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