How To Get Started Integrating Social Media Into Your Online

Communications Strategy

March 3, 2010

Danielle HatchettSocial Media Manager, AFL-CIO

Facebook: www.facebook.com/aflcioTwitter: www.twitter.com/aflcio

Social Media: Growing Fast 3 out of 4 Americans use social technology 1 in 3 online Americans post to social networks at

least once a week Users spend at least 5hrs and 30 min per month on

average on social networking sites 99% of social media users believe organizations

should have a presence in social media 37% of internet users aged 18-29 use blogs or social

networking sites as a venue for political or civic involvement compared to: 17% of online 30-49 year olds 12% of 50-64 year olds 10% of internet users over 65

Social Media: Growing Fast Provides additional platforms to spread your

message; reach a new audience Plug your cause, raise awareness about an

issue, spread the word, and update your network

Allows opportunity for instant feedback from your constituents; tap into word of mouth.

Connect with influentials (i.e. bloggers, policymakers, press, advocacy organizers and people with large networks)

Provides organizing opportunities (Help for Haiti)

Developing A Social Media Strategy

Do some research and find out where your existing audience is

Spend some time listening to the conversation

Create a campaign around the launch of new social media platforms

Produce engaging content

Questions We Asked (or wish we had asked!) Before Getting Started

Who will manage the site? Who can post items to the site? What kinds of items are appropriate for the site? Are we prepared to let go of control of our brand just a

little? How does engaging users via social media integrate

with our overall communications/marketing strategy? How will we measure success or failure? (views,

number of followers/subscribers, comments)

AFL-CIO Social Media Tools Blog: http://www.blog.aflcio.org

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/aflcio

Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/aflcio

YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/user/aflcionow

Flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/labor2008

Ustream: (live broadcasts)- http://www.ustream.tv/user/aflcionow

Digg-”Digg this” button next to blog posts

Getting Started With Twitter

What is Twitter? Social networking and microblogging

service that allows you to answer the question, “What are you doing?”

Combination of various forms of communication like e-mail, instant messenger, blogs, and RSS feeds. Difference is that posts, or tweets, are restricted to 140 characters or less.

What Is Twitter? Evolved from simply answering the

question, “What are you doing?” into Shared links to interesting content on the

web Conversations around hot topics Shared photos, videos, music Most importantly real time accounts from

people who are in midst of a newsworthy event (like a convention or conference), crisis or natural disaster

Twitter Statistics

Twitter has 1.5 million active users with a median age of 31.

In October 2009, users sent 26 million tweets per day, up from 2.4 million tweets in January 2009.

Tuesday is the most active day for tweeting, followed by Wednesday and then Friday

Getting Started Brand Yourself

Claim your Twitter handle (i.e. twitter.com/aflcio)

Choose a photo or logo

Create your background

What do I tweet about? Share news or events from your union

(rallies, conferences, meetings, trainings – anything you promote via traditional means. Difference is you only have 140 characters)

Automatically share your blog posts (www.twitterfeed.com)

Links to relevant news stories around the web (www.bitly.com)

Twitter Terminology Jargon

Tweets – 140 character updates on Twitter Follower-people who are interested in your updates

and “follow” you Direct Message (DM)-private message from one

Twitter user to another. Can only be sent when you are following each other

Symbols @ - referring to another Twitter user (@cwaunion

means I’m speaking directly to or about them) RT- retweeting is is when you share the tweet of one

user with all of your Twitter followers. # - hashtags are community driven naming convention

to help spread information while also organizing it.

Hashtags (www.hashtag.org) A community driven naming convention on Twitter to

help spread information while also organizing it. Favorite tool of conferences and event organizers If everyone agrees to add a certain hashtag after their

tweet, it becomes easier to find that topic in search (search.twitter.com) #hcr, #health– health care #p2 and #topprog (progressives)

Create your own #aflcio #aflcio09 (convention) #aflciojobs (jobs initiative)

Retweeting or “RT”

Twitter users share the best links, tweets and gems they find from others they are following

Important to do in order to build community and not just appear to be putting out your own content

Connect with people and let them know you’re there (gain followers!)

Anatomy of A Tweet

Anatomy of a Tweet

Anatomy of a Retweet

How do I build community? Listening/Retweeting Twitter lists Directories of progressives

Tweet Progress (www.tweetprogress.org) Can also sign up for a Twitter mentor here

Union Twibe (www.twibes.com/group/union) AFL-CIO Blog Post: Social Media: New Tools

Aid In Organizing (list of unions on Twitter)http://blog.aflcio.org/2009/09/29/social-media-new-tools-aid-in-organizing/

People who use #p2 or #topprog hashtags in their tweets

Integrating Your Social Web Presence Cell phone

Tweet via text messages Use 3rd party applications on your phone to tweet Install Facebook application on your cell

Blogging Twitterfeed to automatically post your blogs to

Twitter (RSS feed) Certain platforms will let you blog from your cell

phone Facebook

Automatically post your Twitter updates to Facebook

Get your Twitter account started (claim your username)

Brand your profile Listen to the conversation and retweet Connect with people (Find people to

follow) Promote your new social media presence

(e-mail signature, website, blog entries, cross promotion)

Getting Started With Facebook

What Is Facebook?

Free online social networking site Connect-build your network; connect

with supporters and other like-minded organizations

Share- spread information about union news and events; share photos, video and other media; start a discussion and get instant feedback from supporters

Facebook Statistics Facebook is the number one social networking

site with more than 300 million active users The fastest growing demographic are those 35

and older Average user has 130 friends on the site There are more than 45 million status updates

each day More than 10 million users become fans of Pages

each day More than 45 million active user groups exist on

the site

Facebook Tool Summary

Tool What It Is Function

Pages Website within Facebook

Establish official presence

Groups Communities with similar interests

Network around a common interest

Events Event management tool

Manage event information and invitations

Facebook Fan Page v. GroupFan Page More appropriate for

businesses, non-profits, organizations, or any entity that has a legal presence and a brand

No limit on number of fans (members)

Can install applications Few privacy controls- block

people AFTER they become a fan

Indexed by Google Announcements are sent as

Facebook updates – not in user’s inboxes

Groups Frequently used for causes,

common interests, and events

Limit of 5,000 members Cannot install applications Not indexed by Google Announcements can be

sent as Facebook messages into user’s inboxes

More privacy controls – can restrict access

Geared toward personal interaction– directly connected with the personal profile of person that administers it

Facebook Fan Page v. Group Groups are great for organizing on a personal level

and for smaller scale interaction around a cause.

Pages are better for brands, businesses, or labor unions who want to interact with their fans or customers without having them connected to a personal account

Pages allow you to exceed Facebook’s 5,000 friend cap

Encourage your individual supporters to create groups around your causes

Steps to Create a Facebook Fan Page

To create a Facebook page you first need to create a personal profile at www.facebook.com

Fan pages have to be connected with a personal profile (associated with an e-mail address) www.facebook.com/aflcio2

Log on to http://www.facebook.com/pages/create.php

Creating a Personal Profile Go to

www.facebook.com. Enter a name, email,

birthday, and an original password.

Click “Sign Up” Confirmation email will

be sent to the email you provided.

Click the attached link in the email.

Your Facebook account is now activated!!

Creating a Facebook Fan PageTo create a fan page: Go to

facebook.com/pages/create.php and create a new page.

Under category choose Brand, Product, or Organization.

Then choose Non-profit from the pull down arrow

Name your page Click create page

Creating a Facebook Fan Page Customize your

page (add photo or logo)

Fill out the information under the “Info” tab (year founded, mission – here’s where you can give fans a brief history)

Creating a Facebook Fan PageSettings

Set limited restriction on who can see page by country and age group

Can also unpublish page if needed

Wall settings – set whether fans can post to your wall

Applications-short descriptions of those that automatically come with page; option to remove

Add Content to Your Fan Page

Empower your fans by giving them content to share – enable them to be viewed as a resource

Ask questions that inspire discussion and even debate Links to blog posts (can set up to automatically post) Encourage fans to share their relevant content Links to news stories around the web Share content from other affiliates page Spread news about events, rallies, etc. Use event tool to invite people to an organized event

or even to sign a petition or participate in some virtual event

Integrate Your Social Media Presence

Make your tools work together RSS feed (automatically post your blog feed

on Facebook) Install applications

Twitter stream to post under a tab on your Facebook page

Flickr photos to appear under a tab YouTube videos to automatically post to

Facebook (and Twitter – I favorited a YouTube video)

AFL-CIO Social Media Group

Communications staff from unions and affiliated organizations sharing resources, successful social media campaigns, strategies, and tools

Working on development of social media training tools that can be distributed to unions

Trainings- Social Media 101 and 102

Trainings Social Media 101 and 102

Overview – Definitions; importance in communications strategy; usage

stats Questions to consider before making it a part of your

communications strategy Twitter –

How to set up a profile and start tweeting Finding people to connect with Clients you can use to better manage your experience Specific ways to build community

Facebook- Fan page vs. Group? Setting up a fan page Applications you can use to create campaigns Benefits of advertising on Facebook

Join our Social Media Group Danielle Hatchett

dhatchet@aflcio.org

www.facebook.com/aflcio

www.twitter.com/aflcio

www.slideshare.net/aflcio

Resources How To Use Social Media For Your Union

http://www.aflcio.org/aboutus/upload/socialmedia.pdf SmartBriefs on Social Media Issues

http://www.smartbrief.com/news/socialmedia Frog Loop: Nonprofit Online Marketing Blog

http://www.frogloop.com/socialmedia An Amazing NpTech Social Media Link Buffet: Take Your

Pick! http://beth.typepad.com/beths_blog/2009/07/come-join-the-conversation-on-social-media-and-roi-at-chronicle-and-in-the-comments-here.html

Case Foundation: Ask the Guruhttp://www.ustream.tv/CaseFoundation

Resources Mashable’s Twitter Guide Book (@mashable)

http://mashable.com/guidebook/twitter/ Twitter Best Practices for Non Profit Organizations

http://www.diosacommunications.com/twitterbestpractices.htm So You Want a Facebook Fan Page for Your NonProfit

Organizationhttp://beth.typepad.com/beths_blog/2009/05/so-you-want-a-facebook-fan-page-.html

Facebook for Nonprofit Beginners: learn the Basics of this Online Social Networking Toolhttp://blog.techsoup.org/node/27

Resources: Listservs

Progressive Exchangehttp://www.progressiveexchange.org/welcome.htm

Labor Talkhttp://groups.google.com/group/laborcom?hl=en