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CAMPAIGN COMMUNICATIONS 101 IBEW Membership Development Conference Las Vegas, NV – Sept. 19, 2012 Alex Hogan – Communications Specialist, IBEW [email protected] - @alexmhogan

Union Campaign Communications 101

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Page 1: Union Campaign Communications 101

CAMPAIGN COMMUNICATIONS

101IBEW Membership Development

Conference Las Vegas, NV – Sept. 19, 2012

Alex Hogan – Communications

Specialist, IBEW

[email protected] - @alexmhogan

Page 2: Union Campaign Communications 101

Why is the

IBEW

important to

you and your

family? In just

one word

Page 3: Union Campaign Communications 101

Approval ratings for unions are the lowest they’ve been in 50 years: 52%

Page 4: Union Campaign Communications 101

A good

communications

strategy is a balance

of earned and direct

media involving

multiple tools

Page 5: Union Campaign Communications 101

Direct Media: We

communicate directly with

target audience – flyers,

newsletters, Web sites, social

media

Earned Media: Someone

else reports our story –

newspapers, TV, radio, bloggers

Page 6: Union Campaign Communications 101

WHAT ARE OUR OPPONENTS SAYING ABOUT US?

Page 7: Union Campaign Communications 101

No one should be forced to pay union dues against their will

Project Labor Agreements are anti-competitive giveaways to unions

Big union bosses are greedy special interests that are in it for themselves – they kill jobs and hurt business

Page 8: Union Campaign Communications 101

What Are We Saying About Ourselves?

Page 9: Union Campaign Communications 101

The Four C’s

Clear

Concise

Compelling

Connect

Page 10: Union Campaign Communications 101

Famous Messages

“It’s the Economy Stupid”

“Morning in America”

“Change”

“Bin Laden is Dead, GM is Alive”

“No Child Left Behind”

Right to Work

Page 11: Union Campaign Communications 101

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

Page 12: Union Campaign Communications 101

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

Page 13: Union Campaign Communications 101

Sample Messages:

l Project Labor Agreements helps communities by putting skilled residents to work making a decent wage – money that goes back into the local economy

l The IBEW offers a career, not just a job

l Unions help protect all middle class families by giving workers the ability to speak out for better wages and benefits and serving as a check on greedy CEOs and politicians

Page 14: Union Campaign Communications 101

“Does anyone

have any

questions for my

answers?”-Henry Kissinger

Page 15: Union Campaign Communications 101

Sticking to Your Message

l Practice, practice,

practice

l Everyone on the same

page

l Learn the art of the

pivot

Page 16: Union Campaign Communications 101
Page 17: Union Campaign Communications 101

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.

Page 18: Union Campaign Communications 101

Dealing with the Media

Page 19: Union Campaign Communications 101

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?

Page 20: Union Campaign Communications 101

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

Page 21: Union Campaign Communications 101

10 Do’s and Don’ts Dealing with the Press

Do Know Your Message

Don’t Be Afraid to Say “I don’t know”

Page 22: Union Campaign Communications 101

Do ask “What’s your deadline?”Don’t Say “No comment”

10 Do’s and Don’ts Dealing with the Press

Page 23: Union Campaign Communications 101

Do use spokespeople

Don’t rely on a press release to get attention

10 Do’s and Don’ts Dealing with the Press

Page 24: Union Campaign Communications 101

Do be accessible

Don’t use shop talk

10 Do’s and Don’ts Dealing with the Press

Page 25: Union Campaign Communications 101

Do share the good things you do

Don’t say more than you need

10 Do’s and Don’ts Dealing with the Press

Page 26: Union Campaign Communications 101

And one last thing…Don’t forget bloggers

l

www.leftyblogs.com l

www.dailykos.com

l www.mydd.com

Page 27: Union Campaign Communications 101

Getting the

Media’s Attention

Page 28: Union Campaign Communications 101

l Get to the know the press beforehand.

l Are you interesting? Timely? Fresh?

l Make the press’s job easier

l What the press likes: conflict, academic reports, VIPs, experts. And the funny and/or unexpected

Page 29: Union Campaign Communications 101

Letters to the Editor/Op-Eds

l Make it topical

l Know the word

count

l Keep it local

l Have someone

read it over

Page 30: Union Campaign Communications 101
Page 31: Union Campaign Communications 101

Social Media is any Website that allows online communication and interaction with other users

Page 32: Union Campaign Communications 101

Since the Chicago Teachers Strike

Began:

l More than 16,000 new Facebook

fans

More than 81,000 Facebook

users talking about the CTU

l Hashtags #CTUStrike and

#FairContractNow top two

trending tags on Twitter

Page 33: Union Campaign Communications 101

Social Media is a relationship – not a speech

Page 34: Union Campaign Communications 101

Social media is an important commitment – you are either in or you’re out

Make it part of your daily routine

Page 35: Union Campaign Communications 101

At least one to two posts a day – Facebook, Twitter

l Share others work (ibew.org, afl-cio etc.)l Do polls, ask questionsl Upload photos

Page 36: Union Campaign Communications 101

Three Tips on Using Facebook to Organize

1. Build your local’s/campaign’s page

l Tell your members about it

l Post frequently – and make it engaging

l A good page name

Page 37: Union Campaign Communications 101

Union Friends on Facebook

IBEW: www.facebook.com/ibewfb

AFL-CIO: www.facebook.com/aflcio

Economic Policy Institute: www.facebook.com/pages/Economic-Policy-Institute

Union Plus: www.facebook.com/unionplus

American Rights at Work: www.facebook.com/americanrightsatwork

Working America: www.facebook.com/WorkingAmerica

Rick Smith Show: www.facebook.com/RickSmithShow

Page 38: Union Campaign Communications 101

Three Tips on Using Facebook to Organize

2. Facebook Ads

Page 39: Union Campaign Communications 101
Page 40: Union Campaign Communications 101

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

Page 41: Union Campaign Communications 101
Page 42: Union Campaign Communications 101

CTR: Click through 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

Page 43: Union Campaign Communications 101

Ad Tips

l Experiment with different ad

copy

l Close up face photos get

good responses

Don’t mention unions

Microtarget

Page 44: Union Campaign Communications 101

Three Tips on Using Facebook to Organize

3. Put Pressure on a Company (or Politician)

Page 45: Union Campaign Communications 101

Some Tips

l Activate your

members/supporters online

l Use it to amplify real world

activity

l Target the company’s page

Page 47: Union Campaign Communications 101

l For influencers, not the masses

l Authenticity counts

l Listen, rather than talk

l Sharing is caring -RT

Page 48: Union Campaign Communications 101

RT: retweet

MT: modified retweet

@: the @ sign is used to call out usernames in Tweets, like this: Hello @Twitter! When a username is preceded by the @ sign, it becomes a link to a Twitter profile

D: put a d and username before your message and it becomes a private message between you and the recipient

FF: #FF stands for "Follow Friday." Twitter users often suggest who others should follow on Fridays by tweeting with the hashtag #FF

Follower: A follower is another Twitter user who has followed you.

Following: Your following number reflects the quantity of other Twitter users you have chosen to follow on the site

Lists: Curated groups of other Twitter users

Top Tweets: Tweets determined by a Twitter algorithm to be the most popular or resonant on Twitter at any given time.

Page 49: Union Campaign Communications 101

l Use hashtags (#verigreedy, #1u, #ibew)

l Live tweet events

l Follow people you want following you – press, elected officials, allies

l Press releases

l Use the tools – hootsuite.com,

TweetDeck.com

l Act.ly petition

Page 50: Union Campaign Communications 101
Page 52: Union Campaign Communications 101

l Don’t make it longer than three to four minutes

l Tag it

l Share it

Some Tips

Page 53: Union Campaign Communications 101

QUESTIONS? COMMENTS? WANT A

COPY OF THE PRESENTATION?

Send me a tweet at

@alexmhogan