You can now advertise on Facebook only to your members

An increasing number of unions are advertising on Facebook, either through the “traditional” sidebar ads or through promoted posts. Thanks to changes to Facebook’s newsfeed algorithm, more and more unions and progressive campaigning organisations are being forced to advertise to…

Should your union measure a Net Promoter Score?

Your union’s motivated and committed supporters — your activists, delegates and workplace leaders — are amongst your most important members. Most union leaders and organisers know anecdotally who these committed supporters are, but does your union have a systematic way to measure…

What makes something go “viral”?

Chances are, if you’ve been working in union communications, you’ve been asked at sometime to “make something go viral” by a colleague or superior. If you’re like me, you probably silently sighed to yourself. I’m a big advocate of social campaigning — that…

Is this the future of unions?

There is a tide starting to rise in the world of progressive activism, and unions in Australia and globally may get caught in it. The tide is comprised of decentralised, leaderless, temporary movements, empowered by online organising platforms like Mov…

“If a tweet worked once, send it again” — and other social media lessons from The New York Times

Michael Roston at Nieman Journalism Lab has an excellent and interesting article about the New York Times’ social media desk. With over 5 million followers on Twitter, The New York Times has some very pertinent advice and hard lessons, many of which are relevant to unions and other…

Should Australian progressives pay attention to George Lakoff?

We live in a post-fact world. I assert this for two reasons. Firstly, because it crystallises the conservative approach to public discourse, which is largely exemplified by lying, lying loudly and lying often. Secondly, because increasing scientific re…

All the Current LabourStart Twitter Feeds

@LabourStart – the global feed, in English.@LabourStart_fr – the global feed, in French.@LabourStartCanE – the Canadian feed, in English.@LabourStartCanF – the Ca.nadian feed, in French.@LabourStartDE – the German feed.@LaborStartUSA – the American fee…

All the Current LabourStart Twitter Feeds

@LabourStart – the global feed, in English.@LabourStart_fr – the global feed, in French.@LabourStartCanE – the Canadian feed, in English.@LabourStartCanF – the Ca.nadian feed, in French.@LabourStartDE – the German feed.@LaborStartUSA – the American fee…

All the Current LabourStart Twitter Feeds

@LabourStart – the global feed, in English.

@LabourStart_fr – the global feed, in French.

@LabourStartCanE – the Canadian feed, in English.

@LabourStartCanF – the Ca.nadian feed, in French.

@LabourStartDE – the German feed.

@LaborStartUSA – the Am…

Turn your union members into advocates

Every union organiser knows that the best person to recruit a new member isn’t the organiser but another member, a colleague. The most active, passionate members, who proudly encourage their work mates to join the union, often end up as delegates or shop-stewards. This word-of-mouth is not…