Liberal Party of Canada Social Media Guide

© Liberal Party of Canada, 2011. All rights reserved.

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Introduction Canadians care more and more about the personality and daily lives of their leaders and potential leaders. Social media applications such as Facebook and Twitter allow political figures and riding associations to interact with the public in real-time in a more personal manner. With the rise of social media applications such as Facebook and Twitter, political parties’, riding associations’ and politicians’ ability to connect with voters has become much easier and widereaching. With a little social media savvy, even the smallest campaign can take its message nation-wide. However, the omnipresence of these tools means that expectations have increased. An effective campaign must make use of Facebook, Twitter and other forms of social media in order to be accessible to the public; otherwise, they risk being forgotten in the outpouring of social media coming from others. A website is no longer sufficient to establish a comprehensive web presence. Remember: In order to get the most out of these tools, we must use them to deliver sincere and thoughtful information and insights.

Breakdown the silos: Link each of your social media platforms. When you upload a video to YouTube, consider tweeting about it and posting a link on your Facebook Page. When you add photos to Flickr, do the same. You may also wish to synchronize your Twitter with your Facebook status updates. This guide serves as an introduction to these tools and identifies best practices for each.

Introduction Facebook (facebook.com) is a social network that allows users to not only interact with their friends, but also share opinions, articles, and declare and debate their views on a number of subjects. Every action a user takes on Facebook is broadcast to their social network. Using Facebook, you can integrate into electors’ day-to-day life and encourage interaction with our Party on a local and national level. Research: The Liberal Party of Canada has a comprehensive Facebook Page that offers ideas on the Page applications that are useful to political associations. Take into consideration your resources and the scope of your plan.

Facebook Pages Facebook Pages are one of the best tools for political parties, politicians and ridings to manage their online presence. According to the Facebook Product Guide, a “Page is a customizable presence for an organization, product, or public personality to join the conversation with Facebook users.” Unlike personal profiles which have a limit on the number of “friends”, Pages

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have no limit on the number of fans and enable you to send mass updates and promote your Page in a variety of ways. Learn More: Facebook constantly updates and expands its product applications; search for “Business Solutions” documents in the Help Section for the most up-to-date information (http://www.facebook.com/help/).

The format of the Facebook Page is directed towards delivering information and providing a forum for discussion. Do not let your primary content become overwhelmed by neat tricks and applications. Keep focus with related articles, relevant status updates, political events and photos/videos of public appearances. Keep Track: The Insight Tool, visible only to Page administrators, provides statistics on Page traffic by month, the number, age range, and gender of your fans, and the type of interactions (i.e.: the number of Page views, number of Page views by unique visitors, wall posts, discussion topics and video plays).

Get Started Set modest, achievable goals for keeping your Facebook Page active. Some suggestions: Keep it Professional: Even if you do have a personal profile, we recommend that you shut down your personal account or, at the least, make your personal profile extremely private and carefully pare down your list of friends. Create a Politician Page specifically for your public persona. News agencies and other reporting groups (such as your opponents) will want access to your personal information. Do not post anything on your personal or Politician Page that could not be on the front page of the newspaper.

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Assign someone to manage your Page: Facebook is a big project, but best if one person is leading.

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Update your status message once a day: A status message is a one-line update about what you are doing. Instead of a dry statement, try to inject some personality and personal perspective into the updates. The accessibility of Facebook and other social media means that fans expect a more personal glimpse into the Party’s activities (regionally and nationally), not what can be read in the newspaper.

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Moderate comments that appear on your Facebook Page: It is important to nurture a respectful tone on your Facebook Page. For each post, watch the comments and remove anything inappropriate. Consider the following: If you encounter an inappropriate/hostile comment, delete the comment and email the commenter informing them why their comment was inappropriate. This usually defuses any negative reactions, particularly when they see their words in front of them again. If you have a consistently hostile commenter, use your judgment as to whether it is worthwhile to engage with the user or if it is best to block them.

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Link to your Twitter, Flickr and YouTube profiles: Explore new Facebook applications that allow your different platforms to directly interact. For example, link your Twitter and Facebook so each tweet is posted as a status update on your Facebook Page’s wall. Indicate on your Page all of your related social media names and provide links (text box underneath your photo on your Facebook Page).

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Tag any photos you publish on Facebook: Tagging can be time-consuming, but is highly worthwhile as it allows you to be in touch with that individual’s entire network. It is important to ensure accuracy.

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Advertise your events: When you have a public event, promote it on Facebook. First create and manage your events through events.liberal.ca, then post a link on your Page to this event at liberal.ca. In order to encourage fans to interact with the event on your Page, ask a question: “Will you be attending?”

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Get your Fans to "Suggest to a Friend.": Send a mass message or post an update asking your fans to use the "Suggest to friends" feature. This feature allows your fans to send a message to all or just some of their friends pointing them to your Page and asking them to become fans.

News Feed or Mini Feed: a resume of posts, pictures, events, “likes”, and other activities performed by your friends or Pages or which you are a fan. This list appears on a Facebook user’s home page when they first log into Facebook. News Feeds, increase the odds that the public will see and respond to your post. If they decide to respond to or post something on your Page, then this will appear in all their friends’ News Feeds and will also appear on their wall—thus, more people who are not fans of your Page will be exposed to your message. For assistance with your Facebook Page: Call the Liberal Party Help Desk at 1-866-574-5131 or see Appendix 1) See Facebook in Action: Liberal Party of Canada: http://www.lpc.ca/facebook2 Bob Rae: http://www.lpc.ca/facebook3 Riding of Saanich-Gulf Islands: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Liberal-Party-of-Canada-in-Saanich-GulfIslands/127548055657

Introduction Twitter (twitter.com) describes itself as a "real-time short messaging service that works over multiple networks and devices." Politicians and political parties are using Twitter to deliver short (140 characters or less), personal, positive, and sometimes humorous messages to voters. Twitter facilitates both sharing information and maintaining a dialogue online with the concerned electorate. Get Started Signing up for Twitter is very easy. On the main website click on the “Sign Up” link and follow the instructions. Provide your full name, your preferred username, a password and your email address to verify your account. When choosing your username, keep it simple and to the point: your account should be easily found when a user searches for your name. Tip: Load an official picture for your profile and a short biography in the provided space.

There are a number of important terms and actions associated with Twitter. As you become better acquainted with the application, you can expand to use Twitter in a more sophisticated way. The primary functions include: •

Tweet (verb or noun): A message sent to all your followers; alternately, the action of sending such a message (e.g. “He sent a tweet about the Election”, or “He tweeted about

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the Election”). To do this, type a message of 140 characters or less into the field at the top of your Twitter account (titled “What’s happening?”), and press the “Tweet” button. Keep Count: Just above the top right-hand corner of the field, you will notice a counter that tells you how many characters you have left in your message •

Followers: The Twitter users who have subscribed to your tweets. When you send a tweet, it is broadcast to all your followers’ incoming timelines, and will also appear on your main page. Conversely, your incoming timeline contains all the tweets of the users you are following, listed chronologically and updated in real-time.

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Public messages to specific users (@username): Using "@username" function when tweeting serves two functions: first, to mention another user in your tweet (ex. For photos and stories from @BobRaeMP 's summer tour check out http://lpc.ca/blog #lpc); second, to reply to a user or to otherwise engage them in a dialogue (ex. @liberal_party Thanks for the link to help voters find their polling station! liberal.ca/vote).

Real Time: Using the @username function, you can maintain dialogues with users that are accessible to all your followers and anyone who searches for you or specific words. However, keep in mind that the more time between tweets, the harder it is for people to follow the conversation and the more likely that followers will view @username tweets as spam. •

Links: Many Twitter users share links to interesting websites, photos, and articles in their tweets. Many website URLs are longer than 140 characters; when you post a long URL, Twitter will automatically shorten it for you.

Save Time: Two websites that bring together tweets from all federal politicians and media using Twitter: http://tweetcommons.com http://politwitter.ca •

Retweet (RT): This function denotes that you are forwarding a message or link from another user. Similarly to public messages, write “RT @username” in order to denote who posted the original message. Viral marketing can work astonishingly quickly on Twitter. Retweeting also shows other users your engagement in the Twitter medium and your commitment to maintaining a dialogue. Seeing your engagement encourages other users to interact with you on Twitter, and thereby develops your online persona.

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Topics (Hashtag #): Use hashtags to identify the topic of their message. Specific hashtags are often used by various users to denote that their tweets are about the same topic. (e.g. #LPC, #cdnpoli) If someone searches for that particular hashtag, their results will include everyone who identified that term as the topic of their tweet. Hashtags can be people, events, products, or any other number of subject trends. (e.g On board the #LiberalExpress, having fun. Launch was great but wet. Julie Bourgeois says sunshine by Hawkesbury).

Trending Topics: While the hashtag for topics was devised by Twitter users, the company has adopted the common usage and created Trending Topics—a list of the most-mentioned hashtags. On the right side of your screen is a list of the top ten trending topics, updated in real-time. See Twitter in Action: Michelle Simson: http://www.lpc.ca/twitter1 Denis Coderre: http://www.lpc.ca/twitter2 Carolyn Bennett: http://www.lpc.ca/twitter4

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An effective Twitter account features posts numerous times a day; Twitter should be used for interaction, not simply to deliver a message. Provide links to sites and Twitter accounts that are relevant to issues, update your movements, share personal insights on political issues and generally partake in public dialogue with other users. Your tweets should demonstrate to electors that you are both actively involved and considerate in dealings with others. For More Information: The Twitter website contains extensive materials and examples of the diverse ways different individuals and businesses use Twitter to effectively grow and reach their goals. http://business.twitter.com/twitter101, or follow the “Business” link on the bottom of their homepage.

Introduction YouTube is a free service that allows users to watch, share and comment on videos. YouTube is an integral part of a comprehensive online presence for any candidate, caucus member, or riding association. With video, you are better equipped to personalize your message as appeals are made directly to voters. Videos need not be professionally shot, however, you should make an effort to look professional whenever in front of a camera. Once these videos are uploaded to YouTube they are available to the world to see (even if you remove, consider that they may have been captured). Use YouTube to record a message outlining your view on a particular issue, document an event with a short clip, post an excerpt of an important speech you have given, or correct misinformation. How to Upload Video to YouTube: http://www.lpc.ca/youtubetut

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Introduction Blogs are a useful tool for politicians and Parties, allowing them to reflect, share opinions, and discuss various topics and events in the form of an online journal. To be effective informal entries (of about 300-400 words) should be posted relatively often (2-3 times per week). Maintaining a blog allows you to get closer to your audience and supporters. It also allows media, supporters and voters to learn more about you, your life, and how you think. See our Blog in Action: http://www.liberal.ca/

Introduction You cannot meet with all voters, but you can make efforts to document your meetings and events, allowing others in the community to learn more. NO event is too small or "not significant enough" to post photos on Flickr (flickr.com), an on-line photo-sharing web site. You never know when you'll end up reaching out to someone (or generating some other form of value) that you never anticipated. To do this, we have found it useful to share photographs online shortly after each event finishes, demonstrating an active presence in the riding. Get Started How to Use Flickr: http://www.lpc.ca/flickrtut

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Have a designated photographer: No need to hire a pro, simply ensure that at each event you assign someone the responsibility of taking photographs and posting them online. Quality over quantity: It is NOT necessary to post fifty photos from each event. Each photo should be unique and recreate the event. Link to your Twitter, Flickr and YouTube profiles: Explore new Facebook applications that allow your different platforms to directly interact. For example, link your Twitter and Facebook so each tweet is posted as a status update on your Facebook Page’s wall. Indicate on your Page all of your related social media names and provide links (text box underneath your photo on your Facebook Page) (for more information regarding Facebook, see above). Tag any photos you publish on Facebook: Tagging can be time-consuming, but is highly worthwhile as it allows you to be in touch with that individual’s entire network. It is important to ensure accuracy. Since these photos have already been uploaded to the open forum of Facebook, it is not necessary to ask permission before adding them to your album. (The exception is when using photographs taken by a professional photographer; in this case, always ask permission first.) (for more information regarding Facebook, see above)

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Good etiquette: Always include photo credits, a simple: “(Source: Firstname Lastname)” is normally sufficient. See Flickr in Action: Rodger Cuzner: http://www.lpc.ca/flickr3

Appendix 1: How to Build a Facebook Page In order to create a Facebook Page, you need a profile. We recommend that you create a Business Profile as the base for your Official Page. The following steps describe the preliminary steps for creating a Facebook Page: 1. Type “Create a Page” into the white search bar at the top of your screen. Select the “Create a Page” topic that appears (the Facebook logo will appear beside it). This will bring you directly to the first step for creating an Official Page. 2. You want to create an Official Page. Select “Artist, band or public figure”, and, scroll down the list that appears to select “Politician”. 3. Type in the Page name, i.e. the name of your candidate. Make sure the spelling is correct—a Page name cannot be changed once it is created. 4. Select the box beside the statement “I’m the official representative…” and then click the blue button at the bottom that says “Create official Page”. 5. A warning will pop-up, stating that you may only proceed if you are the official representative, and linking you to Facebook’s Statement of rights and responsibilities. Affirm that you are the official representative and proceed by clicking the “Create Page” button.

Recruit Fans: If you already have a profile, your friends do not automatically become fans of your Page. Send out an invitation to everyone on your friends list (link located under Page picture, “Suggest to friends”) with a short, personal message encouraging them to join and spread the word. Similarly ask your campaign team to send invitations to everyone on their friends lists.

Once your page is created, a new page will pop up welcoming you to your new Page and giving you the steps for creating your Page. Follow the prompts and add a campaign photo, provide some basic party information, and write a small blurb of your values and campaign in the space provided under your profile picture. Everything Online is in the Public Domain: Candidates and riding association members should spend time ensuring there is nothing potentially embarrassing to them or the Party on their existing Facebook profile. If you find something and cannot remove it yourself, contact whoever has posted the offending item and politely ask them to remove it. If they refuse, contact the Party Help Desk for support.

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