Molly Nichelson gave a presentation on utilizing new media and social media to build support for organizations and agendas. She discussed how many organizations and individuals use social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and YouTube. She then provided advice on how to effectively use these platforms, including setting goals, monitoring activity, engaging audiences and following best practices.

1. Utilizing New Media & Social
Media to Build Support for Your
Organization & Your Agenda
American Tort Reform Association
Molly Nichelson
American College of Cardiology
2400 N Street, NW
Washington, D.C. 20037
Email: mnichels@acc.org
Phone: (202) 375-6470

2. Audience Questions

3. By show of hands…
How many of your organizations /
companies use at least use one
social networking platform?

4. By show of hands…
How many of you use at least use
one social networking platform?

5. By show of hands…
How many of your companies /
organizations have:
1.) Facebook fan page(s)
2.) Twitter account(s)
3.) LinkedIn account
4.) YouTube account
5.) SlideShare account

6. By show of hands…
How many of you have:
1.) Facebook fan page(s)
2.) Twitter account(s)
3.) LinkedIn account
4.) YouTube account
5.) SlideShare account

7. By show of hands…
How would you describe your
social media skills?
Beginner
Intermediate
Advanced
Warren Miller*
*Ski nerds know who I’m talking about
Yeah, that’s me.
Are you impressed?
I’m kind of a big deal.
Follow me on
Twitter!

8. What would you like us to
talk about?
Don’t be shy! Interactivity is key!

9. Now on to our regularly
scheduled broadcast…
And thanks for engaging!

10. “Stop, look and
listen, baby,
that’s my
philosophy….”
And if you can name that song, you get a
peanut butter and banana sandwich!
The King of Social Media says,

11. STOP: Questions to Ask
• The audience – who I want to engage &
how?
– What are my goals?
• What are the right sites to be on?
– And how do they differ?
• What is my comfort level?
– Technology
– Time Commitment
– Sharing & interacting

12. STOP: Questions to Ask
• What are the legal implications?
– Are you or a member of your staff contacting
members of Congress directly?
• Does it constitute lobbying?
• How can this help my career? Hinder?
– How will you be viewed by peers?
– How will this intel you share on social
networking sites be used by opposing
groups?

13. LOOK: Questions to Ask
• What are other groups doing?
– Look up like-minded groups and not so like-
minded groups
– How are they leveraging the new medium?
• Look at your resources
– Who will manage it?
– Who will be committed to the daily care and
feeding your social media sites?

14. LISTEN: Questions to Ask
• Listen to the pros and cons from peers and
colleagues
– Learn from other group’s mistakes
– Know there are valid concerns – and know how to
defend your use of social media
• Listen…with an open mind about the new
technologies
– These technologies are not for young people
anymore
– I mean, the King does this from his
grave…http://twitter.com/ElvisPresley

15. What are the top social
networking sites?

16. 16
Social Networking Sites
• Facebook
– Can be personal, professional or a blend of the two
– I have two pages
• Professional
• Personal
• Twitter
– Can be personal, professional or a blend of the two
– I manage accounts
• @Cardiology
• @MollyNichelson

17. 17
• SlideShare
– Share your PowerPoint presentations
– Be seen as an expert
– Search other people’s presentations
• Foursquare (or other geolocating sites)
– Check in to places and earn badges
– Connect with your friends and see where they are
– Can be good for grassroots advocates for lobby days
• LinkedIn
– Purely professional
– Great way to engage your peers!
Social Networking Sites

18. Twitter

19. 19
Twitter Applications
• Sending Your Tweets:
– Computer
• Tweetdeck: http://tweetdeck.com/beta/
• Seesmic: http://desktop.seesmic.com/
• Hootsuite: http://www.hootsuite.com
– Blackberry
• UberTwitter: http://ubertwitter.com/
– iPhone
• Tweetie: http://www.atebits.com/tweetie-iphone/

20. 20
Twitter Applications
• Feeding your RSS feeds to Your Twitter
Account:
– Ping.fm – http://ping.fm
– Tweetlater – http://tweetlater.com
– Hootsuite -- http://hootsuite.com

21. 21
Twitter Terminology: Hashtag
• Use a hashtag (#) before a word in a post
allows you to tag that post for that word
• This allows your word to be more readily
searched
• Can help bring you new followers and help
you find more followers & monitor
conversations

22. 22
RSS Feed Twitter Accounts
• There is NO way you can keep up with all
the tweets
• Put individual feeds of members of
Congress / thought leaders in to Google
Reader
• Use Tweet Congress and dump their feed
in to your Google Reader
http://tweetcongress.org/

23. 23
Grassroots and Twitter
• Annual Meetings / Hearings
– Live Tweet programs
– Use the Twitter ‘handle’ of the person talking
– Use hashtags

24. 24
Grassroots and Twitter
• Retweet Members of Congress
– Shows the members you’re watching
– Gives credibility to your organization
– Passes on the member’s message
– Make sure to keep the Tweets relatively even
along party lines

25. 25
Grassroots and Twitter
• Grassroots Campaigns
– Create a hashtag (and see if it’s being used!)
– Advertise it Action Alerts, publications
– Retweet those who use it & thank them!
– Send tweets to members of Congress with
campaign…and have your advocates do the
same

26. 26
Grassroots and Social Media
• Grassroots Meet Ups
– Invite like-minded social media folks to your
meeting
• Amplifies your voice – but you won’t have control
of message!
• Provide a bloggers lounge & allow access for
special interviews
– Live Stream your events
• USTREAM
• Qik
• Livestream

27. 27
Best Practices & Advice
• Know that you WILL make mistakes
• You will NOT have full control
• Use your own voice
– Don’t turn your Twitter account in to an RSS
feed
– Be a HUMAN behind your account
• Give something of value to your audience
– Coupons, advice, articles, thanks

28. Best Practices & Advice
• Realize that Twitter is like a radio station in
which there is a ‘drive time’
• Retweeting is totally fine to catch the
different time zones
• Follow members of Congress via
TweetCongress:
http://tweetcongress.org/

29. 29
Best Practices & Advice
• And know when you send a tweet, it’s out
there…and it’s searchable!
– http://search.twitter.com

30. 30
Best Practices & Advice
• Following & Followers
– Be judicious, but don’t be a snob either
– Don’t get freaked out by who’s following you
– If someone is wacky, block them
– And did I mention there are reporters on
Twitter…and they may follow you?
• http://journalistsontwitter.wetpaint.com/

31. 31
Best Practices & Advice
• Monitor, Monitor, Monitor!
– Don’t throw stuff out and then don’t react;
monitor your account and who’s following you
– Have an RSS feed on your #hashmarks &
company’s name
• http://search.twitter.com
– See what’s popular on Twitter
• Trending topics

32. American College of
Cardiology’s Advocacy
Department & Twitter

33. Work Twitter Account
• Company Twitter Page: @Cardiology
– Updates on news stories
– RSS Feed of CEO’s Blog
– ACC Advocacy issues
– Engaging MOCs
– Feeds to my work Facebook page for ACC members,
staff and MOCs
• I run it, but it’s the voice of the ACC Advocacy
Department
– Engage people personally via DM

34. How We Use Twitter
• Send news articles
– Show that we’re on top of the healthcare
issues
• Members
• Media
• Other healthcare groups
• RSS feed
– CEO’s blog (Lewin Report)
34

35. How We Use Twitter
• Highlight member and advocacy
achievements & grassroots pushes
• Interact with members of Congress
– http://tweetcongress.org
– Gray area as there may be legal implications
– I have ceased in doing this as I am not
registered – I urge caution!
• Still teaching our members about Twitter
– Have included our link in alerts 35

36. Facebook

37. 37
Making the Most of Facebook
• Who is your audience?
– Members of Congress, businesses, peers,
journalists
• What do you want to share?
– And what will be of interest to them?
• How do you want to engage this group?
– Action alerts
– Attend events
– Spread the message

38. 38
Finding Facebook Friends
• Finding People
– Take the time to find those members of
Congress on Facebook
• Facebook.com/Congress – links to all MOCs
• Find out about townhalls, look at their videos…get
intel!
– Find out if you have members / employees on
Facebook
• Run your email address book in Facebook. You’ll
be surprised who’s on

39. Facebook Advocacy
• Health Reform – Campaign for Patient
Access Advocacy Week
– Created an event on Facebook and invited
ACC members, staff, chapter executives AND
members of Congress
– Obviously members of Congress wouldn’t
attend, but made them aware of the week
– Created a secondary hit to our members
about the week

40. Work Facebook Account

41. Facebook Events

42. ACC Facebook Page

43. Facebook – Are They Engaging?

44. 44
Best Practices & Advice
• Monitor, Monitor, Monitor!
– Don’t throw stuff out and then don’t react;
monitor your account and who’s following you
– See what other people are posting and post it
to your page

45. Best Practices & Advice
• Make it interesting!
– Feed your Twitter account to Facebook
• Gets them interested in Twitter & hits them with
stuff that they may not see via email
– Share events, links and semi-personal stuff
about yourself
• Helps your members / employees connect with you
& this helps your grassroots efforts!

46. Facebook Parting Thoughts
• Engage with others & make it interesting
• Know that you will make mistakes

47. LinkedIn

48. LinkedIn
• Show your professional side
• Engage your peers in groups
– Really can expand your horizons and link with cool people
• Meet new people & broaden your horizons
• Link your professional Twitter feed to your LinkedIn
account
• Link your PowerPoint presentations via SlideShare
– Toot your horn!

49. Parting Thoughts
• As advocates have to walk a fine line
• Personal and professional benefits of
engaging in social networking can be huge
• I’m a big proponent, and greatly enjoy the
folks I interact with online
• Overcoming fear and realizing you’re
human as is everyone else can be difficult
• Think about the tools and how you can
use them

50. Your Homework
Time to read up on social media!

51. Reading Up on Social Media
• Social Media Websites
• http://mashable.com/
• http://www.smartbrief.com/
• http://www.twitip.com/
• http://www.readwriteweb.com/
• http://www.chrisbrogan.com/
• http://social-media-university-global.org/
• http://beth.typepad.com/ (for non-profits)
• http://www.socialfish.org/ (for non-profits)
51

52. Reading Up on Social Media
• ePolitics Websites
• http://techpresident.com/
• http://personaldemocracy.com/
• http://tweetcongress.org
• http://twitterroom.thehill.com/
• http://www.epolitics.com/
• http://www.nextgov.com/
52

53. Stay in Touch!
Molly Nichelson
American College of Cardiology
2400 N Street, NW
Washington, D.C. 20037
Email: mnichels@acc.org
Phone: (202) 375-6470
Work Twitter: @Cardiology
Personal Twitter: @MollyNichelson
SlideShare: mollynichelson
LinkedIn: mollynichelson