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Changing

The State

Recruiting Through Facebook

Why Recruitment

Nothing is more important than recruiting additional people to our cause so we can convert them into volunteers and expand our reach. The far-left activist and leading community organizer Saul Alinsky said that power comes in two forms: organized people and organized money. If we are going to defeat the policies that protect the rich public-sector unions, the trial lawyers, and the elite politicians, we need to organize people. 

Facebook and other social media platforms allow us to organize people virtually and build community around shared values, interests, and a shared vision. This is where recruitment happens. Your goal is to use online tools to communicate with and recruit individuals so they take the offline actions that move voters and change policy.

Step one is organizing and recruiting from your own network. Step two is expanding your network and recruiting new people.

Organizing And Recruiting Your Network

The most obvious place to start is with your network, your personal, professional, church, or volunteer circles to name a few. Hopefully, you’ve already hosted a house meeting and invited your network. But not everyone will attend a house meeting and that is okay. It is important that you engage and offer individuals ways to get involved using different methods.

One way to do this is through Facebook. If you are like us, you probably share a lot of information on Facebook. While that is good, it is critical we do more by providing opportunities for people to engage directly in the political process. It isn’t enough to just watch, we need to do something!

That requires being thoughtful about opportunities for your friends and acquaintances to take action. Maybe it is sharing a petition from IOP’s website, or a call to action from another organization. Maybe it is inviting them to join you at a phone bank or house meeting you are attending. Whatever it is, you want to be specific and make a direct ask.

That means posting the link to your FB page, but also sending it to specific friends with a direct ask. It also could mean inviting your friends to facebook events.

Example:

  1. “Hi Jane, I just signed this petition opposing Pritzker’s tax hike and thought you’d want to too. Will you sign as well?”
  2. “Hi John, I am attending this phone bank on Thursday night to call voters and advocate against Governor Pritzker’s tax hike. Will you join me?” <<LINK TO EVENT/SIGNUP SHEET>>  

Expanding Your Network

The second component of recruitment is expanding your network so you have a greater reach and a larger pool to recruit from. This includes adding friends of friends, adding people who like/share similar posts as you do, and joining local Facebook Groups. 

Facebook Groups can be a good source of local connections and contacts who share your interests and values. You can use the Facebook search function to find groups that align with you. For example, searching “Illinois Freedom” provides a listing of different groups that might be of interest.

Upon joining a group, you can share relevant information and calls to action that you think the group might appreciate. You don’t want to spam the group, so make sure you keep it timely, topical, and limited. 

In addition to posting direct calls to action and asking the groups members to take action, Facebook Groups also provide new potential recruitment leads for you. When someone likes or shares your posts, you should add them as a friend. Slowly build out your network person by person. You can then approach each of these new friends using the Facebook Four-Step process.

Facebook Four-Step

The Facebook Four-Step is a recruitment method developed by the Leadership Institute which provides a pathway through the recruitment process. It utilizes the Facebook messenger technology to move people from sharing interests online to taking action offline using a four-step process. 

  1. Get a response:
    • Send a message that is legitimate, relatable, and has an ask.
  2. Get them on the phone:
    • Even today, human-to-human conversations are the best way to connect and drive action
  3. Get a yes:
    • Get them to say yes to anything and build rapport
  4. Get them to take action:
    • Make a hard-ask for them to join you in taking offline action

 

Example:

  1. Someone in the new Facebook Group you are a part of likes one of your posts in a group and you add them as a friend as described above.
    • Using the Facebook Messenger tool, you start a conversation like this with the goal of getting a response:
      1. Legitimacy: “Hey (FIRST NAME), thanks for adding me as a friend!
      2. Relate: “I saw you liked my post on the tax hike the General Assembly is considering and wanted to talk to you about what you can do to stop it.”
      3. Ask: “Do you still live in Illinois?”
      4. They respond: “Yeah I hate all these tax hikes! I live in (CITY).”
    • You want to get them on the phone
      1. “That’s awesome! We actually have a big advocacy push against the tax hike. Have you heard of it?”
      2. Response: “No what is it?”
      3. “Governor Pritzker is really pushing his $1B tax hike on small businesses, so we have a bunch of volunteers working together to get the word out at a phone bank on Saturday. I’m looking for like-minded people to join. Can I call you real quick to tell you more about it?”
    • Get a yes on having the phone call. Once you connect on the phone, explain the issue, the call to action, and share your story! Explain who you are, what you are doing, and try and get them talking about themselves by asking something they will respond “yes” to. Build rapport around shared issues, values, experience.
      1. “Do you follow politics?”
      2. Response: “Yes, I watch Fox and read everything that comes across my FB Page.”
    • Get them to take action
      1. End the call with a specific call to action.
      2. “Thank you so much for chatting today. As I mentioned, I am hosting this critical phone bank on Saturday. Can I count on you to be there?”
      3. WAIT – don’t say anything, wait for them to respond to your ask. If they say “yes”, thank them and confirm. If they so “no” be prepared with another ask — a phone bank on Thursday night, or a walk the following week.

Put It Into Action

Now it is your turn! Head over to Facebook and post the latest IOP petition on your page https://www.illinoisopportunity.org/petitions. Then share the petition in any groups you are in. And finally pick out 5 friends and send them a FB message with the petition and ask them to join you in signing it.