Social Media Advice

Twitter

• Larger engagement with original tweets - any significant tweets, e.g. announcement of action or comment on current affairs etc. should have some form of original content, as any shares or engagement on that post will direct more towards the page and build the following going forwards. Reactive posts to high profile events especially tend to do well if there are trending hashtags, as this is the exact sort of climate to create a viral tweet.

• Any articles, share from the article and then add a comment regarding the article, as opposed to retweeting a previous tweet containing the article.

Instagram

• Clear aesthetic does really well to popularise posts when shared, as has been shown from the rent strike movement - we all used Canva to make these as it allows data to be saved regarding formatting, and can be used to adapt to different social media platforms, although this is just a recommendation.

• Posts work better than stories as they are easier to share from other accounts.

• Contacting other pages e.g. rent strike pages, the NUS, to promote, will help build the account easily, as well as getting the page suggested to the right people via algorithm.

• If sharing other posts, use the share to story function as opposed to reposting it.

General

• Any prominent activists who can have the @ within their bio will help promote the page both via the actual page and via algorithm.

• Any livestreams e.g. virtual pickets etc. especially any with big-name speakers, get them to join the livestream via their own social media as it will notify their own followers as well as followers of the account.

Staging Physical Protests
during Social Distancing*

There are a number of considerations in taking into account how we can have effective physical protests while campuses are closed - or only open with a limited capacity - during lockdown, and as lockdown eases across the UK.

Strategy & message

Things to think about when preparing physical and virtual protests:

• make the campaign messages personal: what is happening, to who, when?;

• name and shame institutions through Twitter and other social media (though Twitter is probably the most widely used by universities), but;

• be aware of institutional social media policies - you may need to avoid commenting negatively on your own institution, which is why sharing information in the network is so important;

• share the dates for Open Days etc within your branch and with the Solidarity Movement so we can join in and amplify these tweets;

• consider arranging open / public meetings for parents and prospective students;

• know your figures! Data is essential in cutting through University management bluster about institutional poverty and survival;

REMEMBER: there is strength in standing together so keep in contact with your regional and national activist network(s), and update Solidarity Movement so we can promote and support your action!

Logistics & coordination

Physical protests that observe social distancing will need:

• the group to be adequately spaced out during the action and observing social distancing;

• to encourage protesters to wear appropriate PPE, and provide masks/hand sanitiser if possible;

• consider protesting in ‘pods’, e.g. 6 people in groups at strategic places;

• ensure you have enough people allocated to ‘steward’ duties to cover all the protest pods;

• physically ‘gridding out’ the protest (using tape or chalk).

You might want to consider a more formalised approach to organising the protest than we might have pre-Covid. For example, using a platform such as Eventbrite to register people who are going to attend, and to ensure you have contact details for all participants. Always make sure you take regional public health advice and lockdown regulations into account when organising physical actions.

Visibility

Due to the limited number of people who can gather outside, we need our physical protests to be visible, loud, and memorable:

• make sure you have banners and placards - branch ones where available and/or home-made signs (painted, scribbled, stitched, glued…);

• postering the campus doesn’t take too much person-power or resource - all you need is a stack of paper, some markers and lots of tape to paste the messages up;

• tape up / tape off parts of the university (combine with your posters);

• documenting everything is even more important than ever - invite local media, take lots of photos and video, and post to social media.

Physical & Virtual ‘blended’ protest movement

As we are likely to be maintaining some level of working from home / social distancing for the foreseeable future, we need to keep developing ways to make use of virtual forums as individuals and groups. Some ideas include:

• use Microsoft Teams / Zoom virtual background and profile photo function as virtual banners in meetings (develop one for your branch, or use the Solidarity Movement resources);

• disrupt the ‘brand’ by interacting with institutional social media posts. These have been particularly effective when targeting Open Days, graduations, and other public-facing events;

• prepare replies to university posts, and your own campaign posts to add to the designated hashtag.

*These suggestions are edited summaries of a collaborative working document produced by attendees during the discussion held at the first UCU Solidarity Movement activist meeting.
The unedited document is accessible by clicking here.