The AFL-CIO Is All A-Twitter! February 24, 2010 Overview of the Federation’s Social Media Program Danielle Hatchett Social Media Manager, AFL-CIO Facebook: Twitter:

Social Media: Growing Fast  3 out of 4 Americans use social technology  1 in 3 online Americans post to social networks at least once a week  Users spend at least 5hrs and 30 min per month on average on social networking sites  99% of social media users believe organizations should have a presence in social media  37% of internet users aged use blogs or social networking sites as a venue for political or civic involvement compared to: 17% of online year olds 12% of year olds 10% of internet users over 65

Social Media: Growing Fast  Provides additional platforms to spread your message outside of traditional means  Plug your cause, raise awareness about an issue, spread the word, and update your network  Allows opportunity for instant feedback from your constituents; tap into word of mouth.  Connect with influentials (i.e. bloggers, policymakers, press, advocacy organizers and people with large networks)  Provides organizing opportunities (Help for Haiti)

Developing A Social Media Strategy  Do some research and find out where your audience is  Spend some time listening to the conversation  Create a campaign around the launch of new social media platforms  Produce engaging content

Questions We Asked (or wish we had asked!) Before Getting Started  Who will manage the site?  Who can post items to the site?  What kinds of items are appropriate for the site?  Are we prepared to let go of control of our brand just a little?  How does engaging users via social media integrate with our overall communications/marketing strategy?  How will we measure success or failure? (views, number of followers/subscribers, comments)

Establishing A Social Media Policy  Clearly state: Anyone distributing content is acting as a representative of your organization and should ask responsibly in that vein Social networking sites are public. Do not post any information you don’t want the world to see Any social networking site exists to advance the goals of the organization. Personal opinions that defame or tarnish its image are not allowed. Legal reminders about plagiarism, profanity, and defamatory statements which could land your organization in court.

AFL-CIO Social Media Tools  Blog:  Facebook:  Twitter:  YouTube:  Flickr:  Ustream: (live broadcasts)-  Digg-social news website made for people to discover and share content from anywhere on the Internet

AFL-CIO Now Blog  113,000+ page views per month 4-10 posts daily on issues important to working families; 1 post minimum on Saturday and Sunday 20,000 subscribers to our daily blog news Weekly post on Firedoglake, which gets 40,000-50,000 visits a day Each top officer has a Huffington Post column where we quickly publish blogs under their bylines on breaking issues and big campaigns Cross-posting of blogs across the progressive network (Daily Kos, Everyday Citizen) Conversation and feedback occur in the comments

Facebook fans Links to our blogs/national news items Post questions to spark conversation Use Event feature to spread word about events and campaigns Provide space for open discussion. Wall is open so fans/affiliates can post relevant content of interest to our audience

Twitter  followers; following  Followed by reporters from CNN, The Hill, AP, NPR, ABC –reciprocal spreading of content  Share links to blog posts and other news items  Spread content of unions/affiliated organizations (retweeting) – we’re listening, not just broadcasting; we’re participating in the greater allied community  Retweet content from our media staff, bloggers, and Sec-Treas. Shuler which gives us more of an authentic voice  Live tweeting of events – integrated into blog posts (retweeting)  Instant feedback from followers

YouTube  230+ videos; 500+ subscribers to our channel  Embed video into our blog posts, e- mails and throughout our website

Flickr  Central repository for state feds and central labor councils to post and share photos from campaigns, rallies and other events – easy sharing  Convention photo galleries and officer photos

Campaigns – Convention 2009 Comprehensive convention website (convention actions/resolutions, photo slide shows, video clips, blog feeds, interactive maps of Pittsburgh) Up to the minute coverage on the blog of all convention activity Staff were equipped with flip video cameras. Recorded breakout sessions and delegates sharing thoughts on the agenda and future of labor movement. Videos posted on YouTube. Heavy promo via Facebook and Twitter starting three weeks before. Web-streamed entire Convention for the first time; Page included Twitter and Facebook feeds Photo galleries on Flickr; Major convention speeches on YouTube Live tweeting of major speeches which also streamed on the blog

Convention 2009: Results Results:  Facebook: Gained over 800 fans (content generated over 1500 “likes” and we received over 400 total comments)  Twitter: Added over 500 followers and we made it into the trending topics for a short period during Obama’s speech  You Tube: Combined 15,000+ views on all of our Convention videos

Campaign: President Trumka Open for Questions  Implementation Google Moderator Ustream TV Cover it Live  Promotion Twitter Facebook Blog – Ours + Cross-posting – Lists/Listserves/

Campaign: President Trumka Open for Questions (Results)  Google Moderator: 323 people asked 160 unique questions and cast 6,744 votes.  Ustream: 4,607 unique viewers.  Cover it Live: 520 participants, 160 comments, 188 tweets.  Website: 5,465 page views.

Campaign: President Trumka Open for Questions (Results)  Twitter: 48 unique tweets/RTs and the bit.ly link generated 324 clicks.  Facebook: Event generated 149 RSVPs and 159 “maybes” actively said they were not attending.

AFL-CIO Social Media Group  Communications staff from unions and affiliated organizations sharing resources, successful social media campaigns, strategies, and tools  Working on development of social media training tools that can be distributed to unions  Trainings- Social Media 101 and 102

Trainings  Social Media 101 and 102 Overview –  Definitions; importance in communications strategy; usage stats  Questions to consider before making it a part of your communications strategy Twitter –  How to set up a profile and start tweeting  Finding people to connect with  Clients you can use to better manage your experience  Specific ways to build community Facebook-  Fan page vs. Group?  Setting up a fan page  Applications you can use to create campaigns  Benefits of advertising on Facebook

Join our Social Media Group  Danielle Hatchett