Grassroorts Forum Presentation

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Grassroots Organizing: From the Living Room

to Your iPhone

Molly NichelsonAmerican College of Cardiology

2400 N Street, NWWashington, D.C. 20037Email: [email protected]: (202) 375-6470Twitter: @Cardiology

DM# 363587

Items of Discussion• Twitter

– What is it? (quick crash course)– Twitter applications– How the ACC uses Twitter

• Facebook– What is it?– How ACC uses it– How I use it for my work account

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Twitter

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What is Twitter?twitter.com

• Web-based SMS message system– Think text messaging– 140 characters

• Public / Private message setting

• People ‘follow’ your tweets / messages– And you can ‘follow’ their tweets / messages

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Setting Up Your Twitter Account

• Pick a user name– Short & concise

• Fill out your biography– Include your / your company’s name– Contact information

• Make sure you upload a photo

Twitter Page

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Finding People on Twitter

• Poach other people’s followers, via lists or followers– Best way– Read their tweets before you follow

• Search what people are tweeting (words & hashtags) & follow them– http://search.twitter.com

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Twitter – Followers twitter.com/cardiology

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Twitter Applications

• Sending Your Tweets:– Computer

• Tweetdeck: http://tweetdeck.com/beta/ • Seesmic: http://desktop.seesmic.com/ • Hootsuite: http://www.hootsuite.com

– Blackberry • UberTwitter: http://ubertwitter.com/

– iPhone• Tweetie: http://www.atebits.com/tweetie-iphone/

Seesmic

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Twitter Applications

• Feeding your RSS feeds to Your Twitter Account:

– Ping.fm – http://ping.fm – Tweetlater – http://tweetlater.com– Hootsuite -- http://hootsuite.com

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Twitter Terminology: Hashtag

• Use a hashtag (#) before a word in a post allows you to tag that post for that word

• This allows your word to be more readily searched

• Can help bring you new followers and help you find more followers

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Example -- #HCRhttp://search.twitter.com

Reading Up on Twitter

• Social Media Websites

• http://mashable.com/• http://www.smartbrief.com/• http://www.twitip.com/• http://www.readwriteweb.com/• http://www.chrisbrogan.com/• http://social-media-university-global.org/• http://beth.typepad.com/ (for non-profits)

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Reading Up on Twitter

• ePolitics Websites

• http://techpresident.com/• http://personaldemocracy.com/• http://tweetcongress.org• http://twitterroom.thehill.com/• http://www.epolitics.com/• http://www.nextgov.com/

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Best Practices & Advice

• Test out Twitter with your own account before doing one for work– Make it private if you have to– Test it with friends & coworkers

• Get familiar with the Twitter applications– Like iPhone apps, there are *many* of them,

and they change often

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Best Practices & Advice

• Know that you WILL make mistakes

• You will NOT have full control

• Use your own voice– Don’t turn your Twitter account in to an RSS

feed– Be a HUMAN behind your account

• Give something of value to your audience– Coupons, advice, articles, thanks

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Best Practices & Advice

• And know when you send a tweet, it’s out there forever…and it’s searchable!

– http://search.twitter.com

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Best Practices & Advice

• Following & Followers– Be judicious, but don’t be a snob either

– Don’t get freaked out by who’s following you

– If someone is wacky, block them

– And did I mention there are reporters on Twitter…and they may follow you?

• http://journalistsontwitter.wetpaint.com/

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Best Practices & Advice

• Monitor, Monitor, Monitor!– Don’t throw stuff out and then don’t react;

monitor your account and who’s following you

– Have an RSS feed on your #hashmarks & company’s name

• http://search.twitter.com

– See what’s popular on Twitter• Trending topics

American College of Cardiology’s Advocacy Department & Twitter

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How We Started

• Created account in Oct. 2007

• Was excited about the grassroots potential, but didn’t know the technology– Way to get to busy members– Connect with other healthcare leaders

• Started with my own account– Took me 6 months – 1 year to feel

comfortable

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How We Started

• Attended the Public Affairs Council Meeting in 2009 & learned more about social media– Now had the gumption to talk to boss & big

boss about it– They have a lot of trust me in me, but didn’t

know a lot about the technology– Said to go ahead with Twitter

How We Started

• Annual Meeting 2009– Sat down with Communications folks– Started Twittering in late February 2009

• Literally two weeks before annual meeting we met

• Social Media Strategy Policy @ the ACC– Still a work in progress– Now have a some parameters but we work

closely with Communications on this.24

How We Use Twitter

• Send news articles– Show that we’re on top of the health system

reform debate• Members• Media• Other healthcare groups

• RSS feed– CEO’s blog (Lewin Report)

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How We Use Twitter

• Highlight member and advocacy achievements

• Interact with members of Congress– http://tweetcongress.org

• Still teaching our members about Twitter– Have included our link in alerts

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Facebook

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What is Facebook?

• Think of an online yearbook, only you can update it instantly– You can post web links, photos, videos– Friends can post notes to your site (if you have the

proper permissions)– People can respond to your links

• Who’s on it?– Public officials, your colleagues, your members /

employees• It aint for kids anymore!

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Setting Up Your Work Facebook Account

• Fill out your biography– Include your / your company’s name– Contact information

• Make sure you upload a photo

• Search for people you know and poach them off of your friends

Work Facebook Page

Facebook – Are They Engaging?

Facebook Events

ACC Facebook Page

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Best Practices & Advice

• Finding People– Take the time to find those members of

Congress on Facebook• Find out about townhalls, look at their videos…get

intel!

– Find out if you have members / employees on Facebook

• Run your email address book in Facebook. You’ll be surprised who’s on

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Best Practices & Advice

• Monitor, Monitor, Monitor!– Don’t throw stuff out and then don’t react;

monitor your account and who’s following you

– See what other people are posting and post it to your page

Best Practices & Advice

• Make it interesting!– Feed your Twitter account to Facebook

• Gets them interested in Twitter & hits them with stuff that they may not see via email

– Share events, links and semi-personal stuff about yourself

• Helps your members / employees connect with you & this helps your grassroots efforts!

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Best Practices & Advice

• Make it interesting!– Get yourself a Flip Video camera, record, and

put it on your site

– Tag people in photos

– Post articles that may be some-what off topic to show that there is a real human, and not an RSS feed behind it.

American College of Cardiology’s Advocacy Department & Facebook

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How We Started

• Created account ACC page & work Facebook account earlier this year

• Communications Department was a bit hesitant that I created my own page.

• Communications now manages the ACC page; I manage my own account

Any questions?