This document provides tips and strategies for using social media for activism. It recommends posting original content that appeals to emotions and calls for action. Content should tell compelling stories using figures of speech to grab and hold attention. The anatomy of an effective tweet is described, including hashtags, influencer tags, and links. Facebook video and image posting tips are included. Creating coordinated social media toolkits and lists on platforms like Twitter is advised to share content among activists. Various analytics and monitoring tools are also listed.

1. Social Media Strategy for
Activists
Alan Rosenblatt, Ph.D.
Sr. VP for Digital Strategy, turner4D
Director of Digital Research, Lake Research Partners
Professor, GWU, American and Johns Hopkins
AlanRosenblatt@gmail.com
@DrDigiPol
turner4D.com
@turner4D

2. CONTENT STRATEGY

3. What to Post?
• Original content
– Values and emotional appeals
– Calls to action
– Commentary on news links and other online
content
– Shared content (Retweets/Shares)
• Add your own comments
• Add hashtags

4. Creating good content
• Create content that is clicky & sticky
– Clicky – Quickly grabs your attention
– Sticky – Keeps your attention
• 5 Rules*
– Story – Tell a compelling story w/ And-But-Therefore
formula
– Figures of Speech – Use unforgettable figures of speech,
esp. w/ repetition, irony & metaphor
– Emotion – Trigger an activating, high-arousal emotions
(anger, anxiety, awe)
– Memorable Elements – Use the most memorable words,
phrases and stories
– Test, Test, Test – Experiment with different wordings and
learn from your experiments
* Courtesy of Joe Romm

5. Anatomy of a Tweet
Equal pay for equal work is a
basic requirement for
economic equality. Let's keep
up the fight to eliminate the
#wagegap and all forms of
workplace discrimination.
https://mashable.com/2018/
04/10/equal-pay-day-
explainer/#JPzoS0wdsPqS
#EqualPayDay #fem2
@LisaMaatz @BBCCarrie
• Says what you want people
to know
• Hashtags
– Topic hashtags: #WageGap,
#EqualPayDay
– Community hashtags: #fem2
• Influencer tags
– Policy expert: @LisaMaatz
– Reporter: @BBCCarrie
(recently quit BBC due to
unequal pay)

6. Facebook Tips
• Facebook videos – Highly shared
– Facebook Live for both live and on demand videos
– Other videos
• Use images frequently, but no links in photo posts –
undermines distribution
• Share articles with images for thumbnails (swap out or add
images and improve snippet text if needed)
• Keep posts short and specific
• Know your audience (generally and targeted segments)
• Post at least 2X daily and in response to current
events/context (trending topics and hashtags)
• Interact with and highlight your activists
• Always keep tabs on your analytics

7. Golden Rule
• Always say in your post what you want people
to know.
– Never rely on people clicking through on a link
– Most will not
– If you don’t post your key message, you miss the
opportunity to delver it.

8. MARKETING STRATEGY

9. Twitter Lists
What lists to create/subscribe to
• List of other activists
• List of activist groups
– Local/community
– Big groups
• List of key reporters
• List of experts
• List of key policymakers
How to use lists
• Monitor for good content
– Bookmark lists
– Add lists to Tweetdeck or
Hootsuite columns
• Share content from lists to
multiple channels
• Share lists with allies
• Borrow lists from allies

10. Lists on Tweetdeck

11. Create Social Media Toolkits
• Coordinate social media activity among yourselves with
social media toolkits
• Elements of a toolkit
– Intro explaining basic purpose, strategy and tactics for campaign
– Links to key social media channels, Twitter lists, groups, etc.
– Official campaign hashtag
– Additional, established hashtags to also use
– Key influencers to tag
• Press
• Policymakers
• Superactivists/organizers
• Policy experts
• Update toolkits as needed over time

12. •
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13. Useful Tools
• FollowerWonk.com
• Analytics.Twitter.com
• Klout.com
• SproutSocial.com
• Buzzsumo.com
• Attentive.ly
• SocialMention.com
• Tweetreach.com
• Tweetdeck.com
________________________________
• https://sproutsocial.com/insights/social-media-analytics-tools/
• http://keyhole.co/blog/list-of-the-top-25-social-media-analytics-tools/
• https://blog.bufferapp.com/social-media-analytics-tools
• https://www.brandwatch.com/blog/top-10-free-social-media-monitoring-tools/

14. Thank you.
Questions?
Alan Rosenblatt, Ph.D.
Sr. VP for Digital Strategy, turner4D
AlanRosenblatt@gmail.com
@DrDigiPol
turner4D.com
@turner4D