Will Carpenters union’s social media tactics gain sympathy, or get lost in the mix?

The Carpenters union recently launched a website, Twitter account and Facebook page to help get the word out on its issues with the Pennsylvania Convention Center, where it has been barred from work since last May. But experts say the union's success with its new strategy will rely on creating a robust social media plan.

"In any kind of dispute ... it's going to be natural that if the normal remedies don't exist or are not met, that somebody would then go to the court of public opinion," said Steven L. Johnson, an assistant professor in the management information systems department at Temple University's Fox School of Business.

Devon Powers, associate professor of communications at Drexel University, argues that a successful social media campaign is about more than just joining the rest of the pack.

"There are a lot of messages out there, and there are a lot of websites. Many different groups are using these tools right now," said Powers. "It's not as easy to say, 'This is my Facebook, Twitter and my message,' and have that not competing with lots of other things at the same time."

A major positive for the Carpenters is that it's created a "filter bubble" for those who are already sympathetic to its cause, reinforcing what they already know and believe in.

But what about everyone else?

"For many of us, it's harder to get out of those bubbles we're in," Powers said. "You're in your own particular sphere and it's not necessarily [accurate] to say a message put out by a group will penetrate that sphere."

After all, on social media, there's no clear indication that the idea behind the messages is being received.

"It takes a lot of savvy in order to be able to make that really effective," Powers said. "It's not every day that we have something … like the Ice Bucket Challenge. [It's not] every day that that comes out of nowhere and goes viral. Many things do not do that."

Success is largely about timing, said Powers.

"It's a matter of how many people are looking to find it ... and [if it's] going to raise above the din of other things going on [in order] to hit at a moment when they didn't know they were looking for it," she said. "It's one of the interesting things about the Internet."

Johnson argues that the Carpenters need a long-term strategy to succeed.

"It's not just about one-time [investment] and creating a website. It's about having a long-term strategy with an editorial calendar," Johnson said. "Think of how major brands advertise and have social media campaigns to keep their messages relevant. It's no different if you're trying to get word out about a cause."

It's the difference between writing and sharing a 10,000-word argument versus writing 10 different stories disseminated at different times.

Keeping it positive

Another way to keep your message on top of people's minds is to have a positive spin.

"People respond to positive messages [more] than negative messages. [Our research] found that people that express more positive emotions are viewed as more influential than people that have more negative emotions," Johnson said. "When you have a sustained challenge like this, it's a lot harder to rally people."

Part of the challenge the Carpenters face is turning the situation into one of overcoming adversity, rather than continued anger about a perceived injustice, he said.

Conversely, the Convention Center and the Philadelphia Convention & Visitors Bureau, the center's primary sales-and-marketing agency, have been emphasizing the positive changes taking place at the center. They're quick to point out that the facility is having its strongest convention booking year in more than a decade, as convention groups return to the city after the new work rules were implemented.

"People respond online more positively [to positive stories]," Johnson said. "People are more likely to share stories that have an uplifting element to them."

Will the Carpenters' strategy work?

Like social media, the union's challenge in this situation is two-fold.

"Getting people to care about your issue is great, but who has the power to change the situation? It's about connecting the people who care about your issue [in a way] that they can communicate to people [with] the power to change things," Johnson said.

For example, boycotts won't work if the people you rally behind the boycott were people that were never going to buy a product in the first place. The longtime loyal customers are who you want behind you.

"Part of winning in the court of public opinion is having a strong ask. … There are cases in time like having a petition [where] a lot of people care about an issue is enough," Johnson said. "It takes a boycott that has economic ramifications."

Source: Philadelphia Business Journal