CANP GRASSROOTS PLAYBOOK
How to Impact Senate Bill 323 Through Social Media
Why Social Media
Social media should be used to supplement your grassroots advocacy efforts and open the conversation
up to a larger audience. Social media allows us to continue to build awareness of our efforts, engage with
others, and stay connected.
Here are some key reasons why we use social media:
•
Access – Social media breaks barriers down and allows us access to legislators, key players,
and fellow advocates, regardless of location.
•
Transparency – Social media provides a platform for transparent communication, meaning
you are accountable for what you say and don’t say. This can be very powerful when reaching
for public response from key players. When you publicly post to someone on social media, it is
transparent, meaning their response or lack of response is also public.
•
Real-time conversations – While in-person communication is still best, social media allows us
to have real-time conversations without having to be in the same place at the same time.
These conversations can also be very quick to grow, reaching much larger audiences.
•
Key players ARE on social media, and the number continues to grow!
“Of the 7,383 state legislators in the United States, 35 percent, or 2,622, had a Twitter
account at the start of 2014. Usage increases with every election cycle. There are four
percent more state legislators on Twitter today than before the 2012 election. California…
has the greatest percentage of state legislators – more than 83 percent – on Twitter.”
– Grover G. Norquist and Patrick Gleason, “Twitter use on the rise in #statecapitals,”
Reuters, January 7, 2014
How to Build Engagement through Social Media
The first step to engaging on social media is to simply participate! The key to social media is being
SOCIAL. Be a part of the conversation and help it grow. You do not have to be a social media
professional to join the conversation.
Here are some tips for engaging on social media:
•
•
Post – Share your own updates and opinions on social media for others to see. Tell the world
why Senate Bill 323 is VITAL for California!
o
Include the hashtag #SB323 in all your social media posts related to the bill. This will
assure that your message appears among the hundreds of social media posts about the
bill.
o
If you would like CANP to share your message, post directly to the CANP Facebook page
or tag us on Twitter by adding @CaliforniaNP to your message to ensure we see your
message.
Tag – When you tag another person’s page, they get a notification that they have been
tagged. This prompts engagement. To tag a page, simply type the @ sign followed by the
username of the person/company you would like to tag.
o
Tag CANP by including @CaliforniaNP in your posts. We will check notifications
regularly and engage often.
o
Tag your State Senator and Assemblymember so they receive notifications that they are
being tagged, thus further grabbing their attention. To do so, include “@username” in
your posts, utilizing the Facebook or Twitter username of your Senator or
Assemblymember. If you need help finding your local legislators, please visit:
http://canpweb.org/advocacy/action-center/find-your-legislators/
o
Whenever possible, take a picture with your elected official during your office visit. Then
post and tag the photo.
•
Share/Retweet – If you want to do more than just comment on a post, you can share the post
to your own profile. You can also add your own comment to a shared message.
•
Comment/Reply – Comment on what others are sharing to build engagement! If you see
something you really like and feel that other should see, you can tag others in your comment
to ensure they also see this post.
•
Follow – Stay up-to-date and connected by following legislators, nurse practitioners, fellow
advocates and CANP. Together we can affect change!
Channels to follow & engage with CANP on:
•
Facebook - www.facebook.com/californianp
•
Twitter - www.twitter.com/californianp
•
LinkedIn - www.linkedin.com/company/canp
•
Instagram - www.instagram.com/californianps
Getting Started on Social Media
Don’t have any social media profiles yet? You’re not alone, but you CAN do this. Your participation truly
makes a difference in the larger fight for full practice authority and nurse practitioner rights. Join these
channels and follow CANP.
See what others are saying, and join the conversation:
•
Facebook - Facebook is great for community building and staying connected. Like other social
media channels, this platform allows you to have transparent conversations with key players
and organizations. Join your fellow nurse practitioners on Facebook and help build the
conversation around the importance of Senate Bill 323!
•
Twitter - While the speed and brevity of Twitter can be intimidating at first, this platform is
extremely powerful for connecting with key players, establishing yourself as a voice in the
fight, and building power in numbers. Sign up for your Twitter today and join the #SB323
conversation.
•
LinkedIn - LinkedIn is great for building business-to-business connections. Join this
professional network and connect with other CANP members and nurse practitioners today.
You can also join or start CANP Chapter group pages on LinkedIn to create a conversation
platform for your chapter.
•
Instagram - This photo based social media is great for building awareness and giving a
behind-the-scenes look at important issues. Join us on Instagram and add your photos to the
conversation.
Social Media Webinar
On May 12, 2015, CANP hosted a special webinar program, “Social Media: A Valuable Tool for
Grassroots Advocacy.” The program provided tips and tactics on how nurse practitioners can effectively
advance the conversation over Senate Bill 323 utilizing a number of social media platforms, and featured
Tina Reynolds and Leidhra Johnson of Uptown Studios, CANP’s social media partner.
Click here to watch the May 12 webinar (58 minutes).