Top 3 trends in energy PR

Energy PR trend 1:

Integration of conference, social media, and traditional media. To illustrate this trend, let me tell a story around one of our clients–Mycelx, a company that removes oil from water streams to 99.9% purity, and works globally. This year for Offshore Technology Conference, we submitted an application for their consideration as New Technology Spotlight. As a first time OTC attendee, the company was thrilled to be selected by the Society of Petroleum Engineers for this honor–which given the competition level, USED to be enough to drive booth traffic and create a terrific event. But in today’s more integrated age, close coordination with the on-site newspaper, with the pre-show weekly enewsletter, and Twitter outreach on site is what created an outstanding presence. No one thing can be identified as a “game changer” in today’s energy public relations successes–given a great product or service offering, the game-changer tends to be “integration.”

Energy PR trend 2:

Social Isn’t Stupid. To put it bluntly, while you can hear that the decision makers in energy aren’t on social “yet” and so it’s a waste of effort, two key groups ARE on social media–major business and trade journalists, and energy consumers. Enough said. Not all publicity is designed to reach only a c-level executive at a multi-billion dollar company. One of Write2Market’s energy PR clients was recently interviewed for an hour during Energy Week on MSNBC–terrific placement for investors and building the firm’s value. One of the anchor’s last questions was, what’s your Twitter handle. He created one right after the segment.

Energy PR trend 3:

Weave Awards. Often overlooked, as different media properties such as Forbes, Inc Magazine, Crain’s, and Platt’s are pressured to distinguish themselves and develop deeper reader followings, one of the  avenues is by creating a signature award. Winning these awards takes a terrific application, but our energy public relations clients like Mansfield Oil have found awards to be a key component of building better relationships across the industry. For example, by winning both the top energy award from Information Week 500 and one of the top 10 CIO awards, the downstream distribution giant has hard evidence to help convince the Fortune 250 that their IT infrastructure is second to none in the sector. Not only that, but they get “in the room” with other CIOs and industry leaders with whom relationships can be forged.

What’s your favorite energy PR trend? We’d love to find out! Connect with us on Facebook, Twitter, or email.