Social media effectively pulls back the curtain of traditional sustainability communications to reveal not only what has been or is being accomplished, but who is involved in the process, how programs are implemented and ultimately why sustainability decisions are made in the first place.

Social media communications value chain

The powerful effects of social media stem from a few defining characteristics:

• Credibility—Social media communities are built on a common understanding that contributions are authentic, personal perspectives without veiled motivation.
• Relevance—Tools to search, sort, rank, and feed enable users and marketers to access content and follow people that are of personal interest and relevance.
• Engagement—Information is often casual in tone and manner, incorporates audio and video, and is delivered in small bits which are easy to process and share.
• Interactivity—Individuals are no longer simply message receivers.  They can add personal opinions, observations, and information to the discussion, thereby increasing their sense of ownership and value within the community.

By keeping these characteristics in mind and understanding the core tenets of social media engagement, companies can greatly increase the ROI on their sustainability strategy setting and communications efforts.

With winners selected by online voters and a panel of judges, the contest awarded five $20,000 grants to consumers with innovative ideas for how to green their communities.

Following the ceremony I spoke with Gannon Jones, Vice President of Marketing at Frito Lay, about Green Effect and the natural synergies between social media and sustainability.  

Gannon emphasized the importance of consumer engagement for driving change in and outside of the organization and reiterated the inspiration behind the contest. “When the SunChips brand first started its sustainability journey, we discovered that there are so many innovative ideas out there which can have a positive impact on the planet. While we’re very proud of the steps we’ve taken, we believe that mobilizing people to take their own steps can create big change.”

He went on to describe that when companies enter into the sustainability conversation online they are engaging with a very passionate audience. So, while it’s possible for the SunChips team to go in and talk about its energy efficient factories, Gannon recognizes that that’s not immediately relevant for many consumers.  Instead, the strategy is to provide consumers with the occasion and resources to express and activate their own passions and to let them discover the Frito Lay sustainability story in the process.  “It’s all very connected,” Gannon concludes, “and consumers are quick to come to our site and check out what we’re doing.”

But the brand value doesn’t stop with simply drawing entrants and online voters to the Frito Lay story.  Each of the five winning groups, in activating their ideas locally, creates a multiplier effect and continues to share this message with their networks.  One of the winners, Carbon Free DC, which started as a meetup group, used a range of social media tools (including their own blog, blogger outreach, Facebook and Twitter) in successfully engaging green minded and socially concerned residents and businesses in their Green Effect project.  At nearly every touchpoint National Geographic and Frito Lay were mentioned as sponsors.  In this way CarbonFreeDC and its 832 members become active messengers for the brand.

Another interesting component of Frito Lay’s strategy for Green Effect was that Gannon was not the main face of the company during the online contest or the awards event.  Instead, the Frito Lay story was told by operations and productivity leader, Dave Haft.  This approach effectively grounded the lighter, consumer outreach campaign with technical facts about manufacturing processes, resource use and packaging.

While the Frito Lay, Green Effect contest offers much insight, there will undoubtedly be more innovation to come. We look forward to hearing from you about your own social media successes!