Communicating Effectively in Your Riding
Harnessing the Potential of Social Media
Introduction
› Why We’re Liberals
› Our Stories
› Lessons Learned
› Social Media for Your FLA
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Introduction
› Why I’m a Liberal
› My Story
small, individual efforts are amplified when carried
› Lessons Learned
I became a member of the Liberal Party because my
out in concert with other similarly minded citizens.
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Introduction
› Where was I a year ago?
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Using Twitter sparingly
Using Facebook socially
Learning Wordpress
Vaguely familiar with Photoshop
Politically interested, not involved
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Introduction
› Why I’m a Liberal
› My Story
› Lessons Learned
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Introduction
› Highlights from 2011/12:
› 4th on Twitter out of 1524 candidates
federally in 2011
› @ABoldNewRed featured in MediaMiser
social media study, written about by
Susan Delacourt
› 600 tweet weekend at Biennial
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Introduction
› Where am I today?
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Using Twitter professionally for OLP
Admin of countless Facebook pages
Use Wordpress + other platforms daily
Designing with Photoshop at work
Living a 24/7 political lifestyle
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Introduction
› Social Media accounts I manage:
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Ontario Liberal Party
Liberal Party of Canada (Ontario)
LPC President Mike Crawley
Liberals in Action
LPC Social Media help group
Federal/Provincial Associations
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Introduction
› What I’ve learned:
› ANYONE can do social media
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You don’t need to be tech-savvy
You don’t need to be young
You don’t need a comms background
You don’t need prior knowledge
… you just have to be willing to learn
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Introduction
Why should you use
social media and what
do you need to know?
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Introduction
›Why should you use social media?
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Irreversible cultural change
83% of Canadians on Facebook
Engage Ontarians on their terms
Be part of the conversation about
our Party
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Introduction
5 rules of social media:
1. Don’t over-promote
2. Encourage engagement
3. Stay interesting and significant
4. Watch for meaningful feedback
5. Be relentless about improvement
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Introduction
We have one aim in messaging:
We want our target audience to
see our values as their values and
identify as Liberals.
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Introduction
2 questions to ask yourself:
1. Will what I’m communicating encourage local
members to get involved, stay involved, or
become more involved with the Liberal Party?
2. Will what I’m communicating encourage
members of my community to support the
Liberal Party and vote for our candidate in the
next election?
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Introduction
› Start with a plan. Before you begin,
figure out:
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What is your message?
Who is your target?
What tools will you use?
Who will do what?
What do you want to achieve and by when?
Are you prepared?
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Introduction
Your Message
What are the issues that resonate
locally with targeted audiences?
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Introduction
Who is your target audience?
› LPC(O) Members
› Donors
› General Public
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Introduction
What tools will you use?
› Website
› Twitter
› Facebook
› Letters to the editor
› News releases
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Introduction
Why that tool?
› Different targets, different media
› Choose what works best with your
target audience and your message
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Introduction
Who will do what?
› Who is writing?
› Who will post on social media?
› Who will be spokesperson?
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Introduction
Create a FLA Comms Team
› Create opportunity for involvement
› Split up the workload
› Use the full talent of your members
› Get a second set of eyes on work
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Introduction
Set Realistic Goals and Timelines
› Set goals that allow you to see
results
› Choose deadlines you can
reasonably meet
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Introduction
Are you prepared?
› Do the groundwork
› Clip and save articles
› File Party emails
› Develop lists of key people
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Introduction
Know your opponents:
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What they’re saying and to who
Track their positions on the issues
Save clippings about their comments
Set up a Google alert for them
Challenge their message
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Introduction
Include a call to action:
›Volunteer
›Join
›Donate
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Introduction
Leveraging relationships:
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Make a Facebook event
Sharing photos
Organize a TweetUp
Get creative
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Conclusion
Thank You