Overview of OEA's social media channels and the basics of using Facebook for union organizing.

1. Dinica Quesada, OEA Communications Specialist, quesadad@ohea.org
Jeremy Baiman, OEA Organizer, baimanj@ohea.org

2. http://www.facebook.com/OhioEducationAssociation

3. www.twitter.com/OhioEA

4. www.youtube.com/OhioEdAssoc

5. www.blog.ohea.org

6. www.flickr.oea

7. 2nd
most visited
site in the
country behind
Google
11th
3rd
56th 15th

8. Building Community Support
 Increase awareness of specific OEA initiatives
 Build / Reinforce OEA’s reputation as proactively working to
improve schools and advocating for the right of every child to a
high quality public education
 Build / Reinforce public perception of OEA as the preeminent
source on education policy and issues
 Enhance understanding of the union’s activities and services
Mobilization & Organizing
 Gain volunteers and activists
 Move activists to take action

9. TWITTER
 Connect with like-minded organizations
 Connect with the media
 Provide real-time updates
BLOGS
 Publicize your expertise
 Advance your issues or educate people
 Tell stories about your day-to-day work
 Promote your website

10. YOUTUBE
 Host videos
 Create content for website and Facebook
 Follow others
PINTEREST
 Drive traffic to your website and blog
 Become the go-to-source for information
 Crowd-source for content

11. FACEBOOK
 Increase feedback and discussion
 Drive traffic to your website and blog
 Spread information
 Attract event attendees
 Get people to take action
 Attract donations
 Build a community – increase members’
connection to your association

13. To reach the most
people you have to
play into Facebook’s
newsfeed algorithm,
and you can do that
two ways:
 Post rich content
like photos,
videos, and links.

14.  Get people to
engage with your
content. The
more often people
interact with your
page, the more
often Facebook
will show your
content to them.

15.  Make a graphic out of
information instead of just
typing it in the status
update. Simply overlay the
info in big, bold text over a
relevant image or a plain
colored background.
 Find cartoons about
education
 Take behind-the-scenes
pictures of your members
and events
Try www.pixlr.com or Picasa.
It bears repeating: Post tons of images!

16.  Create memes — you
can do it quickly on
www.quickmeme.com

17.  Publish infographics. Publish a
chart or graph with data your
members would care about

18.  Publicize events and programs
 Share videos
 Share tools & tips
 Use petitions and other easy calls to action.
 Message discipline! Make sure all posts, even the fun ones,
further your association’s overall message.
 Make posts very short. If your info is long/complicated, link to
more information. (Note: Keep your website current — website
and social media go hand in hand)
 Be positive.
 Be informal and use organizing language. Posts with self-
referential words like ―I‖ and ―we‖ tend to get more likes.

19.  Posts published on Saturdays and Sundays get more likes than
those posted during the week.
 Content posted later in the day get more likes and shares —
likes peak around 8PM EST, while shares peak around 6PM EST.
 Deliberate pacing gets more attention.
 Facebook pages versus groups: no data with groups/no privacy
with pages

20. From Education Minnesota, Adapted from U.S. Air Force

21. From Education
Minnesota, Adapted
from U.S. Air Force

22. Strongsville EA

23.  Pictures are worth…
 Establish Solidarity with
other OEA Members
 Show a concrete action

24.  Too Long
 Link Says the Same Thing
as the Post
 Alternative: Link and
Quote Only

25.  Re-enforce Idea that you
are fighting for the
children
 Establish Value of Teachers
to Children
 Non-traditional Strike
Photo

26.  Know Your Audience
 Use Dinica’s Tips for
Responding to Negative
Posts
 Make Sure There Are
Members and Community
Members Who Will Post
Positive Comments

27.  Avoid Temptation to “Do
the Math”
 Facebook is Not the Place
for Reasoned, Well
Articulated Arguments
 Alternative: Use Issues the
Public Cares About, for
Example: Class Sizes

28.  Picture Instead of Text
 Time, Date, and Location
all Clearly Visible
 One Clear Message

30.  How to Get More Likes, Comments and Shares on Facebook:
http://danzarrella.com/infographic-how-to-get-more-likes-comments-and-
shares-on-facebook.html#
 Facebook for Nonprofits: Your Questions Answered [Speakeasy #18]:
http://blogs.constantcontact.com/product-blogs/social-media-
marketing/facebook-nonprofits-podcast/
 VIDEO: 5.5 Best Practices for Unions using Facebook:
http://youtu.be/EQqGjJVV6-A
 Your burning questions (& our answers) on Facebook metrics and
strategy!:
http://labs.mrss.com/your-burning-questions-our-answers-on-facebook-
metrics-and-strategy/
 Social Media Tips on Pinterest:
http://pinterest.com/dinicaq/social-media-tips/