This document provides an introduction to using social media for digital campaigning and identifies best practices. It discusses several key social media platforms including Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, blogs, and LinkedIn. For each platform, it outlines how politicians and campaigns can create accounts, generate content, engage audiences, and integrate activities across channels. The overall message is that social media requires continuous effort over time to build an online presence and spread information to large numbers of people.

1. Introduction to Social Media

3. Introduction What is social media ? All media found on internet based applications where the content is user generated. Social media is inexpensive and widely accessible. Spreads information quickly to large numbers of people. Generally communicates simple ideas.

5. The power of social media is integration. Photos, messages, themes, press releases, statements , branding, videos. They all need to be cross-posted on all social media applications. The value of a consistent message can be as powerful as the message itself. Marshall McLuhan’s ‘the media is the message’ still forms the cornerstone of media theory today. This Canadian foresaw the concept of the ‘global village.’

7. Facebook Facebook is a multi-purpose social networking tool. Users generate content such as videos, photos, comments, links, and events. It suggests content and friends to each user. It can replace the need for a website and integrates most other forms of social networking.

8. Create a politician page. This is public, not private. Add a professional photo. Users ‘Like’ a page to receive regular updates. The wall contains the most recent additions, videos, posts from other users. Fill in the mission statement. Complete standard info. *Must have a personal Facebook account to create a politician page. Facebook: Anatomy

9. Events are shown as are notes or other items. Monitor and respond to Comments. So who likes an item. Click Share to post the Politican Page to your own Personal Page to get more ‘ Likes’ Facebook: Anatomy

10. This is the INFO tab. The more info you fill in, the more likely it is media and others will contact you. Anyone can see your page. Facebook: Anatomy

12. Twitter Twitter is fast becoming the most important social media tool today with over 200 million users tweeting 140 character messages 65,000,000 times each day and growing. It is simple and powerful messaging. It’s simple, easy to use, and extremely powerful.

14. Twitter: User signs up for an account. You become popular as a source of info. Your followers grow and your tweets get better. You tweet everyday and follow tweets everyday by doing searches focused on topics of interest to your followers and you. You start following tweets by other users. How does it work? Other users start following you, when you follow them! Other users start following you by reading your tweets in searches. You start to tweet. You use tweets to notify everyone about everything in your campaign. You read tweets to find feedback, cross-post to other forms of social media and enhance your own campaign.

15. @rob_hines represents a twitter user. Twitter: Anatomy of a Tweet RT @rob_hines 4 Immediate Release #GPC opens candidate nominations in Delta--Richmond East http://on.fb.me/goc59c #cdnpoli #vancouver #news #cdnpoli represents a topic. RT is a re-tweet. A re-posted tweet. Credit is given to the original author immediately after typing RT. Shorten when possible. You only have 140 characters. Condense URL’s to save space, 140 character maximum. #topics are added at end to make tweets more searchable Add #topics within tweet for maximum efficiency.

16. Twitter: Fill in profile info! Tweets scroll. User suggestions. Followers and Following.

17. Twitter: #Hashtags & @Users #gpc Green Party of Canada #lpc #cpc #ndp Liberal, Conservative, New Democrat #cdnpoli Canadian Politics #bcpoli #onpoli BC ON Politics #hoc House of Commons #cbc Canadian Broadcasting Corp @canadiangreens The GPC! @elizabethmay The Leader @kady CBC political twit addict *Look for users and topics in your area: #vancouver #to @barriegreens etc. These are the #topics and @users common for national political use in Canada that you need to be aware of.

18. Blog A blog is a web log. Think of it as an online journal. Entries are made on a regular basis. Blogs are not in use as much now as Facebook can replace many of the same functions. These journal like entries can be broadcast using RSS feeds. RSS feeds are links to updates of a website.

19. Blog

20. YouTube is a website for video-sharing. Almost everyone uses YouTube, at least to watch videos. Approximately 35 hours of content is added each minute. Users can view, upload, and share video’s. YouTube search engine is the second most used on the web behind google. YouTube

23. YouTube What do you need? A camera $200 A YouTube account (free) An external microphone A tripod

24. LinkedIn LinkedIn is a professional social networking site used in over 200 countries with more than 86 million users. It is like facebook except the information contained on profiles are more oriented toward career information.

25. This is an automated twitter feed on facebook. Integration

26. This is a twitter box that can be placed on a website Integration This is a facebook box that can be placed on a website This is a YouTube box that can be placed on a website

27. This is a much larger, more interactive facebook box, that can be placed on a website. Integration A user browsing by this article can share a link using these buttons below. See addthis.com

29. So... Social media is not a one time hit It is not a science It is not without effort You do not have to do it all by yourself No secret No

30. So... Everybody can learn to use social media You show that you care and want to interact It increases your overall visibility It works even better the more you collaborate The combination is reinforcing Continuous effort Yes

32. Thank You! And all the best! Credits: Jo Cops Luc Robijns Johan Hamels Rob Hines