Member Engagement Through Social Media

MEMBER ENGAGEMENT THROUGH SOCIAL MEDIA

Harnessing a powerful tool to benefit teachers, the Association, and the labour movement

By Cynthia Bifolchi

What exactly is “member engagement”? Simply put, it means engaging with your union in some way. For example, attending a conference, representing the Association at a rally or on a picket line, or serving on an OECTA committee. Believe it or not, you can also engage using social media.

You might wonder why it is necessary to think about engagement using social media; why not just carry on as we are going, safe in the knowledge our union is working for us? Well, engagement has many benefits – for the individual, the membership as a whole, and the wider labour movement. Individually, engaging within the Association can help Catholic teachers develop personally and professionally, by providing valuable opportunities to connect with peers; on an Association-wide scale, it strengthens our union and builds communication and solidarity; and in the context of the wider labour movement, engaged members are powerful agents of change, particularly in terms of advocacy and activism.

Social media is an incredibly powerful tool in that it can help achieve all of the above, using minimal resources; if you have access to a computer and the internet, you can engage.

Social media is convenient and democratic We know that for some, social media is perceived as an inconvenience – another thing they have to get to grips with when they are so busy already. However, engaging in some way is becoming increasingly necessary. To a certain extent, we are now living in two worlds – the real world and the online. This is why we are hearing so much noise about “digital literacy” and “digital citizenship.” There is a massive, informationladen, communication-rich network happening online, and social media is a significant part of this space. If it helps, try reframing your thinking a little, to look at it as a positive: social media is a powerful tool to communicate, share ideas, and learn. And it is free!

It is understandable that if you are new to it, social media can seem intimidating. We can look at certain people’s posts on Twitter and think, “Wow, their opinions are so well-formed!” or, “This person is unafraid to tell it as it is – I could never do that!” or a hundred other things that make us compare ourselves and lose confidence. The truth is, our voice is just as important as anyone else’s. No one “owns” social media, and the beauty of the platform is that it is a place for all of us to engage.

Effective use of social media Examples of engaging as a Catholic teacher and Association member

• Sharing your celebratory stories, whether they are from your classroom, about your teacher colleagues, as part of a committee or fundraiser you have worked on, or any other ways you put your faith into practice, is essential to strengthen Catholic education and open dialogue between members. Be sure to tag your posts with #CatholicTeachers and #lessonsforlife!

• Sharing photos of unit meetings, committee meetings, conferences, Additional Qualification (AQ) courses you are doing or have instructed, and sharing or commenting on Provincial Office’s posts are just some of the ways you can engage as a member.

Examples of engaging as a supportive Association member

• With the rollback of Ontario’s labour laws, there is ample opportunity to share your thoughts on a fair minimum wage and worker protections. Engagement can come in the form of retweets, article tweeting, attending a rally and posting about it, etc.

• Post messages of solidarity: tagging our brothers and sisters engaging in strikes, lockouts, etc. with messages of support goes a long way.

So you have an idea about what you want to post about – now here are some tips to get you started!

-Use hashtags and @mentions

Tagging your photos with #CatholicTeachers or #OECTA, or any number of other relevant hashtags (check out the handy glossary!) means your tweets can be searched and retweeted or commented on. Mentioning a person or organization means including their handle in your message, so they know you have been talking about them. (E.g. “Check out this great resource from @OECTAProv!”)

-Spelling and grammar

Social media lends itself to a relaxed and informal style of communication, but spelling and grammar are still important, especially for teachers.

-Be authentic

If you want to build trust it is important to be authentically you.

-Be confident

“Newbies” to social media may feel the platform is “just for young people.” Not true! Communication is as old as time and social media is simply another tool – the age-old “rules” of communication remain the same.

-Start small

Start small, perhaps by linking a news story you find interesting and adding a short descriptor, e.g. “Wow, I never knew this. Such a great read.”

-Think before you post

Apply common sense: refrain from bad language or inappropriate topics, research your arguments using reputable sources, think twice before accusing someone of something, etc.

-Identify your intention W

hy do you want to post this? What are you hoping to achieve? Who is it aimed at? Taking a moment to set your intention before you post helps you refine your message.

-Follow people you are interested in

This will offer you a stream of relevant, valuable content.

-But also follow people with a different world view

When we choose to only follow people who share similar world views, we can fall into a false sense of security that this is how the world is.

-Be engaging

Retweet, like, ask questions, add comments. Offer links to more information on the topic. Make your content interesting and colourful. Add video, photos, personality. The more you engage, the more others will engage with you!

Hashtag Glossary – screenshot and keep in your camera roll!

#OECTA – main Association hashtag#OECTAPD – tweets to do with OECTA professional development

#OECTAAQ – tweets to do with OECTA AQ courses#CatholicTeachers – a general hashtag for any tweet

#lessonsforlife – tweets celebrating the great things Catholic teachers are doing

#OECTA75 – tweets relating to the Association’s 75 year celebrations

#onlab / #canlab – tweets relating to labour issues

#onpoli / #canpoli – tweets relating to politics

#onted / #cnded / #edchat – tweets relating to education

#cutshurtkids – tweets relating to cuts to education