If you’re currently working as an insurance broker for a political campaign, there are several essential tips you may want to share with your clients right away. Many political campaigns rely on their social media accounts to connect with potential voters and get the word out about their message, but not all strategies have the same effectiveness. If your clients have been asking you questions about how to effectively wield their social media channels without risking legal liability issues, there are a number of best practices that you could advise them to adopt. Take a look at some of the best social media practices for political campaigns that your clients could potentially benefit from using.

Coordinate Posts Across Numerous Channels and Vary Content Types

Perhaps the most important social media tip for political campaigns is to become active on as many social media channels as possible. Posting on numerous channels allows campaigns to get the word out to as many individuals as possible. Your clients may want to consider starting accounts on such sites as:

• YouTube
• Twitter
• Instagram
• LinkedIn
• Facebook

Additionally, it may be helpful for your clients to vary the types of content they post. This strategy keeps prospective voters interested. Some types of content they could consider crafting include:

• Short blurbs and articles
• Long-form blog posts
• Quick tweets and updates
• Video posts

Do Your Due Diligence When It Comes to Fact-Checking

For political campaigns to avoid legal issues or even just political backlash, it’s crucial to do thorough fact-checking before making any social media posts. You may want to advise your clients that they should:

• Call purported sources to confirm their quotes before publishing them
• Double-check figures and statistics prior to posting them
• Post clips of the candidate discussing confirmed facts and events
• Avoid making unprovable or highly controversial claims on any social media accounts
• Fact-check and vet any claims made in published comments

Stay On Brand and Incorporate Fundraising Efforts into Your Posts

Lastly, it’s important for campaigns to stay on brand in every post across every channel. Remind your clients to:

• Check to make sure every post stays on message and maintains a consistent tone
• Avoid contradictions or other errors that could potentially harm the campaign
• Include requests for fundraising in most posts
• Pin a donation link to the campaign website’s front page and to the top of every social media page
• Avoid interacting negatively with potential trolls or detractors
• Cast a wide net and aim to appeal to as many prospective voters as possible

When it comes to effectively using social media, many political campaigns have to walk a fine line to get their message out and reach voters while avoiding false statements and even legal liability problems. If you currently work to ensure political campaigns and their employees, you may want to share these top social media best practices with them.

About PGUI

Professional Governmental Underwriters, Inc., is a full-service risk management company dedicated to assisting public, educational and non-profit entities in the management of their professional liability exposures including educators’ liability insurance. We are dedicated to providing state-of-the-art professional underwriting management and loss control advisory services on behalf of our designated carriers. For more information, call us toll-free at (800) 586-6502.