Several weeks ago I attended the Justmeans Social Media for Sustainability conference in San Francisco.

Justmeans is a social utility where you can talk about your good work with the companies and people who matter on the sustainability scene. Unlike other social networks, Justmeans is a more targeted audience of people who share your interest in the environment and sustainability.

The conference, which hosted seven moderated panels on a variety of topics related to social media, helped attendees answer questions about social media from the simple to the complex: How should my company be using social media to engage our customers, employees, activists, and other stakeholders online? What are the best tools and platforms? Should I be on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Justmeans or all four? How does one develop the right incentives for building community and keeping your community engaged? What is the ROI of social media and what metrics should my company be using? How do I build a quality online following that will actually be of value to my business?

As a relative newbie on the social networking scene – I opened both my Facebook and Twitter accounts in the last 18 months – I was afraid that I might be lost in the lingo. (Beyond “LOL,” the majority of the acronyms used online are over my head.) But this was not a “tech” conference and the information offered was accessible to social media users of all levels.

A highlight of the event for me was the panel on “Redefining Corporate Activisim,” which included John Friedman, senior director of public relations for Sodexo; Kitty Taylor, senior advisor and head of social media for the U.S. Chamber Business Civic Leadership Center and Laura Adams, digital advocacy director for sustainable business and innovation for Nike, and moderator by David Witzel, director of Innovation Exchange.

The panel explored how social media is changing the way that companies are engaging with their employees, and learning what their stakeholders and other advocates want to see from the company.

Laura Adams presented an inspiring example from Nike.

“The company’s WE Portal is Nike’s new employee engagement platform where employees can connect with each other, discuss and engage with causes they care about and brainstorm about how the company can be more sustainable,” Adams said.

Through a backend API, charitable and volunteer opportunities from partners like HandsOn Network and Global Giving are fed to employees. When employees take action, like volunteer or donate, they earn points that can be redeemed through the giving marketplace for things such as product donations to the nonprofit of the employee’s choice.

In addition to hearing extremely inspiring examples such as Nike’s, the conference was a unique networking event. With breaks between panels, lunch and cocktails afterwards, attendees found themselves rubbing elbows with some heavy hitters – and some of my personal idols — on the green scene. I sat next to Jeffrey Hollender, the chairman and founder of Seventh Generation and was able to introduce myself and chat with him.

For bloggers like myself, or for a business just beginning to dip its toe into the social marketing pool, conferences like Justmeans Social Media for Sustainability are invaluable tools both for inspiration and information. For information on upcoming events, check the Justmeans website.

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Heather O’Neill is the founder of Eco to the People, a green living blog.
Email her at: heather@ecotothepeople.com.