Marketing is still widely disparaged as a term in the union movement, and progressive organisations generally. Partly this is a skepticism born from shows like Mad Men and The Pitch, and partly it is a misunderstanding drawn from the popular perception that marketing is just opinion polling, focus groups and TV advertising. Despite this, every…
One of the regular questions I receive from unions is “how can I get members (or activists) to share our message on Facebook?” or “what will get members talking about the union on Facebook?” Sound familiar? Union organisers instinctively know that a positive “union experience” can be a powerful trigger to encourage word of mouth recommendations from…
Later this year, I will be releasing a new guide to social and digital campaigning for unions, titled Unionify: Social Campaigning for Unions. I’m releasing a few chapters as previews, and today I’m happy to announce that two chapters, “Mastering the Basics” and “Peer-to-Peer Social Sharing” are available as an e-book download. Unionify is a…
More and more unions are using Facebook to advertise, but chances are if you’re boosting your posts or advertising on newsfeeds, you’re using the standard “Self Serve” Facebook ad manager. This is potentially a big mistake, and you could be wasting time and money. I’ve long argued that social media and Facebook in particular is…
An increasing number of unions are advertising on Facebook, either through the “traditional” sidebar ads or through promoted posts. Thanks to changes to Facebook’s newsfeed algorithm, more and more unions and progressive campaigning organisations are being forced to advertise to reach their fans and supporters. The targeting for those ads has always been somewhat mysterious;…
Chances are, if you’ve been working in union communications, you’ve been asked at sometime to “make something go viral” by a colleague or superior. If you’re like me, you probably silently sighed to yourself. I’m a big advocate of social campaigning — that is, campaigns which integrate online and off-line action and emphasise the power…