Big Oil's use of social media

=BP= NB only notes!!

Social media site
BP Social media section - http://www.bp.com/sectiongenericarticle.do?categoryId=9040646&contentId=7073923

Twitter
Twitter account: @BP_America ,focusing on BP's clean up progress in the Gulf of Mexico, and overall status of American operations. Tweets rarely mention oil production in terms of barrels or financials, but focus on BP America's CSR projects; donating money to the Salvation Army, BP's role in the Olympics, and BP's "key" role in securing America's energy future, playing to those who worry about energy security, as well as wind energy.

The words "oil" and "gas" are tiny, "wind" is much bigger; trying to disassociate BP with only hydrocarbons but focus on renewables also. Bob Dudley, and "Thanks" also v big, here clear focus on the olympic games, "TeamUSA", "London", and using their Twitter feed also to repair reputation following Gulf spill- safety
 * Wordle*

General corporate account- uses the face of Mark Salt, @BP_Press under 500 followers. Lots of retweets from the BP_America account.

Parody account: @BPGlobalPR, BP Global Public Relations, "This page exists to get BP's message and mission statement out into the twitterverse!" Difference- uses BP logo but in grayscale, and its website is "http://www.streetgiant.bigcartel.com". No longer so active, only 4 tweets so far in 2012. Still has nearly 4 times the number of followers than the real BP_America account. Pioneering the hashtag #bpcares, highlights include "Please do NOT take or clean any oil you find on the beach. That is the property of British Petroleum and we WILL sue you." and "Thousands of people are attacked by sea creatures every year. We at BP are dedicated to bringing that number down. You're welcome!"

Facebook
http://www.facebook.com/bp - 853 likes. Photos from their CSR activities, recruitment posters, links to speeches by Bob Dudley and other BP executives.

http://www.facebook.com/BPAmerica - 305,000 likes. Same content as their Twitter feed, photos etc.

Youtube
http://www.youtube.com/bp -- most popular videos on progress in the Gulf; most popular video has 1 million views, and another 12 videos have over 100,000 views. A couple of series, "Voices of the Gulf" and "My Gulf" looking from the perspective of citizens living in the Gulf of Mexico.

Flickr
http://www.flickr.com/photos/bpamerica Includes infographics, pictures of their events, and executives at speaking engagements.

Case study - Gulf of Mexico spill
Crisis communication - BP did not allow any private help without going through the lengthy permission process; so local people with familiarity of the area who were equipped to help were not allowed to do so. Their frustration was expressed through media.. Didn't take lessons from Exxon Valdez's 1989 oil spill, "shifting blame from corporation, emphasizing science rather than people, and initially downplaying the potential impact of the disaster" (Chess, 2010) $50 million spent on defending BP's record to the public - many felt that should have been spent on spill clean up. Image restoration - generally two paths to take, the no response path and the corporate response strategy -- Bradford and Garret argue no response strategy leads to observers assuming guilt..

BP didn't take into account increasingly populist-approached social media -- this oil spill=first when social media was "big" - reporters could access public on social media for feedback and info. Also, tweets are archived through various sites ; become part of history (eg through Topsy)

One of BP's most tweeted about topics immediately after the spill was seafood safety- nothing on the well not yet being capped, or the oil spill itself.

Analysis of their response; should have adopted "strategies that indicate a greater acceptance of responsibility for the crisis and simultaneously demonstrate concern for the victims." Used social media as a reactive response rather than properly engaging with it and using it to connect with the public - often tweets of very technical nature, too technical for layman.. even tried to make a joke on getting back to the clean up as soon as they had found an XXL wetsuit for somone..

(from http://www.slb.com/~/media/Files/resources/oilfield_review/ors01/spr01/p66_83.ashx)

BP started knowledge management in the drilling organization in 1992 or 1993 with training and learning. The average driller must make quick decisions "on the go" and has considerably more personal accountability sooner than other disciplines. As a result, drillers seem more willing to ask for and accept help, and they are particularly receptive to new ideas... People couldn't perform well unless they could engage their peers and get help that previously arrived with authority from the corporate office. They had to share information

=Chevron=

Generally- Chevron has taken the unusual step of publicizing widely their social media strategy, through Slideshare allowing slideshows done by their Communications team to be downloaded and the video seen on Vimeo, as well as a report analysing their strategy by LinkedIn used as one of their stock case studies. see this 30 minute presentation http://vimeo.com/26448653 on vimeo, by their Content Strategist Jeordan Legon. as part of the BlogWell series from Socialmedia.org. Here, he outlines how Chevron has been using LinkedIn to target decision makers.

Also, Robert Raines, Chevron's Corporate Interactive Communications Manager, presented Chevron Pulse Report: The State of Online Conversation About Energy Issues, presented by Robert Raines by SocialMedia.org http://smartblogs.com/social-media/2010/10/29/andys-answers-how-chevron-is-using-social-media-monitoring-to-create-valuable-content/ on how they are using social media monitoring to build awareness of energy issues.

LinkedIn
Chevron was the first global energy company to focus on LinkedIn in their social media strategy. To begin with they had a fairly narrow focus; trying to reach high level energy leaders, opinion leaders and policy makers. Unlike many of the other LinkedIn Groups by the supermajors, it isn't exclusive to former employees though they do make up 53% of the 31,000 members.

They also used the information gathered from this to write 4 reports on "The state of the online energy conversation" back in 2010, and rather than keeping it as an internal document, they made it available for download from their site and on Scribd (17K downloads as of September 2012), effectively using it as a branding and positioning tool in itself.

Reusability of their project- 12 weeks of a social media consultancy has got them a LinkedIn group with over 30K members, the only industry produced analysis of energy conversations over social media, and ongoing branding/marketing tools through their Twitter account.

http://www.scribd.com/doc/50811746/Chevron-Pulse-Report-4Q-2010-Edition-The-State-of-the-Online-Energy-Conversation

Parodies
"We agree" environmental campaign hacked by The Yes Men, outlined here http://www.text100.com/hypertext/?mc_cid=f609ae5dd1#mctoc1

=ExxonMobil=

No link to any social media from their official site, and a blog ExxonMobil Perspectives (http://www.exxonmobilperspectives.com/)- with blogs from just one person.

http://pinterest.com/source/exxonmobilperspectives.com/ -- graphics from exxonmobil spread to Pinterest

Twitter account found from searching, @ExxonMobil, 25K followers - blurb includes "direct all enquiries to exxonmobil.com/contact us" - no Twitter icon on the site, clearly not wanting to engage with Twitter (what to gain??)

=Royal Dutch Shell=

-Greenpeace anti-shell campaign, “Arctic Ready” - coordinated digital campaign against Shell. Shell brand completely hacked, long term project, began with a “leaked” youtube video of a “Private Arctic Launch Party” - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NMUFci_V4mU&feature=youtu.be then site looking exactly like their corporate site, then Twitter lamenting poor taste of the site and angry at lack of response from Shell's social media team big success for them, no response from Shell More commentary http://www.commpro.biz/social-media-zone/social-media-tactics/shells-fake-social-media-fiasco-what-would-you-have-done/
 * 1) ShellFAIL

The group has developed "Angry Bergs," a kids' game in which players have to melt icebergs that "threaten our energy future" before they get too close to the oil rigs.

--“The advertising contest is not associated with Shell, and neither is the site it’s on. And Shell did not file legal action in this matter. Our focus is on safely executing our operations.”

taking the high road! from June 2012

--Slogal at Shell International E&P - "Knowing who is as good as knowing how" -- intranet, importance of peer recommendations, promoting people-

=Yes Lab=

Group of online activists who "brandjack" to bring attention to corporate activities they don't agree with. Examples- the announcement of Apple's latest CF phone, "Conflict Free" - which "Apple" promised its new phone would be. The new phone bested the old version by making sure its minerals weren't sourced from conflict-ridden regions like the Democratic Republic of Congo, where battles over mining rights have fueled countless atrocities and massacres.

Chevron - October 2010 hijacked the "We Agree" (official site- http://www.chevron.com/weagree/) campaign hours before the official one launched, with a spoof press release from a "Chevron" site, http://chevron-press.com/article/Radical-Chevron-Ad-Campaign-Highlights-Industry-Problems/ "By honestly featuring oil industry problems, Chevron "We Agree" campaign scores ad industry first" "http://www.chevron-weagree.com/" with hundreds of downloadable PDFs to be used as advertising -- then after the real Chevron issued a press release denouncing the Yes Lab actions and refusing to answer to questions asking if they actually agree that oil companies SHOULD clean up their mess - the Yes Lab issued a hoax press release “This hoax is part of an ongoing effort to blame Chevron for 18 billion gallons of toxic waste dumped in the Amazon during drilling operations,” said Rhonda Zygocki, Chevron vice president of Policy, Government and Public Affairs. “This blame game continues despite Chevron's long-standing agreement with the Ecuadorian government which very obviously puts the issue behind us.”

, resulting in multiple news outlets using a mix between the two in stories. Summary - http://www.good.is/post/chevron-gets-the-yes-men-treatment/ and http://www.yeslab.org/project/chevron

Other campaigns against Chevron's actions in Ecuador - http://ran.org/we-can-change-chevron where they also "name and shame" the people defending Chevron's actions, http://ran.org/chevrons-human-rights-hitmen (surely making it difficult for these people to do anything but continue working for Chevron? a Google search of their names comes up with the Rainforest Action Network's profile as the 5th hit, under "Chevron's Human Rights Hitmen"

Examples of how reactions against the Yes Lab have backfired- French government said they were considering legal action against them after a hoax email from the "Foreign Ministry" saying they were going to pay Haiti 90 million gold francs that they claim were extorted from Haiti in the 19th century - they used the publicity gained from this to launch a petition to sue the french gvt. summary http://thelede.blogs.nytimes.com/tag/c-r-i-m-e/

all publicity is good publicity! how to react to brandjacking??

=Total S.A=

=Collaboration with...=

Microsoft
At Microsoft, we’re working to create technologies that help oil and gas employees work more productively and make the connections they need. One great example can be found at Chesapeake Energy. They use an application built on Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007 that knits together the company’s intranet, extranet and Internet sites. That has streamlined collaboration so that employees can work together more easily. And they also benefit from simpler data analysis and more consistent communications.

Shell and Conoco Phillips are two other companies that see a need for more collaboration and knowledge sharing, and are deploying social media tools such as intranet-based discussion forums and alternative messaging (IM, for instance), to be more agile and responsive. (You can read more here). In the years to come, we think our approach to “many screens and the cloud” will pay big dividends for the energy industry. Offering enterprises the ability to quickly and easily scale their computing needs – and make the power available to workers around the globe – will help companies speed oilfield deployment, reduce costs and operating expenses, and help business move as fast as the market.

In other areas, mobile applications, new graphics tools that help energy employees visualize geophysical processes, and better access to information all will help the energy industry meet society’s needs. IT innovations such as high performance computing remove barriers and enable oil and gas companies to overcome hurdles to finding and producing new reserves. Plus, Microsoft’s partner ecosystem with expertise in oil and gas means that energy companies can benefit from tools tailored to fit their exact needs.

“Eighty percent of our teams are global teams, with members in multiple locations around the world,” says Johan Krebbers, Shell’s group IT architect. “We must offer world-class collaboration capabilities so that our people can work at a global level.”

That’s why Shell, along with other savvy oil and gas firms, looked beyond the traditional mix of communications systems and user interfaces in pursuit of a more unified approach to business collaboration. Shell adopted a single, transparent communications environment where an employee in Nigeria, for example, can know instantly if a co-worker in Siberia or the Netherlands is available and the best way to contact that person.

“The survey findings were an eye-opener,” said Craig Hodges, Microsoft general manager, Manufacturing & Resources Sector. “More than three-quarters of the respondents said they spend up to four hours a day collaborating with co-workers.

From http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/news/press/2011/jan11/01-18MSGEF2011PR.aspx Oil and gas professionals are collaborating more than they did one year ago and are adopting the use of social media tools into their daily work, according to a Microsoft Corp. (Nasdaq “MSFT”) and Accenture (NYSE: ACN) survey released today at the Microsoft Global Energy Forum 2011 in Houston.

The survey of 205 professionals within international, national and independent oil- and gas-related companies found that nearly three-fourths (74 percent) are using social media for business collaboration — a significant increase over last year’s survey responses (62 percent). Public instant-messaging tools are used the most for business collaboration (38 percent, an 11 percent increase over last year), followed by internal company social networks (33 percent, a 17 percent increase over last year).

Overall, professionals are working together more than ever, with 34 percent reporting that they are collaborating more this year than in the previous year. This trend is anticipated to grow in coming years, primarily because of the aging oil and gas industry work force that must prepare its younger generation to take on leadership roles. Almost a third of respondents (31 percent) said that improved technology-driven access to information could lessen the business impact resulting from the scarcity of skills and talent stemming from the aging work force.

In addition, the global nature of the oil and gas industry is driving the demand for the ability to collaborate from anywhere, at any time, using any device for real-time information and knowledge sharing. However, this ability is often hindered by what survey respondents identified as the biggest barriers for collaboration: broken workflows that prevent information flow (47 percent) and no unified solution for knowledge sharing (45 percent).

To address these collaboration barriers, respondents identified that the following technology enhancements are needed to further a company’s success: improved timing to streamline decision-making (52 percent), improved interaction capability through any device (42 percent), and improved computing power for data analysis and computer simulation (35 percent).

“As the industry continues to expand globally with workers dispersed across multiple regions, oil and gas companies are challenged to find new, innovative ways to help employees collaborate and share information remotely, in a security-enhanced manner,” said Craig Hodges, general manager of U.S. Manufacturing and Resources at Microsoft. “The cloud is driving this business transformation, providing flexibility, agility and cost reductions to the enterprise and providing information workers with anytime, anyplace access to information, across a wide variety of connected smart devices, powered by Windows.”

“Diversification, developments in oil and gas technology, talent, and regulatory policies are just a few factors demanding oil and gas companies to make information available to their work forces and partners in a timely and efficient manner,” said Brian Miller, senior executive in the energy industry group at Accenture. “The survey results show the industry’s recognition of the strategic benefits in utilizing IT solutions such as cloud computing, enabling easier accessibility to data and knowledge sharing within a security-enhanced environment. Companies need to accelerate the implementation of these solutions to help them innovate, operate more successfully in dynamic environments, and increase their productivity and business performance.”

--community ownership

PDVSA
We developed an internal system called Project-Net, so that everyone can share best practices through our intranet.