union campaign communications 101
DESCRIPTION
Communications presentation at 2012 conferenceTRANSCRIPT
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CAMPAIGN COMMUNICATIONS
101IBEW Membership Development
Conference Las Vegas, NV – Sept. 19, 2012
Alex Hogan – Communications
Specialist, IBEW
[email protected] - @alexmhogan
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Why is the
IBEW
important to
you and your
family? In just
one word
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Approval ratings for unions are the lowest they’ve been in 50 years: 52%
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A good
communications
strategy is a balance
of earned and direct
media involving
multiple tools
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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
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WHAT ARE OUR OPPONENTS SAYING ABOUT US?
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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
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What Are We Saying About Ourselves?
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The Four C’s
Clear
Concise
Compelling
Connect
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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
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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
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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
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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
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“Does anyone
have any
questions for my
answers?”-Henry Kissinger
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Sticking to Your Message
l Practice, practice,
practice
l Everyone on the same
page
l Learn the art of the
pivot
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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.
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Dealing with the Media
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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?
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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
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10 Do’s and Don’ts Dealing with the Press
Do Know Your Message
Don’t Be Afraid to Say “I don’t know”
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Do ask “What’s your deadline?”Don’t Say “No comment”
10 Do’s and Don’ts Dealing with the Press
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Do use spokespeople
Don’t rely on a press release to get attention
10 Do’s and Don’ts Dealing with the Press
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Do be accessible
Don’t use shop talk
10 Do’s and Don’ts Dealing with the Press
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Do share the good things you do
Don’t say more than you need
10 Do’s and Don’ts Dealing with the Press
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And one last thing…Don’t forget bloggers
l
www.leftyblogs.com l
www.dailykos.com
l www.mydd.com
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Getting the
Media’s Attention
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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
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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
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Social Media is any Website that allows online communication and interaction with other users
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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
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Social Media is a relationship – not a speech
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Social media is an important commitment – you are either in or you’re out
Make it part of your daily routine
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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
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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
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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
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Three Tips on Using Facebook to Organize
2. Facebook Ads
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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
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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
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Ad Tips
l Experiment with different ad
copy
l Close up face photos get
good responses
Don’t mention unions
Microtarget
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Three Tips on Using Facebook to Organize
3. Put Pressure on a Company (or Politician)
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Some Tips
l Activate your
members/supporters online
l Use it to amplify real world
activity
l Target the company’s page
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l For influencers, not the masses
l Authenticity counts
l Listen, rather than talk
l Sharing is caring -RT
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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.
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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
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l Provide useful information
l Create a person-to-person connection
l Be the media
Three Ways YouTube Can Boost Organizing
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l Don’t make it longer than three to four minutes
l Tag it
l Share it
Some Tips
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QUESTIONS? COMMENTS? WANT A
COPY OF THE PRESENTATION?
Send me a tweet at
@alexmhogan