FOOD & WATER WATCH

Online Organizing 101

Meredith Begin

Organizer, Education & Outreach

Food & Water Watch

p) 202-683-2537

f) 202-683-2538

c) 202-449-0401

mbegin@fwwatch.org

http://www.foodandwaterwatch.org

Know Your Target

Do they respond to emails?

Who answers the phone, when and

do they have a voicemail?

Are they on Twitter?

Are they on Facebook?

How else can

you reach them?

Know your audience

• Surveys, questionnaire

• “Listen” on social media

• Track your data

• Tag actions

• Create groups

• Set up queries and reports

Use tags or groups to

segment list for more targeted

ask

• Environment

• Recreation

• Fitness

• Efficiency

• Inexpensive

Example: Why does your supporter ride?

Send the email that is most compelling for that supporter

Every email should…

• Have an action; and only one

• Be trackable

• Be compelling, tell a story

• Convey Theory of Change

• Provide a way to unsubscribe

Actions!• Sign a petition

• RSVP to an event

• Social media:

• “Like” or “Follow”

• Share

• Twitter campaign

• Facebook blitz

• Email your legislator

• Tell friends to take action

• Make a donation/become a

member

• Do something offline

An action is a

tactic. Doing what you can with

what you have.

Ladder of Engagement

- Increase commitment to

organization’s goals and

campaigns

- Create offline leaders that can

organize and build grassroots

efforts in their own communities

Goals:

How:Start with an easy ask,

then ask the people that

do that to do something a

little more difficult. Repeat.

Real Life

Example

• Long-term goal: Stop expansion of untested,

unlabeled, potentially dangerous genetically

engineered foods

• Intermediate goal: Stop GE sweet corn from

being planted this spring

• Short-term goal: Grocery stores to agree

that they will not sell GE sweet corn

• Target: Walmart, largest grocery store chain

in the United States

• Our supporters:

• Approx. 350,000 email subscribers

• Approx. 3,000 text message subscribers

• Approx. 30,000 FacebookLikers

Tools:

Email and advocacy

software:

Salsa Labs

http://www.salsalabs.com/

Text message and phone

service:

Mobile Commons

http://www.mobilecommons.c

om/

Facebook, Twitter

Tactics:

• Petition (online or offline)

• Welcome emails!

• Questionnaire

• Social media (Walsanto)

• Petition delivery

• Call-in day

• Nationwide Day of Action

• Virtual Rally

First Email:

Introduction

to the

campaign

Action:

Petition to

Walmart

Share the online petition!•Facebook

•Twitter

•Change.org

•Care2

•Blogs

•Other networks!

Tell-a-friend

pages makes it

easy to share

via email or

social media

Welc

om

e E

mails With new petition

signers, send a

welcome email!

• Questionnaire

• Get to know

supporter

• Supporter feels

engaged

Sign up to Host a

Call-in Day!

•Auto-responses

•Toolkit

•Flyers

•Conference Call

•Tags, groups, queries

•Regional organizer follow-

up

Call Walmart Day of Action

1. Field organizers and volunteers

2. Email alert

3. Coalition partners

4. Facebook

5. Text message

Tracking:

•Challenges

•Solutions

Click to Call

Action Page

Text Message Alert

More actions!Petition Delivery

WalmartStore Action

Virtual Rally

Rule violation: inactives get an option to share,

call, attend virtual rally

Follow-up:

• To hosts

• Second and third attempts

Last attempt Call-in Day

Campaign wrap-up: Did we win?

Benchmarks

Email Rates by Message Type

Source: http://e-benchmarksstudy.com/

FOOD & WATER WATCH

Online Organizing 101

Meredith Begin

Organizer, Education & Outreach

Food & Water Watch

p) 202-683-2537

f) 202-683-2538

c) 202-449-0401

mbegin@fwwatch.org

http://www.foodandwaterwatch.org

Food & Water Watch

• ~52% of list was “active” within the last 6

months

Metric FWW 2011 Average M+R Benchmark

(Environment)

Open rate 18.1% 17%

Click-through rate 5.2% 2.7%

Unsubscribe rate 2.1% 0.28%