Best Practice - Facebook Campaigns for President - Romney Style

2012 Presidential candidate Mitt Romney is using Facebook for his campaign in an interesting way.  His tagline "Believe in America" is pre-designed on a downloadable sign that can be accessed from his Facebook page.  Supporters are urged to write a note on the sign, take a picture with it, and submit it to the Romney campaign for possible inclusion on the site.

Download the sign here.

With over 1 million likes so far, this campaign seems to be attracting the attention of supporters from all corners of Facebook.

How can you interact with potential supporters in a fun and memorable way?

Use An Infographic to tell your Advocacy Story

Here's a great example of an infographic being used by the Internet Innovation Alliance to promote their message of greater access to wireless broadband.

How can you tell your story through pictures?

Have you Checked Your Google Dashboard?

Props to Ari Adler for this post on TalentZoo.com regarding the usefulness of the Google Dashboard.

Here's the opening paragraph:

Google+ is quickly becoming a topic of discussion among the early adopters of social networks, but when was the last time you checked your Google Dashboard? Did you even know you have one? At the Google Dashboard, you can get a quick overview of how much Google has infiltrated your life and, more importantly, how much of that life is being shared publicly on the Web. You also can use the links and tools on the page to take care of your account settings, including your overall Google account as well as the many Google offerings you have signed up for. It's especially helpful to remind you of stuff you signed up to try out and then forgot as it joined the flotsam of Internet productivity.

Remember to check out these tools as you're monitoring the results of your social media advocacy.

Follow the author on Twitter @AriBAdler

Best Practice: Ford Motor Company Social Media Policy

Ford Motor Company is leading the automotive industry with it's innovative social media approach to customer communication and marketing.  Recently, they went public with their social media policy found here.

They provide excellent, common sense advice for anyone participating in social media networks - whether doing it for work, fun or advocacy!

Here's the highlights:

In brief, our guidelines for engaging on the social Web consist of the following core principles:

1.Honesty about who you are
2.Clarity that your opinions are your own
3.Respect and humility in all communication
4.Good judgment in sharing only public information – including fnancial data
5.Awareness that what you say is permanent

Words to live by!
 
Follow Ford Moter Company on Twitter @Ford

Best Practice: "Unshackle Upstate" Social Media Lobbying Portal

One of the best uses of social media for grassroots lobbying is the effort known as "Unshackle Upstate."  A group of Chambers of Commerce in upstate New York joined together around a legislative agenda for state government reform.  They decided to use their limited financial resources to launch a sophisticated social media campaign in support of their position and are holding New York public officials accountable for their spending decisions.

From their website:

About Unshackle Upstate



Unshackle Upstate is a bi-partisan coalition of over 70 business and trade organizations representing upwards of 45,000 companies and employing more than 1 million people. We hail from across Upstate New York with one goal: To achieve reforms in Albany that make Upstate a stronger place to do business.

Thousands of Upstate residents have already been heard by sending an email through our website to the decision makers in Albany. Progress has been made and the coalition continues to work for more.

"

Make sure your voice is heard and send an email by clicking on the "Contact Albany" button. You will find a template email of support for Unshackle Upstate's reform agenda already done for you. Sending an email will only take a minute or two, and is sure to make an impact.

They area also using this as an effective method to engage interested parties in fundraising for their Political Action Committee - UPAC.  Funds raised via UPAC are used to support candidates that align with the Unshackle Upstate agenda.

This is a great model for future social media lobbying campaigns that fully integrate the webs most popular free tools including Facebook, Twitter, You Tube and blogging.

President Obama Uses Social Media in his teach to Schoolchildren

President Barack Obama's speech to schoolchildren has been over-shadowed by extreme controversy, but it's interesting to see how he's using the emergence of social media for his uses.  Not only did the speech become a topic of much conversation via social media, but the President is also attempting to relate to todays kids be referring to many of their favorite past-times in the speech. 

Excerpt from the "Prepared Remarks of President Barack Obama, Back to School Event , Arlington, Virginia, September 8, 2009"

The story of America isn’t about people who quit when things got tough. It’s about people who kept going, who tried harder, who loved their country too much to do anything less than their best.



It’s the story of students who sat where you sit 250 years ago, and went on to wage a revolution and found this nation. Students who sat where you sit 75 years ago who overcame a Depression and won a world war; who fought for civil rights and put a man on the moon. Students who sat where you sit 20 years ago who founded Google, Twitter and Facebook and changed the way we communicate with each other.


So today, I want to ask you, what’s your contribution going to be? What problems are you going to solve? What discoveries will you make? What will a president who comes here in twenty or fifty or one hundred years say about what all of you did for this country?

 
Social media is part of the political process at the highest levels -- use it wisely!

Best Practice: National Association of Manufacturers

Manufacturing seems boring but the National Association of Manufacturers has been leading the way in online advocacy and communications.

Their coordinated use of Facebook posts, Twitter, YouTube Channel and a robust website including video and podcasting continues to push the envelope in support of manufacturing in the United States.

Find them at:

http://www.nam.org/
http://www.namspeakout.org/
http://www.twitter.com/NAM_Shopfloor
NAM page on Facebook: here
http://www.youtube.com/namvideo

In the future I'll post additional "Best Practice" websites for your review.

Best Practice: Social Media can get you to Hawaii http://www.marriotthawaiitweets.com/

So, this isn't exactly connected to lobbying and the use of social media, but it's a great example of a creative use of Twitter and Facebook that might inspire your use for lobbying.

By giving away something very desirable (a free trip to Hawaii), Marriott is cleverly driving traffic to their website and highlighting their Twitter and Facebook presence.

Hey, I signed up! You can too and try out this fun approach to social media.

http://www.marriotthawaiitweets.com/