Turning the green steel conversation into a campaign for SteelWatch
THE CONTEXT
In preparation for its launch, SteelWatch commissioned a social listening study to understand how steel and the green transition are spoken about online — to find a green-steel message that would land with audiences rather than get scrolled past.
THE CONTEXT
The conversational space is politically charged and fraught with detraction and disinformation. We needed an evidence-based read on who the key voices are, which narratives resonate, where the companies sit in the conversation, and how key communities engage.
WHAT WE DID
We analysed around 340K+ English-language posts over twelve months (March 2022–February 2023) using Brandwatch and Audiense, and conducted a manual LinkedIn review of 500 posts from ten leading steel companies and bodies.
We split steel into four conversations — general and green, company and non-company — so the insight didn't blur together, and analysed the narratives, sentiment and engagement within each.
To map audiences, we used interconnectivity modelling in Audiense, identifying the communities that genuinely follow and influence each other rather than treating the public as one bloc.
A social-listening report covering landscape, narrative and audience analysis across all four intersections.
Audience segmentation and community maps built on interconnectivity modelling.
Narrative analysis identifying which sustainability framings gain traction — and which provoke resistance.
Strategic messaging recommendations for green-transition campaigning.
OUTPUTS & DELIVERABLES
THE RESULT
We identified a clear say-do gap that informed strategic communications for launch. We found that around 23% of the steel conversation was about green steel, but only ~2.6% linked the companies themselves to it: an open door for public engagement. Through our manual LinkedIn analysis, we found that sustainability as a content theme was vastly under-used, but when companies posted about it, their engagement rose by ~29%. The insights informed the formation of Steelwatch which launched in July.