Case Study: The Ohio State University achieves actionable social insights and community engagement on water-quality crises with Meltwater Social

The Ohio State University - Customer Case Study

The Ohio State University’s Department of Agricultural Communication, Education and Leadership partnered with Meltwater after a 2015 Lake Erie toxic algae bloom and water-quality crisis to understand public perception and craft a social engagement plan. Assistant Professor Dr. Annie Specht and her graduate team needed a way to monitor conversations across media and assess how the issue was affecting communities in agricultural northwest Ohio.

Using Meltwater Social’s single-platform monitoring and ad-hoc search, the team tracked conversation peaks, identified key influencers, surfaced related issues, and pinpointed engagement opportunities. The insights informed the university’s public stance and outreach strategy, kept the community informed, and led to ongoing monitoring—with plans to follow up social research with traditional surveys and focus groups.

The Ohio State University

Annie Specht

Assistant Professor and Agricultural Communication Program Coordinator