The Strategists are to develop the overall strategy for the campaign. They are in particular to think about legal aspects and to deal with the following questions:
Which social networking strategies are appropriate to reach specific target groups?
Facebook and Twitter were chosen because they combine social networks with fast communication. A website with more information on the issue was to invite people to read on.
Additionally it was discussed whether there should be two Facebook campaigns simultaneously – one with a humorous approach and one with a serious approach. This idea was dropped because it might confuse people. The idea of engaging celebrities to promote our campaign was also dropped because of access problems.
How do you propose to educate participants on your issue and avoid trolling?
Trolling was considered a minor issue as there were few people expected to be against the issue. Participants were to be kept informed by regular Facebook updates, concise expert information on the issue and videos promoting our cause.
What strategies are you planning to use to establish strong ties among participants of your campaign?
It was meant to start debates online and invite people to give feedback.
Formulate a plausible promise that works for the groups you are trying to engage.
These were the promised discussed:
– If you drink tap water on a water fountain you save X money a week.
– Save money and still drink healthy water.
– Step by step change your life habits and make a contribution for ecology.
– Save your money, save the planet!
This was the Strategists’ first idea of what they would be doing:
During the campaign, the Strategists’ main task was to keep an eye on time and schedule tasks for everyone to fulfill. They have also created the water facts, the Manifesto, the final Mission Statement and the texts to be printed on the cups for the taste test as well as the petition text.
These are some of the Strategists’ conclusions as to the campaign:
- They were more effective in the end because they had become aware of how important scheduling tasks and setting deadlines was.
- Motivation within the group differed, this would have been different in a real campaign.
- Missoula / Berlin collaboration was more intense in the beginning, later on they did not benefit from it that much due to two different campaigns being realised.
- Their main impact was made by forming schedules, researching content and ideas on other websites, providing content for the Facebook page and being in close contact with the Networkers.
- They liked being Strategists.
- The impact made with the target group had been expected to be higher. Maybe many people in Berlin already drink tap water and that is why mobilisation was not as great as expected.
Finally these are the Strategists’ recommendations for people who want to create their own social media campaign:
- Have people working for the campaign who really want to be doing this!
- Plan and schedule tasks ahead of time, it will facilitate the overall organisation of your project!
- Campaigns take time to spread and make an impact!