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Some thoughts about

social media activism


and the Robin Hood Tax
Eddy Lambert
Oxfam – UK Digital Campaigns
@elambert elambert@oxfam.org.uk

A tiny tax of 0.05% on speculative


financial transactions to raise money
for good causes here and abroad.
http://robinhoodtax.org.uk to view this film

Campaign launch: 10 February 2010


Raw ingredients

Public anger An appetite for change

Simple proposition Bill Nighy film

An upcoming election
First steps – some assumptions > decisions
• Social media is where most action and amplification will occur.
• If we’re to be ‘social’ we must be approachable and open.
• Resources should be split roughly 60/20/20 between SM/Web/Email
• Website for background & comment, Facebook for day to day action
• Email – layered: monthly, weekly, daily options

Before launch - tasks


• Contact with approx. 50 sites and blogs. Gave them pre-launch info.
• Tested ‘tone’ with a small group of supporters
• Set up ‘sponge’ spaces where we hoped to focus comments
• Organised a process for responding to queries / negative comments
• Agreed engagement principles – embedded in strategy.

Most of our effort centred on ‘how’ (new) not ‘what’ (established) we say.
The persona
A style to help us remain consistent and approachable through the
peaks and troughs of the campaign. Be “Robin Hood”. Be yourself. But
remember: it’s by you not about you.

“Doing good through serious mischief”

Mood: Be merry. If discussing technical


detail end with a call to merriness. If your
content is lighter remember to refer to a
point of substance.
Us: We are a band of merry (wo)men from
Sherwood.
Them: Our opponents are joyless Sheriffs in
a castle with many corridors – not evil but in
need of good cheer.
Action: Fire an arrow at…
Public engagement principles

• Keep your distance – remember what it was like to not understand it!
• Start with the people, not the politics. Where are they at?
• “Ask” people more; “tell” them less.
• Trust, respect and support the public; don’t just “use” them.
• Value the quality of actions, not only quantity.
• Tell the truth.
 
Can a supporter answer ‘yes’ to the following:
 
• Do I understand this? (i.e. avoid jargon)
• Is the tone neutral? (i.e. don’t tell me what to think, but let me judge)
• Can I see the link between this activity and poverty and suffering?
• Do I know what will happen next if I take part in this activity?
• Am I listened to?
Facebook
Roughly 2 hours per day
moderating, monitoring and talking
here. Some observations:
It pays to put the hours in. People
appreciate the effort and recognise how
their engagement is valued.
Don’t be afraid to just say ‘thanks’.
Post regularly – gives immediate sense
of momentum and energy.
Not too regularly. 1 update per day max.
Always report back results.
Identify supporter advocates. Respect them. Generally treat them like royalty –
they embody the best of everything else said here, and more.
Managing discussion
Don’t be tempted onto opposition
territory. Stay focused on benefits
and viability. Use web links to further
detail to help keep focus on the of the
core idea.
Laugh at insults.
Technical discussion in specified
places only.
Remove only as a last resort. Much
better to ‘report’ abuse and let
someone else decide.
Swearing is okay if it communicates
something. Insults and hate are not.
The campaign as the story
Work closely with press officers
and share all data and stats with
them.
The Goldman Sachs vote-rigging story
was an example of this. We saw the
‘no’ votes coming in but it was the
press team who asked the geeks to
trace them.
We also got a lot of coverage for our
simple story about having more
Facebook fans than all the UK’s political
parties combined.
The media pros saw the potential in
both stories.
Challenges
How do we turn online activity into offline action?
How do we keep the momentum going?
Engagement work is time consuming and requires skill and experience.
Do we have the people and time in the medium and long term?
Clarity. Every step forward has the potential to involve deeper and deeper
discussion. Is our core message still simple and do we have the discipline
to stick to it?
Keeping our distance. Are we able to step back from the minutiae and see
the big picture?
Where we are now

The numbers (May 12)


Facebook fans: 165,500
Email signups: 46,500
Video votes: 84,000 / 7,900
Twitter followers: 3,800
Video views: 1,400,000 +
Web page views: 925,000
Emails to politicians: 50,000+
Impact

“Thanks to the efforts of the Robin Hood Tax


Campaign's supporters, the campaign is going
from strength to strength and is playing a crucial
part in ensuring we reform the finance sector for
the better of all of us.”
David Cameron, May 2010

20,000+ political actions taken


50,000+ emails received by politicians
Online map showing them all at
http://robinhoodtax.org.uk/election
Candidate monitoring via blog comments
Specific comments from party leaders and manifesto
leads.
Summary

Timing critical. The right idea at the right time.

Be personal and engage in conversations.

Manage (but don’t dictate) those conversations.

It can be time consuming. Be prepared.

Social media should be at the heart of comms strategy.

The power of social media cuts both ways. Be on guard.

Trust supporters to be active advocates and online campaigners.

Be personal, but remember – it’s by you NOT about you.

This is all so new. No one really knows. Trust your instincts.

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