Your Local has access to more social media influence than you may know.
Let's face it….we live in a social media world. It doesn't
take long to be on a job site to see any idle moment occupied with a smartphone.
Like it or not, our members and prospects are scrolling non-stop, spending more
and more time staring into their phones.
It used to be with younger members, apprentices, etc. and now it's
everybody. It has fundamentally changed the way we communicate with our
members.
The main currency of influence on social media are the Influencers. Even
local influencers in your jurisdiction have gathered thousands of followers. The
good news is you may have access to more it than you know, and it's not that
difficult to use it to your advantage. So how do we take advantage of that for
the good of the Local?
Who Do You Know?
One thing to consider…Have you examined your social media followers and those who follow them? Do you know who has social influence within your membership (outside of coming to union meetings or on the jobsite) who can help tell your story? Keep a keen eye out with your younger members, who they follow, what their interests and influences are, and how to use that to our advantage to help tell the story of your Local.
Another thing to consider…who do you (or your members) know
outside of the membership or industry entirely who believe in what you
stand for? Not necessarily political figures we so frequently look to for 'influence', I'm talking about those people who
have followers and influence in your community that you can team up with to tell your story. You'd be surprised on who you know if you
keep your ear to the ground and think through your network.
One such example is what Georgia Construction Careers
(trade name for the Atlanta North Georgia Building Trades) did under the astute
leadership of Business Manager Randy Beall.
Randy happened to serve on a mayoral transition team committee in
Atlanta with rapper/entertainer/entrepreneur Michael Render, better known as
"Killer Mike". Randy struck up a conversation with Mike, and as it turns out
Mike has a huge affection for the skilled trades unions and was heavily
influenced growing up around union
members in his neighborhood.
"I'm from a family of trades people and union guys, so that's what raised me, essentially. The trade guys on my street…that's who had the nice cars, that's who's families were well taken care of." - Killer Mike
He is also passionate about bringing opportunity to
underserved communities and fundamentally believes in apprenticeship as a pathway to prosperity. Thanks to Randy's good work, a partnership ensued and
Killer Mike has been instrumental in helping to promote "YouthBuild", a
pre-apprenticeship program to help at-risk youth learn about the trade unions, and get them ready for a pathway to a career.
He was instrumental in not only helping raise money but also being a
credible pro-labor voice in the community. It all started with one
conversation.
So, how can you use this for the good of your Local? It may be someone who knows someone in your church, on a board, in your political network, in your circle of friends. You never know where your alliances may come from or who you may know who knows someone. Done correctly, it can be a win for both the influencer and a win for the Local.