Presented by Sarah Granger Emerge CA ‘05 Alumna Founder, PublicEdge Partner, Women’s Campaign Consortium

Strategies for Online Engagement: A Primer for Candidates, Activists & Electeds

What you’ll learn

 How to build your online presence  Online engagement strategies including blogging for impact & building a powerful social media network  Tools & tips for campaigning online

What you need as a leader online  Bare minimum: website and/or blog, e-mail list, Facebook page  Online persona & history – will be researched  Willingness to engage online  One social media savvy friend or volunteer

Who are You?

First steps toward creating your online identity & voice      Reserve names: domain, Twitter, Facebook Setup simple website and/or blog Setup Facebook page Aggregate initial contact data in one place (where is your primary list?) Create new e-mail account if campaigning

Show who you are online

     Do a detailed search on your name – what do you see?

Be clear & concise, tell your story Create a unique image that stands out Your website and social sites must provide the most accurate picture Personalize - updates, friendly “curated version of yourself”

Building initial networks

 Build initial e-mail list from contact lists & social networks (FB, LinkedIn, Plaxo)  Make sure existing social media accounts are in order  Invite inner circle onto social networks  Start following local political organizations & media on Twitter, Facebook

Costs/budgeting

      Basic website and/or blog – FREE Strategy consultants, web developers & designers – hourly or by project Social media accounts - FREE Content, e-mail & data entry – do yourself, get volunteers or hire hourly temp workers Database &/or fundraising back-end – set-up fee plus monthly rate based on # of records ISP – monthly charge usually based on traffic

Tips for tight budgets

      Don’t get fancy with the website (pre packaged is OK, like Wordpress) Use the same designer for website as logo Excel is fine for a local race database Repurpose, reuse, reinvent copy Focus on e-mail, pushing content out Maximize social media use

Website construction

       Design consistent with overall themes Simple, easy to find information Basic site is better than no site at all Take advantage of color Utilize Search Engine Optimization (SEO) Find ways to stand out from the opposition Add social media link buttons to site

Color, Images, Layout, Content, Design

Essential site features

 Background information, biography  Photo  Contribution Mechanism  Endorsements  Issue Statements  Events/Calendar  Contact Info

Additional site features

 Campaign News / Blog  Voter registration information  Press page: articles, additional photos  Volunteer supplies & tools (sign-up sheets, talking points, widgets, buttons)  Campaign Store (via Café Press)

Keys to good online content      Segment & mix it up for speedy dissemination Make it “Sticky” - keep people on site Posts (Blog, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn) must be personalized, well written, casual Videos (YouTube, Qik, etc.) – you in action Images (Flickr, Picasa, site photos) – your story through images

Add-on tools for sites

 Wordpress for blogs, plug-ins  ActBlue – easy Dem donation engine  NationBuilder – online organizing tools  Salsa –free tool for local races coming out this summer called “Salsa Libre”  Addthis.com – buttons and widgets  Raiseyourvote.com – DNC reg. tool

Search Engine Optimization

 Insert key words into text, images & site code & blog posts  Make sure page titles smartly named, including proper headers  Name, city, county, state, neighborhoods, etc.

 Issues, actions in the area, proper nouns of key locations, topics

Site metrics & tracking

 Overall Traffic  Referring pages  Location of visitors/users  Time on site  Pages most visited  Trends & analysis

Database – for contacts, supporters, network      Basic: spreadsheets like Excel, databases like Highrise Sophisticated online back-end services like NationBuilder, NGP, Convio, Salsa Import existing voter lists, data from social networks, mobile phone, Skype, etc.

Data types - visitors, supporters/users, donors, volunteers, data managers Safety & security

E-mail outreach

      Still the best communication vehicle Use viral themes Engage with urgency & action Utilize endorsers, big name supporters Work off of major events, news & reporting deadlines Think outside the box – too much campaign e-mail looks canned

E-mail message content

 Stick to one focus (or ask) per message  Don’t ask for money every time  Use short sentences, repeat key points  Tell stories, incite action  Be authentic  Thank people often!

E-mail response

       Create standard collection of replies for common requests, questions Friends – reply personally Donors – thank & engage Volunteers – give tangible tasks Undecided – provide detailed answers (pre-packaged is OK) Negative – be kind, thank for contacting Defamatory – ignore (don’t feed trolls!)

Remember the audience

Building your voice online

 Regular e-mail outreach  Blogging on your website or keeping one primary blog  Guest blogging & op-eds on other sites  Commenting on other blogs  Engaging through social media platforms (Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Pinterest)

Blogging – what is it really?

 Self-publishing of articles on easy platform  Closer to op-ed than traditional journalism  Generally not edited by pro editors  Personal viewpoints on issues, events, topics – more raw, casual  Authentic – keeping it real & useful

Do you really need a blog?

      No, but you need a voice online & blogging’s the easiest way: giant megaphone Makes you a better writer for op-eds & more Gives you subject matter credibility Allows you to experiment with your voice Connects you with people you would not otherwise meet Takes time, but you get out 3x what you put in

How blogger influence works  High quality content spread across networks  Well written post gets shared, highlighted  Reputation develops over time  Can be subtle – traffic ≠ influence  Even small blogs can get national attention if topic is important enough

What makes a great blogger?

       Unique voice & passion for issues Experience writing & editing Available time to write and learn the back end of blogging Comfort with online publishing systems Plays well with others Appropriate timing in political cycle Willingness to stir up controversy

Getting started blogging

       Block off time in your schedule List top blogs in your local area & tune in Get to know bloggers & regular commenters List topics you may want to write about Try out your own blog – can set private at first Try writing longer posts on Facebook Offer to guest blog for org. or group blog

Blog lingo

       Post – article Page – static content (bio, contact info) Comment – reader remarks, dialogue Category – topic or general area Tag or Keyword – keywords for search Blogroll – related blogs in sidebar Troll – rude or defamatory commenters

Posting process

       Research Write Edit Link Publish Promote Repeat

Blog content

 News (esp. if a candidate)  Ideas, thoughts on issues  Highlights from events you participate in – speaking engagements, publications  Links to resources or articles of interest  Personal stories, anecdotes

Building a community with other bloggers         Find blogs – local news, events, other blogs Setup RSS reader to organize & follow blogs Ask bloggers to exchange links List blog, on FB Networked Blogs, BlogHer Join blogger e-mail lists Follow bloggers on Twitter, Facebook Attend blogger events, conferences Engage: comment, retweet, respond!

Using Facebook

      Curate posts similarly to blogging, just shorter Keep it short & sweet, casual Take advantage of photos, video, links Share important news Ask questions of your community Keep it clean – don’t post anything you wouldn’t want in The New York Times

LinkedIn value

     Online resume – extra way to highlight skills, experience in a neutral way Reaches professional political network Also aggregates some contact information Easy to find other people in your network Can take advantage of groups

Twitter as a tool

     Best way to find media, bloggers, advocacy groups, online influencers Quick & easy for sharing news, articles Engage with the community via @replies Learn about issues using common hashtags (#p2, #fem2) & terms Retweet (re-post) what is relevant to the community and voters

On the move – online engagement while mobile  Posting photos to Facebook from live events  Live tweeting events, news  Qik for posting live video  Publishing quick blog posts when major news comes in

Back Channel = secret sauce  Use your networks – esp. trusted friends  Send individual e-mail to influencers  Post to blogger or activist e-mail lists  Mention via Facebook e-mail  Suggest mentions via Twitter direct message  Exchange online favors with others

Integrated social media strategy      Build social media into overall campaign or professional-political persona Put your Facebook & Twitter IDs on cards & fliers along with website URL Auto-post: blog to Facebook & Twitter “Drip irrigation” - Sally Lieber Remember to keep it personal, social, authentic

Don’t let this happen to you – reputation management

Reputation control tips

     Promote a positive image early & often – ensure YOU control your image online Curate content always keeping image, reputation & message in mind Buy domains relating back to your name Regular “vanity” searches Get endorsers, supporters to link to official website (so people know which is yours)

Transitioning roles online

       Activist -> Candidate -> Elected Each role is public & political Each role requires issue expertise & engagement Activists can be most free online Candidates need to be more careful Electeds must be most cautious Authentic voice must hold throughout

Other online organizing tools       E-mail groups & document sharing – Google Groups & Docs, Dropbox Events – Facebook Events, Evite, Eventbrite, Plancast, Foursquare Conference calls – Freeconference.com

Large or bulk file transfers – Yousendit.com

Video chat – Skype, Google+ Hangouts Polling – SurveyMonkey on web, Polleverywhere for mobile devices

If you have the money

 Google web ads  Facebook ads  High end web designers  Personalized videos  Mobile & SMS outreach

Remember to SHARE!

 Social – networked, engaged  Highlighting – short & sweet, positive  Authentic – true to your voice  Repetitive – consistent, continuous  Educational – informative, valuable  ! – enthusiastic, passionate

Questions?

Contact Sarah Granger – E-mail: [email protected]

Twitter: @sarahgranger & @publicedge LinkedIn: Linkedin.com/in/sarahgranger