Twitter account might be attracting a younger demographic. By deploying a survey on your account, alongside clear contact links, you’re also helping to counter any public negative comments surrounding your brand.

Derek Eccleston is head of research at eDigitalResearch.

This article first appeared in Utility Week’s print edition of 30th November 2012.

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