Social media: Strategies &tools for advocacy campaigns Internet at Liberty May 23-24, 2012 • Washington, DC
Today’s Twitter hashtag #InternetLiberty Magna Carta (detail), 1217
ParticipantsSocialbrite.org Human Rights WatchJD Lasica Jim Murphy, Emma Daly, Enriquejd@socialbrite.org Piraces murphyj@hrw.orgBolo Bhi Global Poverty ProjectSana Saleem dArcy Lunnsanasaleemmalik@gmail.com darcy@globalpovertyproject.comEuro RSCG Worldwide FacebookOscar Morales Matt Peraultoscar@oamg.co matthewperault@fb.com Google Plus Jason Karsh jkarsh@google.com
What we’ll discuss today1. Overview of campaign strategies & platforms (30 minutes)2. Breakout sessions (two 25-minute sessions) Facebook Twitter Google Plus Other tools & tactics for campaigns3. Report back (general session, 10 minutes)Hugs, tearful goodbyes
Relax! http://socialbrite.org/advocacy-toolkit Creative Commons BY photo on Flickr by Tom@HK
THE ECOSYSTEMTypes of social media• Blogs• Social networks• Microblogs (Twitter)• Online video• Curation (Pinterest)• Widgets• Photo sharing• Podcasts• Virtual worlds• Wikis• Social bookmarking• Forums• Presentation sharing
Staggering growth• 150 million active blogs; 1 million blog posts created per day• YouTube, Facebook, Wikipedia, VEVO, Twitter are among top sites in world• Hundreds of social networks unique to countries/regions• Twitter: 150 million active users, 250 million+ tweets per day• Google+: On track to 400 million users• YouTube: 3 billion videos watched per day• 8 trillion text messages sent in 2011
A D V O C A C Y C A M PA I G N S3 keys to success1. Message Begin with a strategy and a plan — not with the tools. Inspire people with stories, craft shareable content2. Messengers Build community, not audiences Turn supporters into champions for your cause3. Media Deliver your message across multiple platforms: Email, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, G+, mobile, etc. Try to get pick-up by traditional media
FACEBOOKFacebook: The social network 900 million members worldwide — 57% of global members use it every day 900 600 3002004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 0 2010 2011 Today Facebook’s global growth rate, 2004-2012, in millions
Secret groups on Facebook facebook.com/groups
FACEBOOKGet into those news feeds! edgerankchecker.com Article: http://bit.ly/edgerank-checker
TWITTER70% Twitter use outside U.S.
TWITTERComes in 22 languagesहि"दी English 日本語 Filipino简体中文 Bahasa Melayu 한국어Português Svenska français DanskBahasa Indonesia 繁體中文 NorskItalianoEspañol Nederlands PolskiTürkçe Русский Suomi Deutsch
TWITTER 1 in 5 heads of state use Twitter GREENLAND Stephen Harper ICELAND FINLAND @pmharper NORWAY R U S S I A SWEDENC A N A D A ESTONIA U. K. DENMARK LATVIA LITHUANIA NETH. IRELAND POLAND BYELARUS BELGIUM GERMANY Dmitry Medvedev LUX. CZECH SLOVAKIA UKRAINE KAZAKHSTAN AUSTRIA MOLDOVA HUNGARY SWITZERLAND SLOVENIA ROMANIA FRANCE ITALY CROATIA RUSSIA MONGOLIA 10 Downing St @MedvedevRussiaE BOSNIA and HERZ. YUGOSLAVIA BULGARIA GEORGIA UZBEKISTAN MACEDONIA KYRGYZSTAN ALBANIA ARMENIA PORTUGAL AZERBAIJAN TURKMENISTAN NORTH KOREA @number10gov GREECE AZORES SPAIN TURKEY TAJIKISTAN U. S. A. MALTA SOUTH KOREA CYPRUS SYRIA C H I N A TUNISIA LEBANON AFGHANISTAN ISRAEL IRAQ JAPAN MOROCCO IRAN JORDAN The White House Canary Islands ALGERIA KUWAIT NEPAL PAKISTAN BHUTAN WESTERN EGYPT BAHRAIN THE BAHAMAS SAHARA LIBYA QATAR BANGLADESH MEXICO @whitehouse (occupied by Morocco) U. A. E. Benjamin Netanyahu INDIA TAIWAN CUBA SAUDI ARABIA MYANMAR DOM. REP. MAURITANIA LAOS JAMAICA CAPE OMAN BELIZE HAITI VERDE MALI NIGER CHAD YEMEN HONDURAS @netanyahu ERITREA THAILAND SENEGAL VIETNAM GUATEMALA GAMBIA CAMBODIA PHILIPPINES EL SALVADOR BURKINA SUDAN NICARAGUA GUINEA BISSAU FASO NIGERIA DJIBOUTI Hugo Chavez GUINEA PANAMA BENIN GHANA SOMALIA SRI LANKA COSTA VENEZUELA GUYANA COTE TOGO CENTRAL RICA DIVOIRE SURINAME SIERRA LEONE CAMEROON AFRICAN ETHIOPIA @chavexcandanga REPUBLIC MALAYSIA FRENCH GUIANA LIBERIA BRUNEI COLOMBIA EQUATORIAL GUINEA UGANDA MALAYSIA SAO TOME & PRINCIPE KENYA SINGAPORE CONGO ECUADOR GABON RWANDA DEM. REP. OF CONGO BURUNDI ANGOLA TANZANIA I N D O N E S I A NEW BRAZIL EAST TIMOR PERU BOLIVIA ANGOLA ZAMBIA MALAWI Paul Kagame @PaulKagame Dilma Rousseff ZIMBABWE NAMIBIA PARAGUAY BOTSWANA MOZAMBIQUE CHILE @DilmaBR SWAZILAND MADAGASCAR A U S T R A L I A ARGENTINA LESOTHO SOUTH AFRICA URUGUAY Julia Gillard @JuliaGillard FALKLAND
TWITTERSearch by location search.twitter.com
TWITTERTweets about freedom in Tokyo
GOOGLE PLUSGoogle Plus in 2 minutes http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PYiHJWA8U-Y
GOOGLE PLUSOf interest to campaigns• Private or public Hangouts• Share photos & campaign information• Set up targeted circles• Give your content a search boost
SANA SALEEM / BOLO BHI
BOLO BHIAdvocacy is personal Do the research• Avoid knee-jerk reactions• Engage and collaborate• Engage most with those who disagree• Make time & space for group discussions• Listen more, talk less
BOLO BHIFocus on facts & public ed
BOLO BHIVideos for change
BOLO BHICoordinating local & global action #Stopcensoringpk
H U M A N R I G H T S WAT C HSocial media will save us! Or not?• Social media: important component of modern advocacy plan — but you need to consider strategy & staffing• We were seduced by its grassroots vibe and got burnt — so we refocused on traditional targets: policy-makers & journalists just in time for the Arab Spring• Devise a SM strategy you can apply to different platforms• Rather than enlist our followers, we trained our staff @HRW on Twitter
H U M A N R I G H T S WAT C HSocial media platforms Arabic Facebook 30,000 fans – Primary outlet in Libya @hrw 100,000 new followers since January YouTube 2 million views Tumblr 1,000 followers StumbleUpon Content partnership Pinterest Trying to wrest ‘hrw’ from a 17-year-old
H U M A N R I G H T S WAT C HSocial media advocacy• Twitter emerged as seamless fit to our traditional advocacy tools• Noticed journalists were using Twitter to aggregate content, source stories (and promote selves)• Easy to identify journalists• Policy makers engage – Durbin’s office requested @hrw to RT• Effective way to cross promote with partner NGOs
H U M A N R I G H T S WAT C HSome successes• Arab Spring: In addition to mainstream coverage, Twitter & a general shift to short-form writing fed into live blogs (NY Times, Guardian, Al Jazeera)• Following big enough to influence most popular algorithms on other websites• @KenRoth listed in Foreign Policy’s 2012 Top 100 Twitterati list – Shape the story as it breaks
H U M A N R I G H T S WAT C H Foreign Policy’s Twitterati 100Whos who of the foreign-policy Twitterverse in 2011—Pundits: • Jackson Diehl (@JacksonDiehl): Deputy editorial page editor at Washington Post. • David Frum (@davidfrum): Canadian pundit and former speechwriter for George W. Bush; sort of coined the phrase “Axis of Evil.” • Nicholas Kristof (@NickKristof): Crusading columnist for NY Times; has traveled to every member of the Axis of Evil at least twice. • Kenneth Roth (@KenRoth): Outspoken executive director of Human Rights Watch.
H U M A N R I G H T S WAT C H Twitter tips • Encourage staff, decentralize, social flow • Messaging: Interesting stats, hand crafted, Q&A style, active audiences • Most clicked: • Which country tried more than 12,000 civilians, includingo children, by military tribunal in 2011? • #Bahrain: Doctor sentenced to 15 years in prison. Her "crime," setting up a medical tent to treat protesters • Most retweeted: • Heres how Charles Taylors conviction on war crimes charges changes the world • Mississippi, 50% testing positive for #HIV not receiving treatment, rate comparable to Botswana, Ethiopia, Rwanda
H U M A N R I G H T S WAT C HChallenges• Social media often lack official channels to report human rights concerns• Getting advice from Twitter – best practices, search engine optimization, other?• Training staff and defending the time investment• Internally some are still nervous as tweets are not vetted
Remember your homework Tons of resources at http://socialbrite.org/advocacy-toolkit
Let’s get to the breakouts! 4 Shared Learning breakouts: Share your experiences, ask your questions1. Google Plus for good 2. Twitter for good 4. Other tools & tactics 3. Facebook for good for successful campaigns
Internet at liberty