Community management with Oisin Teevan
Oisin Teevan manages the social and community team at Bulb. They specialise in maintaining all the social media channels, the community platform, and their presence on multiple consumer review sites.
Oisin Teevan
Having grown up managing blogs and sites, Oisin believes that 2020 has been a defining year for ‘cutting your teeth in social’ - not least because of the need to respond to so many rapid changes triggered by the global pandemic. I chatted to him to find out more…
Why and how did you move from an energy specialist role at Bulb to your current role in social?
“Well, I joined Bulb as an Energy Specialist for the same reason I went on to lead the social media team which is because I believe in the importance (and joy) of communication. As an Energy Specialist at Bulb you’re required to communicate complex issues to customers in a simple and straightforward way, which is always an interesting challenge given how technical and obscure the workings of the energy industry can be.
“With a background as an editor for small blogs and publishers I’d always enjoyed long-form publishing, but what’s so inviting about managing social communities is getting a message across with a few characters. In the social media team we need to communicate Bulb’s message publicly, and so getting the balance of being simple but not losing clarity is a game we play all the time. I think it’s easy when you start out in marketing to aspire to blogging and journalism, but a real learning has been the art of short-form copy and seeing how powerful the slightest change in grammar can be in deciding a message and the reaction it gets.
“In terms of actually moving from one role to the other, I think it was down to having ideas and being interested in an area from the beginning. I was continually pushing for changing processes with our community site and wanting to put forward ideas for content - and I did it more and more until, eventually, I was in the role I am today.”
What's it like managing the social for a ‘challenger’ energy company?
“I’m not sure what it’s like working for the incumbents, but being in such a fast-growing company that has so many new ideas about the industry is always exciting. Bulb was founded off the back of the gaps and inefficiencies Hayden and Amit saw in the industry. To be able to put forward ideas and see them come into fruition, and to have a company that actively works not to fall into archaic systems and processes (despite how big we’ve grown in recent years) gives a real sense that we’re helping redefine the energy industry.
“Because of this, and because we’re the biggest green energy company, our followers are often equally as keen on our products and story.
“One increasing trend we’ve noticed is the amount of posts we get tagged in about personal changes people can make in their lifestyles to help the environment. This leads to interesting conversations about wind generation vs nuclear, and the future of battery storage.
“To have good rapport with your online community you need to be knowledgeable about your own brand and industry and how it’s perceived by your following. We love how keen people are on our cause, and how much they keep us on our toes. I think as a company in your community your voice is as valid as everyone else’s, and I love learning from our members as much as helping shape the discussions.
How have you personally found your role since the pandemic struck earlier this year?
“I think one interesting find we had when looking back at our community forum this year was how our ‘most viewed’ posts were in relation to managing your energy during lockdown - along with members sharing their isolation activities. More than ever, online communities are important because they’re the only communities we can actually come together in right now, and we saw this over the course of spring with members looking to share experiences about the sudden changes to their lives.
“I think there will be a lot of great social and community managers born out of this period because while activity certainly increased and volume can be healthy, there were new pressures to deal with as people’s living situations changed.
“For example, people become more reliant on your services - energy in particular for us - but also on the service a community provides for building relationships and having new discussions away from the daily grind. For a community manager that means seeking out new content and continually guiding healthy discussion.
“On a personal level, it’s been deeply engrossing, and I think I’ve learned more than I would have in any ‘normal’ year.”
Where do you currently look for inspiration and industry updates?
“There are a lot of great blogs and marketing sites out there for industry updates (Digital Drum included), but for me, I think you need to be involved in communities themselves to get a sense of how they’re managed and what they do differently.
“I think Fitbit’s community is one of their biggest drivers for retention and growth. I’ve never seen an ad for Fitbit, but I had them recommended to me by a friend (the most powerful marketing tool out there) and I’m fully engaged in their community; earning badges, encouraging friends and joining groups around wider activities.
“Even one of the biggest online communities in the UK, the Fantasy Premier League, is leading the line in using different multimedia forms from videos to podcasts to keep enthusiasts engaged over the course of a 40-week season.
“We all consume information differently, so catering to the wide range in needs is essential. And in a more traditional sense, GiffGaff is one of the leaders for commercial forums (it’s become their main customer service channel and has probably helped ease pressure on their other channels as their customers can self-serve rather than call in). So you get a sense of the range of purposes a community can have, and the different management styles involved. It’s pretty time consuming, but if they’re good places to be then you won’t be fazed by spending hours at a time reading and chatting and absorbing.
“I would still advise keeping up with sites like Social Media Today and Mashable, I also have subscriptions to big sites like Forbes for wider business news. But even for this kind of specific marketing news there are communities like Journey Further where you can be kept up to date with ongoings in the industry by those involved first hand. To really get a sense of what does and doesn’t work, and what personality your community could have, you need to be involved in communities themselves.”
Lastly, what advice would you give someone looking to land their first role managing social media?
“Again, I’d say it’s about having ideas. A lot of people express an interest in social or ask for an opportunity to try their hand at it, but if you come to more senior people, or someone working on a project with ideas then they’ll give you the time because they see the benefit. Eventually, you could become a go-to for these ideas all the time.
“Even at job interview stage, if you have ideas about the company and what they’re doing, or notice gaps where they’re not doing something, then they’ll be interested in what you have to say (it’s also worth reading up on everything else they might ask of course!).”
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