Making the Most of Your Online Communications During an Election Emira Mears + Lauren Bacon Friday, September 16, 2011
Jan 22, 2015
Making the Most of Your Online
Communications During an ElectionEmira Mears + Lauren Bacon
Friday, September 16, 2011
Twitter: #raisedeyebrow
Q & A
Friday, September 16, 2011
Twitter: #raisedeyebrow
Q & A
Type question here
Friday, September 16, 2011
Twitter: #raisedeyebrow
Your Hosts:
Emira MearsPartner
Raised Eyebrow Web Studio
Twitter: @emiramears
Lauren BaconPartner
Raised Eyebrow Web Studio
Twitter: @laurenbacon
Friday, September 16, 2011
Twitter: #raisedeyebrow
Online Election Strategy:1. Opportunities & risks of election season
2. Communications judo: making elections work for you
3. Tools assessment going into an election
4.Collaborating for greater impact
5.Viral campaigns: are they in your reach?
Friday, September 16, 2011
Twitter: #raisedeyebrow
Quick Poll
Has Your Organization Run Election-Based Campaigns Before?
• Yes
• No
Friday, September 16, 2011
Twitter: #raisedeyebrow
Election Strategies.Opportunities & risks ahead
Image credit: dvanvliet on Flickr.
Friday, September 16, 2011
Twitter: #raisedeyebrow
Election Strategies:Opportunities Ahead
• Stakes are high/urgency
• Issues & policies are top of mind
• Media will cover issues if there’s an election tie-in
• Public events to engage in: townhalls, rallies, candidate debates, etc.
Friday, September 16, 2011
Twitter: #raisedeyebrow
Election Strategies:What are the Risks?
• Relevance: Any non-election related campaigns will tend to be overshadowed during the election period
• Resource Drain: Short timelines and fast turnarounds are required to take advantage of any opportunities
• Horse Race: Backing any one candidate or party platform can backfire
• Donation Competition: Parties will be campaigning for dollars
Friday, September 16, 2011
Twitter: #raisedeyebrow
Election Strategies:Politics is Not Polite
• Member alienation: Even if the choice seems very clear to align your issue with one party or candidate, remember that not all your members will agree. You risk alienating or upsetting members by playing politics.
• Have a plan: Don’t let managing individual members’ concerns about political affiliations take up too much staff time/resources; have a plan for how you’ll respond to upset members.
Friday, September 16, 2011
Twitter: #raisedeyebrow
Election Strategies.Communications Judo
Image credit: MightyMe! on Flickr.
Friday, September 16, 2011
Twitter: #raisedeyebrow
Election Strategies:Communications Judo
• Work with the election, not against it
• Try to get your issue on the agenda
• Be ready to act quickly
Friday, September 16, 2011
Twitter: #raisedeyebrow
Election Strategies:Speak the Language of Votes
• Familiarize yourself with the party platforms
• Find candidates you can leverage
• Know your numbers
Friday, September 16, 2011
Twitter: #raisedeyebrow
Election Strategies:Mobilize Your Members
• Make sure you have the tools to mobilize your community quickly in support of the issue at hand
• Do you have your lists in order?
• Are your tools in place?
Friday, September 16, 2011
Twitter: #raisedeyebrow
Election Strategies.Audit Your Toolbox
Image credit: James Brauer on Flickr.
Friday, September 16, 2011
Twitter: #raisedeyebrow
Tools Assessment:Audit Your Existing Toolbox
• Email List(s)
• Blog
• Facebook/Twitter
• Video
• Online Donations
• Offline Tools
Friday, September 16, 2011
Twitter: #raisedeyebrow
• Have a strategy
• What is your primary message? (You probably only get one.)
• Who are you targeting? Members? Parties? Candidates?
• How will you measure success?
• Can you switch gears quickly if necessary?
Tools Assessment:Strategy Before Tools
Friday, September 16, 2011
Twitter: #raisedeyebrow
• How up to date is your list?
• Are you adding to your list?
• Is your list segmented? Should it be?
• Are staffed trained on using the software?
Tools Assessment:Email Newsletters
Friday, September 16, 2011
Twitter: #raisedeyebrow
• Do you have an existing blog you can use for election coverage?
• Valuable tool for fast turnaround/discussion
• If you don’t have a blog, is there a partner blog you could contribute to?
• Don’t expect to create a blog during an election period and expect traffic to naturally appear
Tools Assessment:Blog
Friday, September 16, 2011
Twitter: #raisedeyebrow
• Do you have an existing presence you can leverage here?
• If not, what are your goals with the tool?
• Is it to get people to take action? Or is it to raise awareness?
• Figure out what metrics you’re going to use for success
Tools Assessment:Facebook/Twitter/Google+
Friday, September 16, 2011
Twitter: #raisedeyebrow
• Make sure you’re thinking long term as well
• How can you make sure you own your contacts?
• If you run a separately branded campaign , how will you bring those people back in to your org?
• Cross-pollinate your lists
Tools Assessment:Facebook/Twitter/Google+
Friday, September 16, 2011
Twitter: #raisedeyebrow
• Can you create multimedia content?
• Does your content lend itself well to multimedia?
• Are your website and other channels currently set up to share/display multimedia content?
Tools Assessment:Online Video
Friday, September 16, 2011
Twitter: #raisedeyebrow
• Are you already set up to take donations?
• Can you target donations for a particular campaign?
• Can you set up quick landing pages/donation funnels related specifically to an election related campaign?
• Can you integrate your online donations into your other outreach easily?
Tools Assessment:Online Donations
Friday, September 16, 2011
Twitter: #raisedeyebrowFriday, September 16, 2011
Twitter: #raisedeyebrow
• Make sure your set up with the tools so that your community can spread your message.
• Post video to YouTube/Vimeo so it’s easy to share
• Have “Share This” widgets on your site
• Include your Twitter/Facebook page in email newsletters etc.
• Give supporters sample tweets and don’t be shy about asking people to repost
Tools Assessment:Make Sharing Easy
Friday, September 16, 2011
Twitter: #raisedeyebrowFriday, September 16, 2011
Twitter: #raisedeyebrow
• Don’t forget the offline follow-up
• Particularly important when it comes to mobilizing people on voting day: how are you going to get them out from behind the screen to make the change?
• Your strategy should be geared at using online tools to motivate offline action: be clear about this and set measures for success.
Tools Assessment:Offline Follow-up
Friday, September 16, 2011
Twitter: #raisedeyebrow
Election Strategies.Join forces and increase impact
Image credit: booze-a-holic on Flickr.
Friday, September 16, 2011
Twitter: #raisedeyebrow
• Should you act alone?
• Partner to share media space/centralize message
• Can you share lists/communities?
• Guest blog posts, shared newsletter content, cross-promotion in social media
• Share resources
Collaboration:Joining Forces & Increasing Impact
Friday, September 16, 2011
Twitter: #raisedeyebrow
• Risks of Partnering:
• Who will be the spokesperson?
• Building consensus can take time
• Where will donations go?
• Who “owns” lists and supporters after the election?
Collaboration:Joining Forces & Increasing Impact
Friday, September 16, 2011
Twitter: #raisedeyebrow
Election Strategies.Going viral
Image credit: naturalhomecures on Flickr.
Friday, September 16, 2011
Twitter: #raisedeyebrow
• In a word: No.
• What you can do:
• Focus on content strategy
• Make sure you have the tools for sharing -- as we discussed
• Be prepared to respond if it happens
Going Viral:Can You Make it Happen?
Friday, September 16, 2011
Twitter: #raisedeyebrowFriday, September 16, 2011
Twitter: #raisedeyebrow
Conclusion:Reporting Out
Image credit: Adam Tinworth on Flickr.
Friday, September 16, 2011
Twitter: #raisedeyebrow
• Report Out:
• Let your community know what impact they had - even if it wasn’t the result you were hoping for
• Include reporting out as a part of your content plan and schedule it in
Conclusion:After the Election
Friday, September 16, 2011
Twitter: #raisedeyebrow
• Understands the Risks and Opportunities
• Uses Communications Judo: work with the election, not against it
• Know what tools you have and what you need
• Collaborate where it will increase impact
• Be ready to go viral - but don’t depend on it
Conclusion:A Good Election Strategy
Friday, September 16, 2011
Twitter: #raisedeyebrow
Need more help?Raised Eyebrow offers:
• Usability Consulting
• Email Newsletter design, development and management
• Accessibility and Search Engine Optimization Consulting
• Custom workshops for your organization
www.raisedeyebrow.com
• Online Communications Strategy Consulting
• Information Architecture and Interaction Design
• Website Design & Development
• Web 2.0 and Social Media Consulting
Friday, September 16, 2011
Twitter: #raisedeyebrow
Questions?Please use the “raise hand” feature, or type a question into the Q&A box.
Friday, September 16, 2011
Twitter: #raisedeyebrow
Questions?Please use the “raise hand” feature, or type a question into the Q&A box.
Type question here
Friday, September 16, 2011
Twitter: #raisedeyebrow
Thank you.
raisedeyebrow.com
Lauren Bacon@laurenbacon
Emira Mears@emiramears
Friday, September 16, 2011