ANNUAL CONFERENCE RECAP | 2018
the example of the #bFair2DirectCare campaign, a grassroots
effort waged on social media during last year’s state budget season
in support of $45 million for direct care worker wage increases.
Lawmakers received over 13,000 tweets and nearly 25,000 Facebook
posts from #bFair2DirectCare advocates and ultimately allocated $55
million for direct care professionals in the final 2017-18 State Budget.
Finally, on the marketing side, Paul provided attendees with guidance
on how to develop an effective communications strategy to meet
their organizations’ objectives. A strong social media strategy
requires an investment rather than an episodic approach and it
must be based on fundamentals. Once an organization determines
what it is “for” – for example, being a safe and caring community;
a reputable, respected and responsive resource or a stable and
comforting presence – every post should connect back to that
objective. Measuring results will be critical to an organization’s
social media strategy as well. In this area, Paul advised attendees to
review their Facebook and Twitter analytics on a regular basis, adjust
content management based on results and make modest investments
in important content.
As Paul and Ami emphasized throughout the presentation, social
media is the place where lawmakers, the media and consumers go
for education, information and advocacy. “Getting social” has never
been more important, and attendees left eager and better equipped
to educate these groups, tell their story and bring their message to
new audiences.
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