LinkedIn is a business and employment-focused social media channel where people discuss their work, experience and careers. Unlike other social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram or X (formerly known as Twitter), users on LinkedIn exclusively talk about work, experience and careers, making it an ideal platform to digitally organise and bring Community into the forefront of your workplace discussion.
Another great benefit to LinkedIn is that users share where they work, making it easier for you to connect with and network with your colleagues. We’ve put together a handy list of ways you can use LinkedIn to effectively organise.
Here are 8 ways you can use LinkedIn to organise as a Community Trade Union Rep:
1. Connect with your trade union
First and foremost, we would recommend connecting with Community on LinkedIn. We regularly post news, updates and campaigns, so you’ll stay in the loop with everything we’re up to. Make sure to comment, react and repost!
2. Build your union network and connect with colleagues and union reps
LinkedIn allows you to find connections where you work – making it an ideal tool to connect with colleagues, and even other Community Reps, staff and activists. By building your LinkedIn network, your engagement, post likes and shares will reach more people.
3. Map your workplace and organise
As users of LinkedIn list where they work, it makes it an excellent tool to map your colleagues in your organising efforts. You can even filter by location if you work for a large organisation, and only want to map your branch.
4. Set up a LinkedIn group for your branch
Another brilliant feature that LinkedIn provides is private groups – this will provide a way for you to connect with your branch, discuss workplace issues, set up meetings and provide updates to your members. P.S. Make sure to set this to private, and invite only so that you can ensure everyone in the group is a Community member.
It is important to remember that your workplace may have a social media policy in place, and this will apply to LinkedIn as well as all other social media channels. So make sure you’re not breaching this policy.
5. Spread the word about the work Community does
From our campaigns and member benefits, to issues you’re working to tackle and progress you have made in your workplace, we would encourage any Community Reps to talk about the work you do in your workplace in supporting members, as well as what the wider union is up to.
6. Increase the visibility of Community
Make sure to comment, react and share posts from Community Union, Community staff, fellow reps and members. This massively increases the visibility of our union.
7. Talk about your work and experience as Trade Union Rep
LinkedIn is like a digital CV, and your role as a trade union rep will provide invaluable experience that is transferrable to your professional life too. So make sure to add your knowledge, achievements and skills to your LinkedIn profile as volunteer experience.
8. Agree an organising strategy
Like anything, planning makes perfect. You may want to first consider a strategy for using LinkedIn, or a LinkedIn group to organise your branch. Make sure to discuss it with your branch, or even Community Organiser to agree on the best approach.
Download our guide on using LinkedIn to organise today
We’ve put together a handy guide on using LinkedIn to effectively organise in your workplace. If you are interested in developing a digital strategy to organise in your branch, please contact our Digital Organiser at editor@community-tu.org.
If you are a member of Community and need advice or support, please contact our Service Centre at help@community-tu.org or on 0800 389 6332.
© Community Trade Union 2024