Nothing increases a utility's social media presence like a highly anticipated storm.
During Superstorm Sandy, PPL Electric Utilities more than doubled its Twitter followers and increased its "likes" on Facebook by a factor of 45, from just 310 on Oct. 28, before the storm to 13,445 by the time Sandy blew over on Nov. 8.
That data was released recently in a state Public Utility Commission report analyzing utilities' response to Superstorm Sandy, which battered eastern and central Pennsylvania, leaving 1.8 million people without power for a time.
The study underscored the importance regulators place on social media platforms. While Twitter and Facebook are more typically used to tout the accomplishments of pets or gripe about mediocre meals, they are being used to convey critical information on a range of subjects, including storm damage and restoration. The interactions are two-way. Customers report outages back to the utility through Facebook and Twitter, information that can help diagnose an outage.
"When there is a storm, we are in the front of people's minds," said Michael Wood, PPL Electric Utilities spokesman.
The storm hit after PPL made its website mobile-friendly for easier navigation on tablets and cell phones. Its social networking presence was in its infancy.
PPL doesn't have a mobile application, or app, just yet. The company is gauging the success of a mobile app launched by its sister utility in Kentucky. PPL also has a presence on Flickr and Google Plus.
People should have a battery-powered radio or even a generator in the case of a power failure. But many do not. A charged mobile device connects powerless residents with the outside world.
For people with prolonged outages staying in a community shelter, getting a phone charged ranks in importance near going to the bathroom, getting a meal or a taking a shower.
"People in a hotel or at work made sure their cell phone was charged," Mr. Wood said. "You may go home and not have television or radio, but you can get information from your device."
Access to information via email alerts and the website helped reduce the number of a calls affected people made to PPL's call center, which was overburdened during the last major event, Hurricane Irene in 2011.
The PUC report noted that as utilities made more effective use of social media and increased the efficiency of call centers, they experienced fewer peak call volume backups during Sandy.
Anti-social network
The act of following someone or some entity on Facebook may be called a "like," but not all the posts suggest that followers like whom they follow. Often, PPL's page features followers' vents, gripes and complaints about slow power restoration, collection attempts, tree trimming or the compensation package for PPL executives. Given followers' obscenities and accusations, PPL's page administrator doesn't appear to censor or delete many messages.
The negative comments, justified or not, have value.
A review of the PPL's social media interactions during the storm showed that positive interactions outnumbered negative by 3-to-1, Mr. Wood said. "When taken in total, all interactions give you the day-to-day feeling of the community," he said.
Deleting negative comments, even unfounded or just plain mean ones, is a no-no for business or governmental entities trying to keep in touch with customers or citizens. Often, zealously curating one's Facebook page leads to a backlash of "unfollows" and complaints about censorship on what is perceived as a public commons.
Andrew Torba, founder of Kuhcoon LLC, a Scranton-based social media consultancy, said government and utilities have to maintain transparency. Deleting negative comments can send the wrong message.
"You try to address negative comments as you would through any customer service channel," he said. But he draws the line at posts that are blatantly slanderous, racist, obscene or spam.
During Sandy, PPL had an estimated 531,095 impressions on its Twitter account and 883,141 on Facebook.
When there is not a storm or far-reaching outages, PPL Facebook presence reverts to that of other users of the site - wishing moms a happy Mother's Day, extending sympathies following the Boston bombing or welcoming the arrival of Friday. More to its mission, PPL will often promote electrical safety or conservation and tout its environmental efforts or community work.
In one Twitter interaction with @PPLElectric, a York County resident tweeted he "had work" for PPL. PPL tweeted back, encouraging him to report the problem to the utility via phone. The resident tweeted back that a truck had shown up and thanked PPL. In another Twitter exchange, @PPLElectric cleared up a billing misunderstanding.
"Social media played an important role in keeping people informed through Sandy and it will continue to play that role," said PUC spokesperson Jennifer Kocher. "Most importantly, we see people being educated through social media."
Contact the writer: dfalchek@timesshamrock.com