Presentation for Ready to Run, a non-partisan program for women who want to run for office, seek higher office, work on a campaign, get appointed to office, or learn more about the political system.

1. 2012
Ready to Run
Kristen Yarmey
University of Scranton
Run social:

2. www.slideshare.net/kristenyt

3. Let’s make sure we’re on the same page.

4. Does it really matter?

5. Yep.

6. (sopastrike.com)

7. (sopastrike.com)

9. Pew supplies some hard data.
21% of online adults used social
networking sites to engage with the November 2010
elections.
What we do:
get campaign information,
post content related to politics,
follow our candidates,
follow election results in real time,
share who we are voting for…
(Politics and Social Media, Pew Internet & American Life Project, January 2011)

10. On a personal note…
“There is no more powerful
endorsement than the one from someone
you know and trust, whether it is a
Facebook post or a knock on the door from
your neighbor.”
Matthew N. Strawn,
chairman of the Republican Party of Iowa
(“Republicans Shake More Hands Using Social Media,” The New York Times, December 28, 2011)

11. On a more personal note…

12. Sold? Let’s get started.

13. Lurk, listen, and learn.
» Google
» Twitter search (try adding near:“scranton”)
» Facebook search (try “for school board”)
» Local news comment boards

14. A few guiding principles.
» Authenticity
» Transparency
» Honesty
» Graciousness (rather than snarkiness)
» Thoughtfulness
» Humanness

15. Build your digital identity.
» Pick your username (15 characters or less)
» Pick a consistent image – a logo or photo of you

16. Be realistic. And maybe get some help.

17. Your ideal social media mogul:
» Has a professional but friendly “voice”
» Can spell
» Feels comfortable with social media
» Is permanently connected to their smartphone
» Skillfully convinces people to pose for photos at
events
» Closely connected with you and your traditional
media efforts
» Knew about Instagram before it was cool

18. Protect yourself.
» Decide where to divide business and personal
» Set up a campaign-specific email account
» Pay attention to privacy settings!
˃ Mashable tutorial for Facebook
» Prepare yourself for negative comments
» Have a plan for handling online abuse

19. Still hanging in there?
Let’s really get started.

20. Facebook
Your social media home base
» www.facebook.com/yourusername
» Fan Page vs. Timeline
˃ HowTo set up a Facebook Fan Page
» What to post:
˃ Who you are, what you’re running for, and why
˃ Your positions on important and emerging issues
˃ Your plans
˃ Your accomplishments
˃ Stories from the campaign
˃ Thank yous to your volunteers
˃ Questions
» Respond to comments!

22. Twitter
» www.twitter.com/yourusername
» Learn the culture!
˃ Mashable Guidebook to Twitter
˃ ePolitic’s Twitter 101
» What to post:
˃ Conversations (@)
˃ Questions
˃ Livetweets from campaign events
˃ Photos from the campaign trail
˃ RT support from others
» Set “office hours” or have a dedicated “town
hall”

24. Websites for people who don’t know
anything about websites.
Free tools to try:
» WordPress
» About.Me
» SquareSpace
» Tumblr
˃ Quora on “How Can I Use Tumblr in a Political Campaign?”
˃ TechCrunch report “Obama Campaign Turns to Tumblr for ‘Huge
Collaborative Storytelling Effort”

29. Once you have our trust, you can ask us
for help.
» Your digital followers might be volunteers
waiting to happen.

30. Extra bonus round!
More tools to try:
» Fundly for fundraising.
˃ Embeddable donation forms!
˃ Online Fundraising that Respects Your Supporters (ePolitics)
» HootSuite as your social media command
center
» Instagram for hipster photos (on an iPhone)
» Moo MiniCards connect people you meet in
person to your social sites

31. Leisure reading.
» How Political Campaigns Can Turn Social Media Support into Votes
(Mashable)
» An Open Letter to Politicians on Campaigning and Social Media
(Inkling Media)
» How Candidates Can Use the Internet to Win in 2010 (ePolitics)
(2012 edition coming soon)
» Online Politics 101 (ePolitics)

32. Remember:
#1. It’s not about you.
#2. It is about you.

33. Thank you!
slideshare.net/kristenyt