Social media has become increasingly important to conducting business. It also has become a great tool to promoting causes and spreading messages. This is why I think social media is so important for the solar industry, as I’ve mentioned in my previous blog The Importance Of Social Solar. Platforms like Twitter can help the solar industry by correcting false information about renewable energy and sharing positive experiences with solar, just as people share their experiences with restaurants or movies. Such platforms also serve as a great meeting place for solar professionals and those interested in learning more about renewable energy to connect, even have live conversations such as with the bimonthly #SolarChat organized by Raina Brett Russo (@EcoOutfitters) and her team at (if you haven’t attended one already, you absolutely should).
In my opinion, if you’re in the solar industry and you’re not using social media, you’re missing out.
But I’m glad to see that plenty of solar companies are on social media. In honor of their efforts, and as an example to others, I wanted to highlight some of the top Twitter solar companies I’ve come across. Personally, I think the most effective Twitter accounts are those with many followers as well as frequent tweets. It’s not effective to have lots of followers and nothing to say (hear that @kanyewest ?!).
This list is by no means all-encompassing. I’ve used 1,000 followers as a cutoff. There’s also other aspects to take into consideration, such as one’s Klout score, which I didn’t include. So if I’ve left your company out and you feel it deserves recognition for its social media efforts please don’t hesitate to let me know (@SolarKathieZ or @SolarPowerWorld).
There are plenty of other companies that deserve recognition, but do not have Twitter handles dedicated specifically to their solar segments (and so I did not wait to give them an unfair advantage). Some of these include ABB Global (@ABBGroupnews) Swinerton Inc. (@swinerton), Cooper Industries (@CooperInd), Parker Hannifin (@ParkerHannifin), WAGO Corporation (@WAGOCorporation), Dunkermotor (@Dunkermotor), Schott (@SchottPR), DuPont Sustainability (@DuPont_ability) and DNV Kema (@DNVKEMA).
Well done everyone! And that goes for all solar companies with Twitter accounts. There are plenty more, which I’m sure will only continue to grow. So great start and keep up the good work!
*Blog on solar organizations/people most likely to follow.
@Tipenergy
We are small potatoes compared to most of these but are starting to put a lot more emphasis on content as we prepare to launch our series of solar development and finance course. We’d love to have any and all as followers
Just for the record, @solarfred has 6773 followers and over 22,000 tweets. 🙂
Couldn’t agree with you more Kathy. Social media and Twitter in particular are critical means for bringing the solar conversation to mainstream’s from lawn and those tweeting are doing an amazing job. In addition, the exchange of ideas and the relationships built both professionally and personally during our #SolarChat conversations and beyond are inspiring and extremely fruitful. Tweet on my friends!
We’d love to be on your list! @TheSolarCo has 9,558 followers and there are also a slew of other amazing solar tweeters out there (@SolarFred, @CarlSiegrist, @EdGunther, and @RunOnSun just to name a few) – I think I foresee a Top 100 Solar Twitter Accounts 🙂
@mherzfeld We have 1473 tweets with 489 followers.
@SMASolar has 6,481 followers (+ if you add @SMA_America & @SMAItalia the grand total is +7,194!)
@RunonSun – over 21,000 followers, nearly 6,000 tweets. Oh, and our blog rocks too!
http://runonsun.com/blog
At ESI (Energy Systems & Installation, listed as number 47 in last year’s Top 100 Solar Contractors List) our Twitter handle is @esienergy. As solar incentives change rapidly in the multitude of states we work, we use Twitter to quickly keep our energy consultants up to date and let our clients know we are consistently tracking these important changes in the industry.
<– 4,850 followers