One of the AEA’s core missions has always been to assist our membership in keeping up with current trends, methodologies, and technologies, all in order to ensure they stay abreast of our changing world. We recognize that we can’t do that without ensuring our own house is in order, which is why we are making strong strides in the digital realm, especially when it comes to social media.

Our members use and interact with social media on a daily basis. So do the ratepayers they serve, the other agencies and authorities they deal with, and the government agencies they must contend with. Our goal is to stand alongside them as we adjust to the changing media landscape. With that in mind, the AEA is expanding its social media presence in a way we believe will benefit both our members and the public at large.

Your portal to seeing how we are expanding our digital efforts begins at our web page, aeanj.org. Newly redesigned and in the midst of changes still to come, you’ll not only have access to resources our membership finds extremely useful – both the Career Center and Document Library have proven to be invaluable resources – you’ll also find links to our social media channels.

First and foremost among those social media outlets is Facebook. You’ll find us at facebook.com/AEANJcleanwater. Facebook is a truly social platform, which is why your Public Information Officer or PR staff may have noticed us connecting our page to your agency or authority’s page. In keeping with the nature of the platform, our goals on Facebook are multi-faceted. On the simplest level, we’ll be more frequently delivering information via the platform, both to our membership (such as information on our upcoming Annual Conference) and to the general public (such as tips on how to use water efficiently or updates on laws that impact their lives).

Yet Facebook is not merely for broadcasting information. Expect to see us more frequently sharing posts and information from our members. Highlighting the amazing work they do is part of our mission, after all. We’ll also be using the platform as a means to connect our members to one another; to offer you another avenue by which to contact us; and to continue to advocate on your behalf. We have other exciting plans in the works, too, which we will announce in early 2018.

Over at twitter.com/aeanjcleanwater, you’ll find us sharing updates from our members and other organizations we respect; sharing news we think might be relevant to you and the public; and perhaps occasionally enjoying the lighter side of social media. We make an effort to follow all our member organizations, so if we missed you, follow us or send us a DM so we can ensure we add you to our follow list.

These venues are only the start. In the months ahead we plan to expand the way we reach members and the public in a number of ways. The world we live in is now a multimedia world. There is no ignoring that. In order to best serve you, and in turn help you better serve your ratepayers, we have to keep pace with those changes in how we interact with one another. We aim to do exactly that.

We hope you’ll be along for the ride.