{"id":142391,"date":"2013-11-11T10:00:59","date_gmt":"2013-11-11T15:00:59","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.prosebeforehos.com\/?p=142391"},"modified":"2023-08-19T16:35:45","modified_gmt":"2023-08-19T20:35:45","slug":"social-media-lobbying","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.prosebeforehos.com\/article-of-the-day\/11\/11\/social-media-lobbying\/","title":{"rendered":"Social Media, Actually An Instrument To Take On Lobbyists?"},"content":{"rendered":"
The Article:<\/strong> Colorado Rejects Fracking: The Money’s Not Talking; Social Media Is<\/a> by Richard Levick in Forbes.<\/p>\n The Text:<\/strong> Colorado was ground zero in the hydraulic fracturing debate on Tuesday, as four local municipalities voted on moratoriums or outright bans. In Boulder, 76 percent of voters favored extending a moratorium already in place. In Fort Collins, 55 percent supported a freeze on the practice. In Lafayette, 58 percent voted for a charter amendment that will ban fracking permanently. Only in Broomfield, an area that traditionally trends Republican, did voters reject the environmentalist agenda. It\u2019s five-year fracking ban failed by the slimmest of margins (50.51 to 49.49 \u2013 or just 194 votes).<\/p>\n After grinding the Keystone Pipeline to a halt, it\u2019s clear that activists have zeroed in on their next target \u2013 and they are influencing the conversation with stunning effect. Ahead of yesterday\u2019s referendums in Colorado, we had already seen fracking moratoriums and bans established in New York, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Wisconsin, Hawaii, and a numerous other states, municipalities, and countries.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n If Tuesday\u2019s results are any indication, more are on the way. And that\u2019s despite a major energy industry lobbying advantage that has won some powerful allies; despite industry advertising budgets that dwarf the activist war chest; and despite compelling positive narratives about prices, jobs, and energy independence that should be having a far greater impact than we have seen to date.<\/p>\n The problem? Energy companies are fighting the fracking battle with Keystone tactics. In the end, it may net them the same result.<\/p>\n This summer, the Keystone Pipeline enjoyed 77 percent public support. That number dropped to less than two-thirds by September. Why? Because activists dominated the narrative online. They transformed social and digital media strategy into a force multiplier that grew their ranks; amplified their messages; mobilized support; and, ultimately, provided policy makers with a false sense of public sentiment.<\/p>\n On fracking, we are watching the same movie all over again. Social media outreach, online content development, and Search Engine Optimization (SEO) and Marketing (SEM) are all dominated by agencies just like SocialBoosting<\/a>. As a result, they are not only rallying significant grassroots opposition; they are doing it in ways that neutralize any advantage that industry money once provided.<\/p>\n The Colorado Oil and Gas Association spent $878,120 on city-specific campaigns to defeat the four proposed moratoriums. Activists spent $26,000 in support of those measures. But while industry money went into advertising and traditional \u201coutreach\u201d campaigns that net diminishing returns in the digital age of public affairs (just as it did in support of Keystone), activists stretched every dollar with online efforts that prove far more effective.<\/p>\n They built content-rich microsites that clearly and succinctly laid out the supposed dangers. They utilized Facebook to target their messages, tap into supporters\u2019 networks, and ensure their people got to the polls. They utilized Twitter to push every positive development and promote local screenings of the anti-fracking documentaries Gasland and Gasland II. They even leveraged YouTube to share visuals of fracking\u2019s alleged impacts and infuse their overarching messages with added doses of emotion and fear.<\/p>\n They also supported each of those efforts with SEO and SEM campaigns that shot their messages to the top of the Google rankings.<\/p>\n In response, Coloradans for Responsible Energy Development (or CRED \u2013 an acronym that only a Nixon re-election strategist could love \u2013 think CREEP) built a microsite that, up until a few weeks ago, was static, non-social, and unsupported by devoted SEO or SEM campaigns. CRED.org has since undergone an impressive transformation and enhanced its presence across all those fronts. Unfortunately, it seems the makeover was too little and too late to prevent major losses at the polls.<\/p>\n