Make no mistake about it. The ethanol industry is engaged in a war of words with anti-ethanol forces and every weapon in the arsenal needs to be deployed to fight against these well-funded opponents.

Communications and Social Media War Room was the title of one of the breakout sessions at last week’s 2014 National Ethanol Conference. Renewable Fuels Association executive vice president Christina Martin moderated the discussion which included comments from Anne O’Neil, Vice President of The Glover Park Group, which is working for Fuels America, and Michael Fleischer, Senior Vice President of marketing agency Direct Impact.

Martin says the purpose of the session was to “capture the momentum” that a lot of ethanol producers built during the EPA comment period for the proposed change in the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS). “They reached out as they never have before to their employees, to their investors and local communities and general supporters,” said Martin. Many ventured into social media for the first time and she says they want to keep that momentum going regardless of where the EPA decision on the RFS ends up.

Find out more in Chuck’s weekly podcast, the ZimmCast: Social Media with Christina Martin