The spread of social media has made it easy for people, whether local or abroad, to show support for the things they care about. It has become pivotal in helping movements spread their message and gain support. CUPE 3912 and its members can and should take advantage of social media to let the community know what’s happening.
Why is this important?
Drives engagement.
- Modern movements are spearheaded by activists online spreading awareness and discussing topics and their impact. We’ve seen countless trending hashtags in recent years that direct the public eye toward injustice and we can use that to our advantage.
Educates the community.
- Misinformation and inconvenience can negatively affect a strike, so keeping the community as well as the membership up to date on the latest events and why we are holding them ensures continued support.
Shows the employer our support network.
- An effective strike is one that has the support necessary to keep going until our demands are met. We can show Dalhousie that we won’t back down.
Uses our academic freedom.
- As academics, we are free and encouraged to say what we think and feel. You can and should post freely about your feelings about the union, the potential strike, and even the Employer–just remember to be respectful and be mindful of other applicable policies for CUPE and Dalhousie community members.
If you want to post…
Text Content
- The best messages are not just about the potential strike. We are hoping to build a community among the CUPE 3912 membership, so show us what you’re doing. Live tweet, review, and boost our events to show the public–and Dalhousie–we are people.
Visual Content
- Posts with visuals, whether images or videos, often do better and are seen by more people. Feel free to photograph, film, even GIF, our events so more people see what’s happening. If possible, consider adding captions to videos to improve accessibility.
Hashtags
- Using hashtags helps boost posts to increase engagement. Instagram has the highest engagement out of all platforms at 81% (Sprout Social Inc, 2022), but all social media sites use hashtags. The more interactions our union has, the farther our message will spread. Using the hashtags from our Social Media Team (#DalStrike; #DalLabour) will help spread our message.
If you’re unsure…
Retweet, repost, or share official posts.
- Creating your own content can be hard but sharing what’s already made is just as important–if not more so. Our message can only spread if there are people, like you, who are willing to share it! See our Twitter, Facebook, TikTok, Youtube, and Instagram for more.
Contact the Social Media Team.
- We’ve established a team to create and share official posts but they’re ready and willing to help if you want to create your own content but don’t know how.