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Connecting Unions and Members Through Social Media
Women Building California and the NationApril 6th, 2013
Let’s Break the Ice!
Why do you personally use sites like Facebook YouTubeTwitter
InstagramPintrest LinkedIn
BlogsOr your favorite social media site?
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Discover why and how workers and unions are using social media every day
Learn the nuts and bolts of some of the most popular social networks
Understand the “Dos” and Don’ts” of social networking
Have fun!
Goals of this Presentation
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In recent years, grassroots campaigns of all types have been constantly evolving to take advantage of the ever-changing and increasingly popular new media tools.
From “Grassroots” to “Netroots”
WebsitesEmail Lists
YouTubeFacebook Twitter Blogs
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InstagramFlickr
uStream
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Why Social Media?
It’s cheap and easy.
Everyone’s doing it.
It complements and supplements our existing work.
It’s where we can find more like-minded supporters.
Share news and dispel misinformation
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Use Social Media to…
Send a message with photos and graphics
Use Social Media to…
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Start a conversation
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Use Social Media to…
Promote events and mobilize supporters
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Use Social Media to…
Share videos with a message
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Use Social Media to…
Take action and reach targets directly
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Use Social Media to…
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Between January 09 and October 09, Twitter grew almost ten-fold, from 2.4 million tweets a day to 26 million tweets a day.
By January of 2011, there were more than 200 million Twitter users (the majority of whom are women) sending upwards of 110 million tweets per day.
The majority of users (54%) access Twitter through their mobile phones.
Now, Twitter boasts more than 500 million total users
• All text has to be 140 characters or less• 140 – (RT + @yourname)
• Shortened URLs (bit.ly, tinyurl)• Hashtags (#jobsnotcuts, #1u)• Mentions (@CaliforniaLabor)• Retweets (RT @CaliforniaLabor)
“I’m standing with the Letter Carriers to save Saturday mail delivery!” vs.“I’m standing w/@NALC_National to save six-day mail delivery! http://bit.ly/YGzpow #USA4SixDay @DeliverForAmerica”
Anatomy of a Tweet
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FacebookThere are more than one BILLION active users, and the majority of them are women. If Facebook were a country, it would be twice the size of the US.
More than 50% log in every day, and users spend over 700 billion minutes per month on Facebook.
Creating a Facebook page (not profile) for your group or campaign can help you reach an unlimited number of like-minded supporters and ‘fans.’
680 million Facebook users are on mobile devices.
Info – define your organization; mission, contact info; links to other social media sites
Wall – share information with community of “fans” who can then easily share it with all of their friends;
Photos & Video – visuals offer more engagementEvents – in-person and virtualPolls- ask your community questions to create
engagement; get instant feedback Insights- Track how your fans interact with your
pageAdministrator identity- Updates to the page come
from the page, not from your profile, allowing for multiple admins
Facebook Fan Page Features
YouTube
71% of Americans are YouTube users. On any given day, 28% of us are visiting YouTube, and 22% consider themselves “addicted”.Parents are the biggest YouTube demographic; 81% of parents visit YouTube; 61% of non-parents do.As of November 2012, the most popular , or “viral”, YouTube video of all time (“Gangnam Style”) has received more than 815 million views.
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YouTube boasts more than 800 million users and upwards of 4 billion views per day
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The “Blogosphere”
This all sounds great but…
Where do I start?
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Does your union/group already have a social media presence?
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Get ready…
Who’s the point person (or team) who will be responsible for growing and managing your
networks?
How can you incorporate social media into your existing work/campaigns?
How can you set realistic goals that support your objectives?
What about a social media policy? Consult your legal team to find out if you have any restrictions.
What’s the approval process?
Is there a budget for social media?
Friend, fan, like, comment, share, follow and join potential supporters, then invite them to your
network (Use CLF’s Facebook favorites and Twitter lists to get started).
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Get set…
Promote your new social networks in your email signature, on your website, in your newsletters, at
union meetings, industry blogs, by word of mouth, etc.
Try smartphone apps for easy updating, and incorporate an AddThis button to your website for
easy sharingIf you’re new, be a ‘lurker’ and learn the ropes of
each program before populating your own network.
Stick to your established message/media policy, and don’t post anything that could be construed as false
or libelous.
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Curb those fears…
Avoid social networking during work hours or from an employer-owned computer unless you have
permission from the employer.
Establish a review process and always proofread your posts. On some social networks, you can’t edit
a post after its up.Police your page often to monitor activity and
responses.In case you ever need to remove or filter posts and
users, it pays to establish and publicize your comment policies to your networks.
The National Labor Relations Board has ruled that discussions on social networks between
workers about their working conditions is “protected concerted activity.”
You should know…Facebook’s privacy settings and lists allow you to hide your personal information and control
what your new contacts see.
Remember, social networks are public forums, and lots of news media use social media as a source, so don’t post anything you wouldn’t want to see in the
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Questions?
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California Labor Federation on Twitter http://www.twitter.com/CaliforniaLabor
California Labor Federation on Facebook http://www.facebook.com/CaliforniaLaborFederation
Contacts:
Rebecca Greenberg Band, California Labor Federation [email protected], 510.663.4051
Mia Rivas, IBEW 595
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You’re Ready to Go!