Educating publics is essential to public relations. This is
especially essential to industries dealing with complex or even controversial issues.
Energy companies in particular should be educating publics
left and right. Energy, renewable or not, has been one of the main economic and
political issues of this past year.
Just like any other company or organization, the energy
industry needs to be proactive. Oil and gas companies cannot sit and wait for
the inevitable opposition to come, and then be blindsided. Renewable energy companies
cannot wait for attacks either.
This does not mean attack before you are attacked.
This simply means energy companies need to push information out to the public
beforehand. This turns energy companies into a proactive rather than reactive
mode. Informing publics gives companies the opportunity to set the record
straight.
The natural gas industry could have taken on this proactive
behavior years ago. Natural gas industries have been under heavy attack for
fracking. Fracking, or hydraulic fracturing, is the process of capturing
natural gas by injecting pressurized fluid deep into shale rock. The fluid
fractures this shale rock, making it easier to retrieve the natural gas.
Nonetheless, this has been a particularly controversial practice due to claims
of it harming the environment.
From a public relations standpoint, the arguments given by
natural gas companies aren’t strong enough.
According to one PR Daily article,
educating publics is most important. Cory Stewart, the author of the article,
said the industry’s argument for fracking helping the economy is becoming diluted.
“Talk is growing cheap about jobs and positive economic impacts,
and it is time for oil and gas companies to fight fire with fire. It is
difficult to maintain support for a project when citizens keep reading
misinformation that goes uncorrected from opponents that have a clear and
biased agenda,” said Stewart.
The oil and gas industry isn’t the only one needing to push
out correct information, however. The renewable, or green energy industry,
needs to be taking on the same strategy.
Along with energy, government spending has been another main
political issue. The recent Solyndra
controversy and government subsidized financing
for energy companies has created other needs for education and correct
information.
Whether the claims on both sides of the industries are true
is beside the point. The renewable industry and the oil and gas industry need
to push out their own information. Their publics should hear it from them. People
want answers. If energy companies do not inform and educate their own publics,
then someone else will, even if that information isn’t correct.
Stewart, Cory. "Energy
Companies Are Losing the PR War over Fracking." PR Daily
News: Public Relations News and Marketing in the Age of Social Media. N.p., 4 Sept. 12. Web. 06 Nov. 2012. http://www.prdaily.com/Main/Articles/Energy_companies_are_losing_the_PR_war_over_fracki_12556.aspx
Pictures
http://www.popsci.com/technology/article/2009-10/huge-texas-wind-turbines-will-be-made-china
No comments:
Post a Comment