calpact - social media for community organizing
DESCRIPTION
CALPACT Conf (#2 of 4 sessions) - Feb 2012 - new media tools for community building/community organizing smw12 #smw12TRANSCRIPT
Using New Media Tools for Community Organizing
February 2012
Today’s Discussion
• Identify the Levels of Engagement Possible Through Social Media
• Identify Effective Strategies and Tools for Engaging with Your Community
• Explore How You Can Translate Social Media Contact Into Face-to-Face Interaction and Action (and back again…)
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“Community organizing is a process by which people are brought together to act in common self-interest.”
– The Changemakers Organization
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Why Do We Organize Through Social Media?
• Scalable– 800+ million people on Facebook– 300+ million people on Twitter
• Shareable– Most Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube users are
primed to share content with friends & relatives – so easy to tap into that ethos for activism
• Speedy– Can respond quickly to breaking news and, with “first
mover” advantage, get significant attention very quickly… but can’t always predict what will “go viral”
Content courtesy of Brent Blackaby of Trilogy Interactive
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Levels of Social Media Engagement
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Note – one approach of many
Like Us
Starting Points…
•Likes your Facebook Page
•Follows You On Twitter
•Subscribes to Your Email Newsletter
•Views Videos You Post on YouTube
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Listening to You
Join Us
Encouraging proactive steps…
•Shares Your Facebook Posts on their Wall
•Re-Tweets Your Messages on Twitter
•Suggests Your Email Newsletter to Friends
•Shares Videos You Post on YouTube
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Sharing About You
Lead Us
• Creates Posts for Your Facebook Wall
• Tweets To Others About You
• Creates Content for Your Email Newsletter
• Creates Videos to Post on Your YouTube Page
• Participates Actively and Leads Your Offline Community
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Actively Guiding Your Outreach
Metrics for Success
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Present the individuals you are connecting with via social media with a clear Call to Action
Make asks that are reasonable or slight stretches – “Grow” support but don’t burn it.
•A “Lead Us” individual will be more likely to do more than a “Like Us” individual•Make sure that you provide an opportunity for each to participate
Be specific & strategic about what you are asking individuals to do.
Tips to Organizing via Social Media
Like Us
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Landing Pads: Use social media options like Facebook likes, Google Groups or Wiki pages to create an information platform for your group.
Volunteer Sites: Set up a page on volunteer social media sites like volunteermatch.org to reach individuals interested in participating in your cause. Use outside expertise.
Email: Still the most effective social media tool in your toolkit. Disseminate information in a steady, reliable stream through email.
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Use E-Blasts Regularly to Connect with Your Audience.
E-blast Tips•Establish a tone that readers can relate to.
•Use eye-catching subject lines.
•Keep it short and sweet. Ten words or less for easy legibility in most email services.
•Include one straightforward “ask” in your emails.
•Send e-blasts when most people are likely to read them – during work hours.
•Include “Pre-tweets”
Like Us
Expand the impact of events with social media•Use real-time tweeting and Facebook pictures at your event
Ask for input and get people invested in your cause!•Think “now” & “later”•Start a Facebook contest or poll that encourages later real world participation
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Join Us
Empower participants by sharing resources like templates and pictures through various social media sites.•Images to use on Facebook pages, especially timeline banner images (GO Public Schools)•Templates for a letter to local legislators or other notable leader (HHS example)•Social Media Toolkit with Facebook with posts or tweets that individuals can quickly share with their networks.
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Join Us
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Ask individuals to tell their own stories •Ex: “We Are the 99%” Tumblr Ask people to sign a petition form online.Ask volunteers/participants to “check in” at events on Facebook•Offer simple instructions and sample posts: “At start line for the 2012 SF AIDS Walk, running for AIDS Project East Bay!”•Ask volunteers/participants to post photos to your Facebook page
Join Us
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Ask individuals to create their own mini-campaigns
•It Gets Better videos
•Geek the Library (why libraries matter)
•Facebook Event Pages Created By Volunteers
Lead Us
Slide 20
Bringing Your Social Media Community Offline
Slide 21
• Give individuals the tools needed to connect offline through your social media channels
• Share information about events for individuals to connect in person
• When these offline gatherings happen, talk about them online
• Outsource! Use social community to organize events for you
• Build a “reporting” culture.
Bringing Your Social Media Community Offline
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The Circle of Action: HHS Legislative Visits
Coordinate legislative visits for members of HHS Network
Encourage members to visit their local legislators across the state
Provided template materials (Talking points, Stickers, etc.)
Make it EASY to share back on social media…
Slide 23
The ONE Campaign
ONE Campus Challenge• Colleges compete to see how active
they can be (i.e. signing petitions, recruiting new members, and getting named in the media).
• Points are earned for every action recorded via social media.
• Winner is featured in a ONE video
Volunteer-Hosted Events• Volunteers Can Download Kits to
Host Their Own ONE Events• These Volunteers post pictures and
write-ups on their social media pages and on the ONE Facebook Page
Slide 24
“Measuring” ONE’s Record of Success• Over 2 million ONE members
worldwide
• Many of these members have signed on through social media, while others have signed onto the
• Petition Efforts Average at least 30,000 signatures
• ONE Facebook page is liked by 171,835 people.
• ONE has 499,784 followers on Twitter
• Millions of lives positively affected
What could YOU measure?
FriendOutTheVote.com
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• On-line friendship CAN inspire off-line action
• Facebook application that encouraged CA Democratic Party activists to contact their friends – who would be “unlikely” voters for GOTV effort in 2010
• Activists could reach out to friends that were 2008 voters but unlikely to vote in 2010.
• They then were asked to post personal GOTV messages on the individuals’ Facebook Wall
• App received 22,000 visitors and thousands of personal messages were sent to likely voters via Facebook from friends to friends
Slide Courtesy of Trilogy Interactive
Slide 26
Mom’s Rising• Brings together millions of
people who share a common concern about the need to build a more family-friendly America.
• Social Media as a Way to Spur Offline Action (nurse-ins)
• Last year alone, members took over a million actions in support of families, and in the process, were covered in the media over 1,000 times.
• Staff then conducted Off-line activity “on behalf of” on-line activists
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What’s Next for Us?
JOIN US•March – New media tools for public education
•April – New media tools for policy advocacy
