A political communications strategist who worked for Barack Obama's presidential campaign, suggested ways organizations can more effectively use social media to advance their causes at a Feb. 22 meeting of AU's chapter of the Roosevelt Institute Campus Network.
An important part of managing social networking Web sites such as Facebook and Twitter is keeping a potential audience in mind, according to strategist Frank Chi.
| A conversation with Frank ChiHOWIE PERLMAN / THE EAGLE |
Using Facebook posts and Tweets to link to an organization's online writings or videos can also help spread that organization's message, and doing so can help strengthen social networks, according to Chi.
"When you share an article a friend has written, you need to tag that person, [and] tag the publication it was written in," Chi said in an interview with The Eagle. "All these things are crucial for you to strengthen the links in your network."
Local organizations that more frequently send press releases to local media can also experience more frequent media coverage, according to Chi.
Michael Weiss, a senior in the School of Public Affairs and president of AU's Roosevelt Institute, said Chi's advice can help his chapter better utilize the widespread interest in politics at AU to further the chapter's goals.
"You just walk around the [Terrace Dining Room] and people are just yelling political discourse and about issues and campaigning and this and that," Weiss said. "We want to harness all that."
Weiss said his organization would like to create more debate.
"Sparking debate is one of the cornerstones of our organization, especially within our specific chapter, and we hope to bring in not just Democrats and progressives,” he said. “I think social media will be one of the keys, if not the 'golden key,' to opening up these potentials."
The RICN is a student-run policy research organization, or thinktank, that operates on college campuses across the country.
AU's Roosevelt Institute chapter is currently rescheduling an event with former Sen. Chuck Hagel, R-Neb., that had originally been scheduled Feb. 8 but which had been canceled due to record-breaking snowfall in the Washington Metropolitan Area.
You can reach this staff writer at hperlman@theeagleonline.com.
