This presentation was written by Brittany Thomas, Coordinator, External Affairs, Cabot Oil & Gas Corporation. Brittany was invited to present as a breakout speaker for the inaugural Energy Digital Summit in June 2014.

1. Tailoring
Your
Online
Image
Trimming
the
Excess
to
Get
a
Good
Social
Fit
Bri;any
Thomas
Coordinator,
External
Affairs
Cabot
Oil
&
Gas
CorporaDon
@Bri;_Thomas

2. About
Cabot
Oil
&
Gas
CorporaDon
• Cabot Oil & Gas Corporation is an
independent natural gas producer and a
leading developer of the natural gas supply
contained in the Marcellus Shale in
Pennsylvania.
• Cabot was founded over 125 years ago in
western Pennsylvania
• The company came back to Pennsylvania
– and specifically to Susquehanna County
in 2007

3. CommunicaDon
at
Cabot
• From 1888 to 2010, Cabot never had a person in a
position dedicated to handling community outreach,
crisis communications or to act as a designated
spokesperson
• Typical approach was to begin operations and let the
company’s good work speak for itself
• This mentality lends itself to a very reactive style of
communication, which until 2008 was handled by
whoever could at the time

4. Deciding
to
Buy
the
Suit
Or:
Determining
if
Your
Company
Should
Have
an
Online
Presence

5. • Why
do
you
want
to
have
a
social
media
presence?
• How
are
you
going
to
manage
your
presence?
• Do
you
already
have
content
you
can
share?
• What
results
ma;er
&
how
will
social
media
help?

6. • Why
do
you
want
to
have
a
social
media
presence?
• What
is
it
you
hope
to
accomplish?
• How
are
you
going
to
manage
your
presence?
• Do
you
already
have
content
you
can
share?
• What
results
ma;er
&
how
will
social
media
help?
• B2B marketing
• Connect with employees
• Connect with customers
• Use as another way to promote products
• Build grassroots engagement
• Provide an easy way to talk to the public

7. A:
• Why
do
you
want
to
have
a
social
media
presence?
• What
is
it
you
hope
to
accomplish?
• How
are
you
going
to
manage
your
presence?
• Do
you
already
have
content
you
can
share?
• What
results
ma;er
&
how
will
social
media
help?
• We want to tell Cabot’s story
• We want to be as transparent as possible
• We want controllable ways to interact with the public
and influencers
• We want to share our story so that our supporters can
share it with their circles

8. • Why
do
you
want
to
have
a
social
media
presence?
• How
are
you
going
to
manage
your
presence?
• How
are
you
going
to
manage
your
presence?
• Do
you
already
have
content
you
can
share?
• What
results
ma;er
&
how
will
social
media
help?
• Having an online presence isn’t just a “set it and forget
it” deal
• HootSuite, other scheduling options
• It’s called SOCIAL media for a reason
• Two way street of information, discussion and
dialogue
• Also take into account negative attention to your
accounts and how you will deal with it

9. • Why
do
you
want
to
have
a
social
media
presence?
A:
• How
are
you
going
to
manage
your
presence?
• How
are
you
going
to
manage
your
presence?
• Do
you
already
have
content
you
can
share?
• What
results
ma;er
&
how
will
social
media
help?
• Utilize HootSuite, Content Calendar of Post It Notes,
Internship program
• Formulate plan to respond in a timely manner
• Do not feed the trolls

10. • How
are
you
going
to
manage
your
presence?
• Do
you
already
have
content
you
can
share?
• Do
you
already
have
content
you
can
share?
• What
results
ma;er
&
how
will
social
media
help?
• CONTENT IS KING
• Repackage content in bite-sized chunks to send out
• Don’t overlook your website, often has tons of dense
information that is good material to focus on
• As you create new materials, be sure to think about
how to integrate it to your online presence

11. • How
are
you
going
to
manage
your
presence?
A
• Do
you
already
have
content
you
can
share?
• Do
you
already
have
content
you
can
share?
• What
results
ma;er
&
how
will
social
media
help?

12. • Do
you
already
have
content
you
can
share?
• What
results
ma;er
&
how
will
social
media
help?
• What
results
ma;er
&
how
will
social
media
help?
• How will this online presence assist with the
company’s goals?
• Which analytics will matter and who will be receiving
the reports?
• Social media may be (mostly) free, but your time isn’t
– make sure the end result is a good use of time from
your company’s perspective

13. • Do
you
already
have
content
you
can
share?
A
• What
results
ma;er
&
how
will
social
media
help?
• What
results
ma;er
&
how
will
social
media
help?
• Reputation management – addressing rumors,
celebrating milestones, getting our story out
• Cost-effective vs. placing advertisements for coverage
• Work-around difficult outlets

14. Tailoring
to
the
Perfect
Fit
Or:
Determining
Your
Audience
and
How
Best
to
Reach
Them

15. Who do I want to communicate with…
LANDOWNERS
EMPLOYEES
INVESTORS
REPORTERS
ENVIRONMENTALISTS
COMMUNITY
MEMBERS
STUDENTS
SHAREHOLDERS
ANGRY
PUBLIC
ELECTED
OFFICALS
INDUSTRY
MEMBERS
CONTRACTORS
…and what do they want to know?

16. Forget
the
one-­‐size
fits
all
approach
• Look at the demographics and analytics
• Pintrest
• Banner ads
• Email click through rate
• Time spent on Facebook
• Avoid a shotgun approach
• Again CONTENT IS KING so make sure you are
able to keep up with the platforms

17. Find
Your
Core
Supporters
• You have natural allies – find where they are and plan
how to engage them
• Let them become evangelists for your company
• 84% of customers (public) trust word of mouth
recommendations (discussions)
• Online communities are successful because of the
QUALITY of members, not QUANTITY

18. Haters
Gonna
Hate
• It doesn’t matter what your company
does, there will always be someone who
doesn’t like you
• Have a plan in place for how to deal with
online abuse (report it) and how to deal
with trolling
• Address actual concerns whenever
possible to avoid it from becoming a
larger issue

20. Planning
ahead
• Change is the only constant – especially in social
media
• Migration of younger users to Instagram from FB
• Even if you have no immediate plans to use it, squat
on an account name
• @CabotOG on Instagram
• Allows you the option to expand without having to
worry about the name being taken

21. Looking
Good,
Feeling
Good
Or:
SeWng
the
Stage
to
Let
Your
Content
Shine

22. The
table
is
set,
start
feeding
them
• Understand the normal frequency of posting for each
platform
• New web banners/content once a month?
• Two tweets per day?
• 17 Facebook posts per day
• Tailor your content for the platform, there are
recommended photo sizes for most. Utilize links to
stories or press releases
• Don’t spam anyone

23. Develop
a
unique
&
consistent
voice
• Not every account has the same tone
• Serious, playful, informative, find your company’s
voice
• Personal recommendation: Don’t sound like a
robot. No one likes robots.

24. Develop
a
unique
&
consistent
voice
• Not every account has the same tone
• Serious, playful, informative, find your company’s
voice
• Personal recommendation: Don’t sound like a
robot. No one likes robots.

25. Embrace
interacDons
• Always encourage discussion from the online
community
• Interaction between oil & gas companies online
• Utilize multiple allies discussing the same topic or
event for more impact – your reach together is greater
than your reach individually

26. Embrace
interacDons
• Always encourage discussion from the online
community
• Interaction between oil & gas companies online
• Utilize multiple allies discussing the same topic or
event for more impact – your reach together is greater
than your reach individually

27. Make
tweaks
as
you
go
• If it’s worth hitting once, it’s worth hitting twice
• Watch your competitors, other industries
• What do YOU want to read about or watch?
• What does your target audience want to read about or
watch?
• What is the big issue for my company/industry right
now?

28. The
Photos
are
Posted
and
Man
Do
I
Look…[Good/Bad]
Or:
EdiDng
Your
Social
Approach
to
Maximize
its
EffecDveness

29. AnalyDcs
for
life
• Are you accomplishing your goals?
• What are your audiences finding interesting? Boring?
Reacting to negatively?
• Numbers aren’t everything, but they are a good
platform to build from
• Also relatively important in the oil and gas world

30. Embrace
Change
• Company focus, product lines, management, areas of
operations and many other things will change over
time – so should your approach to social and digital
media
• Work smarter not harder
• Reach out to others in the space
• Keep an eye out for the next Instagram

31. Dry
Clean
and
Repeat
Or:
Wake
Up
and
Do
it
All
Over
Again

32. QuesDons?

33. Thank
you!
Bri;any
Thomas
Coordinator,
External
Affairs
Cabot
Oil
&
Gas
CorporaDon
@Bri;_Thomas
Bri;tany.Thomas@CabotOG.com