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Thank you for joining the Engine Room and the New Tactics online community. We hosted an online conversation on incorporating social media into human rights campaigning. The event took place from May 13 to 17, 2013. Social media is being used by human rights organizations around the world. But how can organizations use these tools strategically to achieve their goals?

Amnesty International USA (AIUSA) is one of the conversation leaders for this event. They use social media for online mobilizing and urgent human rights emergencies. For example, AIUSA used Twitter (and Storify) to prompt a statement from the United States State Department on imprisoned activists in Bahrain. They also used these platforms to report back to activists in real-time. This is one of many examples of the strategic use of social media by human rights groups.

In this online conversation, we explored:

• How to define your social media goals and targets;
• Strategizing about how to reach your stakeholders with social media;
• What resources you should devote to building and maintaining a social media presence;
• How to use social media without putting your staff and your constituents at risk;

This online conversation was an opportunity to exchange experiences, lessons-learned and best practices among practitioners using social media strategically in human rights work.

Building a social media plan: walking through how to build a sound social media strategy

Participants shared resources, strategies, successes, and challenges they encountered when developing social media plans. For example, a ladder of engagement is an effective strategy for growing a campaign. It starts with small involvement and gradually increases the intensity of participation

Measuring Success

One participant mentioned the importance of utilizing various benchmarks to determine success. Success comes in different forms, each action, tactic, and campaign should have specific, individual benchmarks. For example, in the Bahrain Twitter Action, Amnesty International USA knew that their numbers would be low. So they looked for response from their target instead of high participation numbers. Another example of a specific success indicator is the participation of key organizations and experts. Amnesty International USA used this as a bench mark when they launched their new website on international justice. They measured success in how new resources were being used by organizations and individuals in the field.

Connecting with Existing Organizations

One participant commented that it’s important to collaborate with groups in touch with international or regional human rights bodies. From there, you can build your networks.

Small NGOs should develop their social media strategy from beginning to end, the way a larger organization would do. It is important for small NGOs to know who is already working on issues. Also, it’s important to get involved in the Twitter community, to follow important people and make exchanges with them early. When using Twitter, it is also important to have actions tied to important days, it makes it more effective for other people to follow you. Finally, having a Facebook page, especially with photos and videos is important.

Maintaining Engagement

Another participant gave tips on keeping your audience engaged and interested. They recommended doing basic audience research to better understand and stay in touch with them. To keep them engaged, provide updates and reward your audience in unique ways (a reward that relates to the issue or work). It is important to have opportunities for your audience to influence your work.

Mitigating risk: determining your threat model and take healthy precautions when using social media in your work

A key part of using social media strategically, is using it safely. Participants in this conversation discussed methods for determining risk. And explored steps to take to mitigate that risk.

Protecting Activist Identity

The Women’s Peacemakers Program recommends not publishing pictures, quotes, or names without the full approval of the participants. While this may seem challenging and require extra time and resources, it is a best practice that reflects well on your organization. It will also encourage participants to be mindful of their own social media use.

One participant discussed creating safe event spaces, utilizing the Chatham House Rule. This rule encourages organizations to consider how patients feel. It starts a conversation about the security and privacy implications of documentation. It encourages participants to write NO PHOTO on their name tags if they do not want to be photographed. Additionally, organizations can use apps such as ObscuraCam to blur faces in a photograph before posting it online.

The Unique Challenges of Human Rights Work

Another participant discussed the paradigm of human rights work. What happens when organizations need compelling visuals of their work but also need to respect the privacy and security of the people they work with? New Tactics held a conversation on this topic titled Staying Safe: Security Resources for Human Rights Defenders. Tactical Technology has also created online resources to help mitigate risks when using social media. These include Trace My Shadow and Me and My Shadow.

More Recommendations to Mitigate Risk

Other organizations discussed more ideas to mitigate risk on social media. These included turning off geolocation, reviewing what’s visible on your profiles, not trusting sensitive information on social networks, and setting up anonymous accounts. These anonymous accounts should not connect with an identifiable email address. More recommendations included scrubbing metadata on photos and files, considering how a photo’s or video’s content count might identify you, double checking for https:// over http:// on social networking sites, and using a VPN on your phone and computer. Also, remember that anything sent unencrypted is like a postcard that any intermediary (network administrators, ISPs, or government) can read.

Complementing offline efforts with online tactics

Participants shared and discussed successful online/offline intersections of campaigning. They agreed that it’s important that you design a campaign with both online and offline components. Successful campaigns will share goals and objectives, communicate needs and expectations, and have regular meetings between the online and offline efforts.

Linking Online and Offline Campaigns

Participants spoke about the importance of combining online and offline methods. One example of this was the Iran campaign. This campaign asked supporters to dress up in traditional women’s clothing to show support for their movement. Here supporters took action offline and then engaged or shared online with a broader community. Another participant discussed linking social media to traditional media. The participant mentioned the importance of getting traditional media attention when the campaign first starts and then using social media to spread the information.

Building on Offline Work

One successful campaign, Organizing Venezuela’s Universal Periodic Review (UPR) , started offline first and then decided to make use of various online tools to have maximum reach. They created blog, twitter, facebook accounts, and worked with partner organizations. Another participant also commented that they generally start with offline engagements with partners. Then they add social media. It was important to get a group of organizations together that all share a point of view on the context and particularly the situation that is taking place. This can be done through a strategy called referral marketing. Next, the partners should set up a course of action and establish priorities.

Steps for Integrating Online Activities

Finally, another participant mentioned four basic components for how to integrate online and offline activities: (1) audience, (2) horizontal engagement; (3) actions, and (4) completing the circle. For example, search engine optimization helps to learn about and find your target audience. Additionally, media attention raises awareness through online presence, which can drive people to take action offline.

Tactic examples shared in the conversation:

• Amnesty International USA used Twitter and Storify to get the attention of the US State Department. Urging them to respond to the human rights violations in Bahrain.
• On International Anti-Corruption Day the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) used hashtag #ExijoSaber to ensure public institutions were listening to locals from El Salvador. They asked the question, “what information from your government do you wish you had?”
• Amnesty International USA organized a social media campaign responding to the increasing human rights violations in Syria. They utilized Twitter and the hashtag #eyesonsyria.
• Greenpeace Mobilisation Lab used customized messaging to approach and influence the brand Volkswagen. They influenced it to live up to it’s progressive and environmental image by committing to ensure cars meet strong CO2 reduction targets.
• Greenpeace Hungry built momentum for companies to study their supply chains to confirm their products are GMO free. They used online and offline mediums, like Facebook, public statements, and free consumer food guides.
• In a show of solidarity, organizations used social media to document abuses and honor victims and activists. They used Facebook to tell the story of the conflict in Syria, this included mock postage stamps, the Stamps of the Syrian Revolution.
• Kurd Men for Equality encouraged men to submit photos of themselves dressed in women’s traditional clothing. They and then collected and shared the photos on Facebook. This enabled individuals to support the cause without leaving their house. They sent Messages to Iranian authorities, and built a campaign for gender equality.
• Amnesty International USA used a YouTube playlist to bring awareness to human rights violations in North Korea. They released it as the United Nations Human Rights Council was discussing establishing an International Commission of Inquiry. They also utilized blog posts and The Human Rights Channel curated by WITNESS.
• Amnesty International USA created a digital campaign using Facebook and Twitter. They launched the hashtags #saveBeatriz (in English) and #salveBeatriz (in Spanish). The campaign gained global attention for this case in El Salvador.
• Amnesty International USA used Twitter as a movement building tool. They used tools like Twitterbomb, Twitter Chat, and Livetweeting. Spreading information about the death penalty in Maryland.
• In Venezuela, Venezuela Inteligente produced and directed videos with the hope of them going viral. They posted videos for free, and included Vuclip. They designed mass BBM messages to promote participation in the legislative elections. Especially targeting the youth in Venezuela.
• The Red Elección Cuidadana, a coalition of Venezuelan NGOs coordinated  an election monitoring campaign. They focused on receiving and documenting human rights abuses through multiple channels. They used Phone calls to a central line, email, SMS, website and web form, Twitter and a hashtag, and a paid collaborative social suite.

Resources on social media, shared by participants:

• 10 Tactics for Turning Information into Action: A 50-minute film on and offline toolkit documenting inspiring info-activism stories by Tactical Technology.
• 10 Tactics Remixed: Tactical Technology brings together snapshots of information-activism, featuring stories of how citizens have reacted to and challenged institutional power from the ground up.
• 10 Tactics Unstitched: A resource by Tactical Technology to help people run their own information-activism trainings. You can browse, download, and remix stories, images, and videos. Great examples are included.
• Amnesty International’s global Campaign for International Justice: Offers a variety of resources, maps, and information on the Campaign for International Justice.
• Building a Social Media Plan Worksheet: This resource is for people who want to build a social media plan for their initiative.
• Chatham House Rule: Resource to help mitigate risk for participants of social media, it states ‘participants are free to use the information received, but neither the identity nor the affiliation of the speaker(s), nor that or any other participant, may be revealed.’
• Creating a simple ‘Creative Brief’: Helpful in identifying your targets, goals, etc.
• Experiments in Online Advocacy: A report by The New Organizing Institute.
• Grist’s social media diagram: Resource to help create a ladder of engagement where activities become progressively harder and more energy-intensive.
• Me and My Shadow: Project by Tactical Tech, helps explain the risks that come with the use of social media
• Nonprofit Social Media Decision Guide: By IdealWare, is designed to help organizations like yours determine what results and benefits you can reasonably expect from social media, and to guide you through the process of identifying the right channels for different goals.
• ObscuraCam: A Guardian Projects Android app, which allows faces to be blurred before a picture is posted.
• Online organizing: A blog post category by New Organizing Institute on online organizing.
• Professional Standards for Protection Work: Published by the International Committee of the Red Cross.
• Security Resources for Human Rights Defenders: A New Tactics topic conversation on staying safe.
• Social media for campaigns: New Organization Institute created a great toolbox with guides to using Facebook and Twitter.
• Social Media Strategies for Advocacy and Targeted Communications: Published by Internews, written by Tim Norton. This document specifically addresses using social media in advocacy and communication strategies.
• Susannah Vila’s slides: Resource to help organizations develop their social media campaign over time, from content to connections to actions. Includes powerpoint and examples.
• Trace My Shadow: A feature that allows you to select devices and/or services you want to use for social media, and pulls tips and tools for how to use them safely.
• Working with the United National Human Rights Programme: A Handbook for Civil Society: From The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights.