The document discusses best practices for using social media to discuss policy issues. It provides guidance on which social networks to focus on, how to develop tailored content strategies for different platforms, and how to leverage personal versus business social channels. The document also includes tips on content topics, moments that matter, engagement, and tracking performance. Case studies are presented on how some companies are effectively using social media to discuss policy.

1. B U L L Y P U L P I T I N T E R A C T I V ECONFIDENTIAL
USING SOCIAL MEDIA
TO DISCUSS POLICY
ALEX KELLNER
DIRECTOR
akellner@bpimedia.com
March 24, 2016

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SOCIAL LANDSCAPE
Which social networks should you pay
attention to?
TAILORED CONTENT
How to put together a content strategy and
leverage each platform for it’s strengths
AGENDA
PERSONAL v. BUSINESS
How should you leverage your personal
brand and social channels differently from
your business’s
CASE STUDIES
Taking a look at a few companies
doing this well

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SOCIAL MEDIA LANDSCAPE IN 2016
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New social
networks
are created
every single
day.

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FOCUS YOUR ATTENTION ON A FEW CHANNELS
Your time is valuable. Use the social
networks with the content & audience
best suited to making a difference.
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WHO USES SOCIAL?
Social media is ubiquitous.
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SOCIAL MEDIA USE TRANSCENDS DEMOGRAPHICS
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All Internet Users 74%
Gender Men 72%
Women 76%
Age 18-29 89%
30-49 82%
50-64 65%
65+ 49%
Education High school grad or less 72%
Some college 78%
College+ 73%
Income Less than $30,000/yr 79%
$30,000-$49,999 73%
$50,000-$74,999 70%
$75,000+ 78%

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BEST PRACTICES
Do
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• Capitalize on moments
Use key events to leverage your voice as a business expert
• Be part of the conversation
Participate. Interact with your customers, communities, etc. and
make sure your perspective is heard
• Be authentic
Social media isn’t the place for condensed press releases –
speak with a distinct voice to reach your audience
• Be mindful of tone
Sarcasm and satire are hard to achieve online

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BEST PRACTICES
Don’t
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• Assume it’s one-way broadcasting
Expect your audience to respond to you
• Overestimate the importance of comments
Most users – the silent majority – are lurkers and don’t comment
at every opportunity. Don’t overestimate the comments of
several loud voices
• Neglect your social media platforms
Don’t create and walk away. Once you have a presence on
social media, it’s vital to maintain and grow it
• Ignore crises and controversies
Your constituents, the media, and others are looking to the
Internet first for news and perspectives.
• Feed the bears
Internet “trolls” will antagonize or post other negative content.
Don’t add fuel to the fire by over-reacting to them

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FACEBOOK IS KING
More users and time on site than any
other social network.
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TWITTER IS CRUCIAL AT KEY MOMENTS
Good at promoting traffic to longer form
content and reacting when news breaks.
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LINKEDIN OWNS MOST CURATED AUDIENCE
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MEDIUM WILL HELP YOU GAIN EYEBALLS
Longer form content needs a place to
live.
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CONTENT IS KING
Cater your content to the medium & the
audience.
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CONTENT IS KING
Each platform requires a different
approach.
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• Personal stories,
sharing content
• Fewer than 90
characters
• Imagery = #1
• Video with
subtitles, if
possible
• Promoting
external content,
engaging with
customers
• Okay to post
same content
multiple times
• Retweets are
integral
• Business-related
content
• Medium length
• Headline quality
determines
success
• Longer form
content
• Promote
externally in
addition to organic
reach

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VARIOUS OPPORTUNITIES
TO POST
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CORE CONTENT
Basic relevant & brand-related content
you can quickly create and post daily
How-to posts -
Sharing influencer/third-party posts -
Useful, relevant topics in your vertical -
Repurposing old content -
THOUGHT
LEADERSHIP
Content that requires more time & energy
investment but is vital
Thought leadership pieces -
Guest topics -
Case studies -
LONGER FORM
Valuable, time-consuming pieces & insight
that define your personal/corporate brand
- Strategic research & analysis
- POVs
- Large & unique thought leadership
pieces
SHAREABLE
Light-hearted, short, shareable content
- Light-hearted, easily digestible content
- Cultural content (e.g. “A Day in the Life”)
- Amusing videos, graphics, & stories
IMPACTFUL
More impactful content to spice up your
posts
- Bold statements with a strong point of
view
- Helpful links

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CONTENT TIPS: TALKING ABOUT CLIMATE ISSUES
ON SOCIAL MEDIA
1. Know Your Strengths: You probably aren’t a climate
scientist, but you are a business person who knows
economic impacts of climate change and severe
weather on your company and community.
2. Localize Impacts: What is the cost of doing nothing
(storms, hot summers, etc.) on your business? What
policies (Clean Power Plan, 50x30, etc.) will help fix
that problem?
3. Focus on Innovation: Your success is due to
innovation; show an example that your state/country
can follow.
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MOMENTS MATTER
When climate or a policy issue is in the
zeitgeist, your posts will be exponentially
more impactful.
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Engagement and views peaked
within 24 hours of Papal
Encyclical’s release

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HOW TO DECIDE?
Should you use your personal social
channels or your company’s account?
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Business Account Personal Account
Broad policy implications on business
& community
Explicit candidate-focused content
Personal stories Personal stories
Share external content related to
policy issues
Share business content where
appropriate
Engage in conversation about stories
& customers reactions
Engage in conversation about policy

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WHEN TO ENGAGE AND RESPOND
Leveraging opportunities
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REVIEW
• What is worth responding to?
• What is the tone of the issue and what would be
the appropriate tone of response?
• Discuss with coworkers!
DRAFT
• What message do you want to get across?
• What message platform would best address the
issue – Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn? Multiple
platforms?
SEND
• Keep everyone on the same page – properly notify
employees of the issue and the decided response.
MONITOR
• DON’T respond and forget about it. Continuous
monitoring and further engagement may be
necessary.

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TRACK THE PERFORMANCE OF YOUR CONTENT
Facebook’s Insights helps you
learn more about your users,
their behavior, and how
successfully your updates are
engaging them.
Twitter, LinkedIn & Medium
have their own analytics that
will help monitor success.
For driving traffic to your
website, Google Analytics is a
free and very powerful tool.
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CASE STUDY: SMUTTYNOSE BREWING COMPANY
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CASE STUDY: TELLING STORIES
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QUESTIONS?
THANK YOU.