Social Media as a tool for mobilising against SGBV

Temitope Fashola

GBV? GBV SRH? ?? and SRH! ???

Session Objectives

• Utilizing social media to mobilize around Sexual and Gender based Violence.

What is Social Media? • Social media is the websites and online tools that people

use to share content, opinions, insights, experiences, perspectives and information, enabling online conversations and interactions between groups of people.

• Unlike other online software that works fine with a single user, social media websites and applications work better the more people there are using them.

The Advantage of Using Social Media for Advocacy

Television, newspapers, radio, etc. have passive

audiences

Social Media has a participatory audience that

interacts, converses and shares

An audience ready and willing to be actively engaged!

Plus, This Audience is HUGE

Number of Internet Users in Nigeria:

45, 039, 711By 2015, estimated to rise to 70 million

Number of Facebook Users in Nigeria:

5, 184, 720Out of 213 countries, Nigeria ranks 31st for the most # of users

Number of Tweets sent in Nigeria [per day]:

1, 642, 21210th most popular site in Nigeria - in the USA and UK, it is 12th

…and the Audience is Young

34%Age:

25 - 34

Age of Facebook Users in Nigeria

36%Age: 18 - 24

Source: SocialBakers.com

…and they are largely Male.

32%Female

68% Male

Source: SocialBakers.com

Facebook Users in Nigeria as a % of Males & Females

Your Target Audience is Just One Mouse Click Away!

Between Facebook and Twitter alone, the potential for youth-driven advocacy and social change is enormous.

Example: Anti-Fuel Subsidy Protests in January

Given these statistics, we can estimate there are roughly 2.4 million Nigerian males between 18 and 34 currently on Facebook.

– the prime audience for your GBV & SRH advocacy efforts!

Group work• Identify 5 ways that social media can be used to raise

awareness on and mobilize support of young men against SGBV

• Identify 5 possible challenges that you can face running a social media campaign

• How can we solve them

The Power of Social Media in Nigeria

Case Study: Anti-Fuel Subsidy Protests (January 2012)

“In Nigeria, Twitter served as a vital information dissemination channel during the anti-fuel subsidy protests that rocked the nation in January… Users shared pictures of dead protesters, debated, and analysed government’s spending. More so, within hours after organised labour informed Nigerians of its decision to embark on an indefinite strike; youths took to social media sites to further spread the information. In no time, the sites were inundated with anti-fuel subsidy removal comments and also served as platforms for the mobilisation of protesters against the policy.“

Source: “How Africa Tweets”, Report by Portland Communications, Kenya © 2012 - italics added

“Wary of the gathering storm of public resentment of its fuel subsidy removal, the Nigeria government might have prevailed on telecommunication service providers to shut down Blackberry Services (BIS) nationwide in order to prevent people from being able to organize protests against it.”Source: www. saharareporters.com

The youths did not just read the information, but ENGAGED with it. They “shared,” “debated,” “analysed,” and commented; they “spread the information.”

The key to effective social media engagement? Get people to share and/or comment on your Facebook

posts, and re-tweet your tweets and reply with hashtags on Twitter

Why was this Twitter campaign so successful?

Intro to Twitter

140 Characters maximum

@ (Mentions) – like “Tagging” someone in a post on Facebook

RT (Re-Tweet)– just like “Sharing” someone else’s post on Facebook

A Tweet is like a Post in Facebook – can tweet comments, photos, videos, and links to sites/articles

Instead of “Friends” you have “Followers” and can follow others

Can search by topic – with or without hashtag# (Hashtags) mark conversation topics

Existing Examples:#GBV #sexualviolence #Nigeria

Can set-up so your Tweets post to FB

http:// bit.ly

10 Tips for Creating Engaging Posts/Tweets

1. Interesting - alarming, news-breaking, heart-felt, humourous *Grab their attention in the first few words, then explain*

2. Brief – one or two short sentences

3. Personal – share info that means something to you - add personal comments to links, shares & re-tweets

- make it personal to the reader

4. Relevant - discuss specific GBV & SRH issues in your community - use popular sites

5. Timely – talk about current issues as soon as they occur - respond to comments in a timely fashion to

encourage further discussion

Engagement Tips… Cont’d.

6. Regular - post/tweet regularly – and during “regular” hours

7. Direct – ask people to share/re-tweet or to take specific action (e.g. Tweet the Minister of Health about a GBV/SRH issue)

- call out people by name; tag them in posts so it shows on their friends’ newsfeeds

8. Responsive – respond to people’s comments - re-tweet and share others’ posts - when users share/re-tweet, thank them in a post/@

9. Interactive – questions, polls, competitions, surveys, photo caption

contests, trivia, etc. (Questions = double reply rate!)

(7,8,9 People are motivated by Influence, Recognition, and Rewards)

10. Visuals – use strong, eye-catching photos to help your post/tweet stand out, and help convey your message

Case Study: Pink Chaddi Campaign

Incident: A group of men from an extremist organisation attacked women in a bar in India.

Response: Using Facebook and a blog, four young women started the Pink Chaddi Campaign and asked women to send pink chaddis (women’s underwear) to the leader of the extremist group.

Outcome: Thousands of chaddis sent. Large, international media attention.

Interesting (humour) Personal Brief

Relevant Timely Direct

Interactive Incorporated a

strong visual

Why Use Visuals?

It is the quickest and most effective way to grab people’s attentionThe eye registers photos much more quickly than it can read text; a

strong image will “jump off the page” while words just blends together

“This Valentine’s Day, send the Sri Ram Sena a pink chaddi.

Because chaddis are forever.“

The Strength of PhotosVisuals can grab attention and direct people towards the advocacy information,

but they can also be an advocacy tool themselves. Photos can be the information.

“A picture is worth a thousand words”• In one glance, a photo can tell a story

that would take paragraphs to explain with words

“I need to see it to believe it”• Photos can have more emotional and/or informational “truth”

than words• Photos as evidence: can identify a problem in your community and serve as a

catalyst for change (i.e. advocacy photo)

But to be worth a thousand words, or be convincing, a photo must convey a message effectively.

Which photo is more effective? Which one would make you stop and read the accompanying post? Why?

© www.saharareporters.com

What Makes a Photo an Effective Advocacy Photo?

Effective advocacy affects how people think and feel. The best advocacy photos tell both an emotional & informational story.

If there is no inherent emotion in the photo, then the informational photo should have a “Wow” factor, and the story should be very clear.

Primarily Informational Photos

Primarily Emotional Photo

If there is no or little “information” in the photo, then the emotion should be very clear to pique the curiosity of the viewer.

What about Video? • Video can be very effective in communicating details or the contexts

of an issue that are hard to capture in a photo• Video is a strong form of evidence to disclose an overlooked or

disregarded problem (e.g. infamous campus rape case on Youtube)

BUT…• Video requires much more investment from a user than a photo• Quality will be restricted due to poor sound & editing capacities

SO…• Make ‘em short and sweet, but don’t forget the emotion.• Don’t overuse them on Facebook• Remember: videos that go viral are shocking, newsbreaking – they

generally require you being in the right place at the right time

CONSIDER: a Photo Slideshow using a mash-up tool like Animoto

Photo Essay: Quick and Easy

Quick Photo/Video Tips• Watch for background objects

sticking out of heads• Get down to eye-level or

lower• Frame the subject tightly - get

rid of excess space & irrelevant objects

• Don’t centre the subject, use the Rule of Thirds

• Use good lighting. Watch out for being “backlit”

• Think before you shoot! What are you trying to SAY?

Tips on Taking Good Photos/Videos With a Camera Phone

• Take photos/videos in settings with good lighting

(this will make the image less “grainy”)

• Keep the phone very still – especially when in low light (this will make the image less blurry)

• Instead of using the zoom, get physically closer to the subject (better focus and image quality)

• If your phone has it, use the White Balance function (e.g. Daylight, Indoor, Auto, etc.)

• Use the highest resolution (e.g. 640 x 480) or highest quality setting (e.g. Superfine)

• Don’t use built-in effects such as photo frames, sepia tone, or black & white

• Clean the lens

Group Exercise:

1) Write an effective Facebook post or Tweet about GBV/SRH, taking into consideration the Ten Tips.- Remember, a tweet has a maximum of 140 characters

And

2) Think of a GBV/SRH issue in your community that you could effectively communicate in a photograph or photo slideshow. Briefly describe (or sketch) what the photo(s) would show.

#SGBV

Final tips• Set a goal: “I will send __ Tweets and/or Facebook posts per week”• If you have nothing to say, share a link, photo, news article, etc. on

SRH and/or GBV – share posts! • Jot down post ideas for those days when you draw a blank• If you have more to say, consider blogging – can link your blog to

FB/Tw• Be a news-breaker in your community – call attention to those

everyday GBV/SRH issues that are not covered in news reports. • Remember to use visuals and encourage interaction• Study “good” posts. • Network with fellow participants: start your own FB Page and/or

Twitter hashtag, and participate in each other’s discussions! • Don’t get discouraged if you do not see the online results

Thank You!

Questions or Comments…?