American Oil and Gas Reporter - December 2015 - 100

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ConventionCoverage: Oklahoma Independent Petroleum Association

Social Media Are Avenue
For Communication
By Bill Campbell

RIDGEDALE, MO.-Modern communications are digital and the world is
online. "It is very important for leaders
within the energy industry to understand
the immense power of these new ways
of communication," E. Blake Jackson,
director of digital channels for Walmart,
exhorted those attending the Oklahoma
Independent Petroleum Association's fall
conference.
In one other communications-oriented
presentation at the meeting held Oct. 1820 at the Big Cedar Lodge on Table
Rock Lake south of Branson, Mo., Todd
Pauley, senior adviser to U.S. Senator
James Lankford, R-Ok., offered strategies
for developing a successful political campaign.
The early debates among U.S. presidential candidates offer proof that social
media are driving public opinion today,
Jackson suggested. "The debate moderators are asking questions that constituents
are asking through social media," he
pointed out. "The candidates' responses
are being shared online, and the next
day's news cycle is equally about what
actually was said onstage and what is
being said about what happened on the
stage."
Jackson argued that the views of political analysts carried less weight, on
balance, than the prevailing thoughts
shared online by people in their communities, saying, "That is the world we live
in, and it is essential for energy companies
to understand this dynamic, accept it,
and get to work."
Communicating through social media
is all about emotional connections, Jackson
described. And one especially difficult
truism for the oil and gas industry, he
posed, is that "facts don't win online."
"The facts may show that injection
wells aren't necessarily related to large
tremors," he illustrated. "But no amount
of saying that is going to change the
mind of someone who believes otherwise."
The Internet, Jackson said, creates opportunities for personal engagement where

anyone-and everyone-can influence others. It also is pervasive. "More than seven
in 10 Americans are on Facebook," he
pointed out. "Facebook, in particular,
provides an amazing channel for building
relationships. We must understand this
reality and make sure we have armed
our colleagues with the information and
support they need to have relational conversations about what they-and we-are
doing."
He said Walmart encouraged its associates to talk with their friends about
what it was like to work at Walmart-not
recite facts about Walmart to win political
arguments about the brand. "They can't
do that authentically," Jackson reasoned.
"What they can do is say, 'I got a job at
Walmart as a floor associate, and last
year I got promoted and now I am a shift
supervisor.'
"That is a powerful story of opportunity," he insisted. "That is the type of

100 THE AMERICAN OIL & GAS REPORTER

Social media are integral to modern
communications and drive much public
opinion, suggests E. Blake Jackson, director of digital channels for Walmart,
during the Oklahoma Independent Petroleum Association's fall conference,
Oct. 18-20 at Big Cedar Lodge south of
Branson, Mo. Jackson encourage oilmen
to empower their employees to tell
online "stories of opportunity" afforded
them by the industry.

thing we need to empower our associates
to be comfortable doing on social media:
telling their stories of opportunity."
Prior to going to work at Walmart,
Jackson spent three years heading Chesapeake Energy Corp.'s social and digital
communications, and he told OIPA, "The
greatest advocate in the history of Chesapeake communications . . . is the wife or
mom of a roughneck. Those ladies did
more to help secure Chesapeake's social
license to operate than any town hall
meeting with a technical expert because
they are real people with a real story."
But facilitating that type of personal,
online engagement requires granting people the freedom to say what they will,
Jackson advised. Observing that, "In the
energy industry, we want to be in control.
Our regulatory compliance, legal and
public relations teams want to be in control," Jackson countered, "But, we have
to understand that allowing employees
to participate in authentic, relational interactions means relinquishing control of
the message a little. I think there is a real
conversation that needs to be had about
relinquishing control."
Campaigns And People
Whether trying to influence the public's
perception of an industry or secure votes
for a candidate, campaigning is a people
business, Pauley told OIPA. "At the end
of the day, it is about advocating for
people and finding solutions for people,"
he averred.
The two key components of political
campaigns, he said, are message and
money. "I will go so far as to say you
will fail if you don't have both," Pauley
stated.
He recommended a "multichannel,
multifaceted approach" to campaigning
and political organizations. "You need
to have all the technology available," he
agreed. "But you also need to go door
knocking. Get on the doorsteps and talk
to people."
Pauley counseled campaigners to spot
obstacles and opportunities early, rather
than merely react. "You don't want to be
led; you want to lead," he declared. "You
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