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Presentation on doing media outreach and social media for IBEW activists.
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COMMUNICATING THE IBEW BRAND
IBEW Broadcasting, Manufacturing and Telecommunications Conference
Orlando, FL – May, 1-2 2013
Jim Spellane – Media Department Director
Erin Sutherland- Videographer/Editor
Alex Hogan – Communications Specialist
IBEW Media Department
The IBEW Media Department – What We Do
• The Electrical Worker
• IBEW.org
• Social Media: Facebook, Twitter,
• Video Production
• Media Relations
• Training
• Archives
Why Do We Do All This?
• Less reliant on outside media to get our message out
• We are our own media
• Increase the circulation of our material
• Get real-time feedback from members and others
One more critical reason:
We increase our reach to the outside media.
No matter how good a job you do with own media, dealing with the press is still important.
In your job as a local union leader, you will most likely have to deal with media at some point.
Are you ready?
THE
MESSAGE
WHEREIT
ALLBEGINS
Why is the
IBEW
important to
you and your
family? In just
one word
Why Do You Need a Message?
Because these folks have one
WHAT ARE OUR OPPONENTS SAYING ABOUT US?
No one should be forced to pay union dues against their will
Union are dinosaurs in today’s globalized economy
Big union bosses are greedy special interests that are in it for themselves – they kill jobs and hurt business
What Are We Saying About Ourselves?
The Four C’s
Clear
Concise
Compelling
Connect
Famous Messages
“It’s the Economy Stupid”
“Morning in America”
“Change”
“Bin Laden is Dead, GM is Alive”
“No Child Left Behind”
How Not to Message
1. Use your opponent’s framework
2. Rely on numbers and facts
3. Try to convince your opponent, not the people in the middle
Some Hints
- Know your audience
- Talk about workers, not
unions
- Make it personal. Use real
people
- Keep the community in mind
- Don’t ignore facts but win
people on values
- Be positive
Sample Messages:
l Good wages and benefits lifts up all workers
l The IBEW offers a career, not just a job
l When Comcast denies its employees the right to collectively bargaining it drives down wages and benefits for all workers
Sticking to Your Message
l Practice, practice,
practice
l Everyone on the same
page
l Learn the art of the
pivot
How to Pivot
1. Block the premise and follow up with
your message
l “That’s not my area of expertise, but
what I can tell you..”
l “I think real issue is…”
l “What working families really want to
know…”
2. Step back and invite the audience on your side.
Dealing with the Media
The Press Isn’t Covering Labor
• Over a three-year period, ABC,
CBS, NBC, and CNN aired just 141
stories featuring unions – that’s
less than 0.3% of all news
• CBS did not use one union source
in 24% of its stories on labor;
NBC 19%; ABC 10%
It isn’t an option…
l What you are doing is of interest to the public
l If the press wants do a story
bad enough, it will do it
whether or not you cooperate
l Your opponents aren’t shy
l If you’re not talking to the
press, who is?
A proactive media strategy means:
l More positive stories that tell our side
l Clear up miscommunications
l Frame the issue from a pro-worker angle
10 Do’s and Don’ts Dealing with the Press
Do Know Your Message
Don’t Be Afraid to Say “I don’t know”
Do ask “What’s your deadline?”Don’t Say “No comment”
10 Do’s and Don’ts Dealing with the Press
Do use spokespeople
Don’t rely on a press release to get attention
10 Do’s and Don’ts Dealing with the Press
Do be accessible
Don’t use shop talk
10 Do’s and Don’ts Dealing with the Press
Do share the good things you do
Don’t say more than you need
10 Do’s and Don’ts Dealing with the Press
And one last thing…Don’t forget bloggers
l
www.leftyblogs.com l
www.dailykos.com
l www.mydd.com
Social Media is any Website that allows online communication and interaction with other users
Social Media allows you to create
your own media platforms,
potentially reaching billions
Social Media is a relationship – not a megaphone
Three Tips on Using Facebook
1. Engaging with Members, Allies, Public (Be Your Own Media)
IBEW Facebook Page
• More than 30,000 “Likes”
• More than 9,200,000 friends of
fans
• At its height, it reaches nearly
190,000 Facebook users a day
Post frequently – and make it engaging
Make it visual
Tell your members
Three Tips on Using Facebook to Organize
2. Put Pressure on a Company
Three Tips on Using Facebook
3. Facebook Ads
This ads targets 300 users:
l who live in the United States
l who live within 50 miles of Wilkes-
Barre, PA
l between the ages of 18 and 60
inclusive
l who like electrician apprentice,
journeyman electricians, electrical
construction, foreman, electrician,
journeyman wireman
Suggested Bid: $0.46 – 0.67 USD
CTR: Clickthrough Rate - the number of clicks on an ad divided by the number of times the ad is shown
Clicks: the number of people who clicked on your ad
Campaign Reach: The total number of people who saw your ad
CPC: Cost per click – how much each click costs you
Ad Tips
l Experiment with different ad
copy
l Close up face photos get
good responses
Don’t mention unions
Microtarget
A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words
Why Visuals are Important
• Creates a memorable impact
• Draws attention
• Doesn’t just tell, but shows
Opportunities for Visuals
Rally/local union events
Organizing campaigns
For Print/Web publications
Bargaining updates
Showcase projects
Technology Makes it Easy
• IPhones
• Affordable video/still
cameras
• Social Media Publishing –
Facebook, Flickr, YouTube,
Vimeo
Memes/Pictures
• The biggest responses (shares,
likes etc.) we get on Facebook are
to visuals
• The average meme or photo gets
more than double the response rate
of a regular text story
Photo Tips • Good light
• Look for action
• Get close
• Quality v. quantity
• Context
Do this:
NOT this:
Do this:
NOT this:
Show
action:
Show context:
When in
doubt, show
members
working.
Video Tips • Use tripod/hold still
• No vertical video
• Look for action
• Quick soundbites
• Short, simple
Say NO to vertical video
• News organizations cannot use this
footage
• Poor quality, very unprofessional
Verizon picket line – Westchester County
Good use of mobile video
• Exposé style video
• Basic quality, but highly
effective
Verizon sends untrained workers into the field
Send a message to members
• Simple, yet effective
• Keep membership up-to-date
IBEW Local 37's Business Manager Update
