Arc 3 Communications

  • Home
  • About Us
    • Our Founder
    • Our Approach
    • Our Values
  • Services
    • Content
    • Digital
    • Advocacy
  • Our Work
    • Content
    • Digital
    • Advocacy
  • Blog
    • Archive Page
  • Contact Us

How to Secure Your Campaign Social Media Accounts Immediately

October 23, 2017 By Patrick L. Burns Leave a Comment

Campaign Social Media Accounts Security 4 Ways to Keep Your Campaign Social Media Accounts Safe

In the wake of hackings in the last election cycle of 2016, the issue of cyber security and political campaigns has come to the forefront.  Both the Republican National Committee and the Democratic National Committees are making significant investments to help prevent hacking in the 2018 election cycle. However, every day new data breaches and hackings are announced. Just recently a Republican phone polling firm announced a hacking that involved the compromise of hundreds of thousands of GOP donors personal information. The hacking of the Democratic National Committee in the 2016 election is well documented in the media. Cyber security is an urgent issue for campaigns, parties and candidates at all levels. We’ve written about the importance of a WordPress Maintenance program for campaign websites. But equally important is the securing of campaign social media accounts which are often the gateway upon which hackers enter campaigns and cause havoc.

How can you keep your campaign social media accounts safe? Here are 4 security tips to implement now.

Strong Password Management

In analysis of passwords by security companies, “1234” and “password” remain the two most popular passwords. Strong passwords are one of the only things that stand between your campaign’s social media accounts and hackers. Weak passwords are often created and unchanged in order that they are easily remembered by staff. While this is understandable, investing in a password manager such as Last Pass or 1Password is critical to keeping your passwords strong, safe and secure. These tools make it easy to create strong passwords through a random password generator and stores them in an encrypted vault. They also take away the hassle of continuously logging in. A password manager ensures your passwords are strong and changed frequently and not misplaced. You want to keep the hackers guessing, and managing your passwords on a consistent basis is the best way to do it.

In addition to proper management of your passwords in a password manager, be sure that you use different emails than your campaign email to sign up and manage your social media accounts. If possible utilizing different emails for different accounts ensures, that if one email is hacked into, not all of your social media accounts are compromised.

Limit Access to Your Social Media Accounts

Controlling access to your campaign social media accounts is vital. Limit access to your social media accounts to as few people as possible. Manage your social media accounts through a management system like HootSuite or Buffer. These systems allow you to grant access to social media accounts to staff without disclosing sensitive account information such as security and privacy settings. You can also limit which social media accounts that they have access too.

If you have a large team posting for you, consider narrowing it down. Consider asking your social media team to send posts, written text and graphics to a special inbox or Dropbox and let one person have access to the actual accounts. In the rough and tumble word of politics and campaigns, don’t give full access to accounts to anyone without great consideration. Unfortunately, hackers don’t always come from the outside, but can be a rogue or disgruntled former staff member.

Be sure that you have a software such as LogDog that alerts you before a social media account is compromised through its scanning for a variety of unauthorized-access indicators. Its alerts allow you to take back control of your social media accounts quickly.

Two-step Authentication 

Two-step (two-factor) authentication protects your accounts by requiring users to provide an additional piece of information after they enter the password to get into your social media account. The most common method of two- step authentication occurs over text messaging via cell phone. After putting in the password correctly, the social media platform will send out a specific code to the cell phone number on file. That code is then entered to log into the social media account. By enabling two-step authentication and having a particular code and cell phone number on file for your social media account, it is less likely to be hacked even in the event that someone gains access to your password. When two-step authentication is in place, if a social media account is accessed from an unknown device or IP address, the administrator will automatically get an alert notifying them of an unauthorized attempt to access the account.  

The most popular social media platforms such as Facebook and Twitter offer two-step authentication and instructions for locking down the accounts. Most of the other social media platforms work basically the same way with a little nuance to each.

Two-step authentication is one of the best ways to make sure your accounts aren’t compromised.

Manage Your Privacy Settings 

Be sure that you check the security and privacy settings for all of your social media accounts on a routine basis. These settings help you to manage your online experience on these platforms. For example, Facebook’s privacy settings allows you to control who sees what you post from your account and customize your default settings for posts. As a campaign, there may be posts you would prefer you weren’t tagged in. With Facebook’s Tag Review and Timeline Review options, you can decide if you want a post to be published prior to it showing up on your timeline.

Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and other social networks adjust their privacy policies and security settings frequently. The platforms update these policies to keep your profiles secure. Keep up to date and follow all the new privacy and security policy changes on a regular basis. Enabling these policy changes may make life more difficult for the next person who tries to hack your campaign.

 

Need more help?

We offer social media training for candidates and campaigns, including in the area of security. Contact us here or via Facebook Messenger. Or sign up for our newsletter to get the latest tips here. 

Filed Under: Campaign Cybersecruity, Campaigns and Elections, Social Media Marketing Tagged With: Campaign and Elections Security, Campaign Security, Campaigns and Cybersecurity, Political Campaigns and Cyber security, Social Media Account Security Tips, Social Media and Campaign Security, Social Media and Campaigns, Social Media and Elections, Social Media Security

The Top Ten Politicians on Instagram

February 5, 2014 By Patrick L. Burns 2 Comments

Instagram is one of the fastest growing social media platforms. Taking quick snapshots or 15 second videos and applying funky filters of different colors and hues and sharing them with your friends isn’t just for hipsters any more. More and more politicians are joining Instagram to reach out to voters in a more personal way through photos and videos.

With its acquirement by Facebook and the addition of short video capabilities to the platform, Instagram is a powerful tool for helping politicians reach the ever growing mobile audience. Instagram’s new 15 second video feature is ideal for mobile video watching and integrates seamlessly with other social networks for instant sharing.

At the start of 2014, who are the most savvy politicians on Instagram? Through an analysis of Instagram followers and individual photo likes, Arc 3 has compiled a list of the top ten politicians on Instagram:

1. President Barack Obama  @barackobama 2.73 million followers

The top ten most liked political photos on Instagram are shared by the President’s account. These photos range from a “Thank you” photo on Election Night with 294k likes to birthday wishes for the President with 86k likes. Upon the President joining Instagram, the social media platform announced  that “We look forward to seeing how President Obama uses Instagram to give folks a visual sense of what happens in the everyday life of the President of the United States.”  So far the President’s team has done that and more.

2. Mitt Romney @mittromney 71k followers

The former Governor of Massachusetts and Republican nominee for President has the second largest following of a politician on Instagram.  The account largely contains photos from campaign stops during the 2012 Presidential election with his last post being November 6, 2012. The most popular photo on his account was a get out the vote photo on election day that received over 17k likes.

3. George W. Bush @georgewbush 64k followers

The 43rd President has taken to painting and his artistic talents show in his Instagram account. Posting touching photos of family and new grandchildren, he also adds in beautiful landscapes of his native Texas. The former Texas Rangers owner’s love of sports is also on full display with photos of trips to professional football and baseball games.

4. Senator Cory Booker @corybooker 33k followers

The former Mayor of Newark and newest member of the U.S. Senate is also one of the most adept at using social media for civic engagement, responding to constituent requests and comments personally. Senator Booker’s Insta feed contains a wide variety of content, including savvy use of short video and uploading of press clips.

5. Congressman Kevin McCarthy @repkevinmccarthy 11k followers

The House Majority Whip, McCarthy was recognized by BuzzFeed as the best Republican Congressman on Instagram. McCarthy’s Insta feed is full of photos of D.C.’s who’s who, his family dog and “Throwback Thursday” photos of his family. McCarthy’s video of playing Frisbee with the family dog received over 2k likes.

6. Governor Chris Christie @govchristie 5k followers

The potential 2016 candidate for President and Republican Governor of New Jersey has a balanced mix of celebrity photos, family “Throwback Thursday” photos and behind the scenes photos in his role as Governor. Governor Christie’s photo shares reflect his team’s understanding of emotion and imagery to garner support on social media.

7. Michael Bloomberg @mikebloomberg 4k followers

Having completed his term as Mayor of the Big Apple, Bloomberg has set up a philanthropic foundation to advance his favorite causes. His Insta feed is loaded with photos of groundbreakings, ceremonies and events in the performance of his duties as Mayor. Since leaving the Mayoral office, he has posted a stream of photos related to his campaign for immigration reform, Iamimmigration.org.

8. Gabby Giffords  @gabbygiffords 4k followers

The former Congresswoman from Southern Arizona retired from Congress after her courageous return from a 2011 shooting that nearly claimed her life. Founder of the PAC, Americans for Responsible Solutions, Gifford’s Instagram account is full of photos of her advocacy work.

9. Speaker John Boehner @speakerboehner 3k followers

The Speaker is the king of  ‘Throwback Thursday”, posting photos ranging from his high school football days under legendary Coach Gerry Faust to school field trips to family photos with his brothers and Santa Claus. The photos personalize one of the most powerful men in the country, who is 2nd in the line of succession to the Presidency. His Insta feed also includes hundreds of behind the scenes photos of his official duties as Speaker.

10. Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard @tulsigabbard  2k followers

The 32 year old Army veteran, surfer and representative from Hawaii’s 2nd Congressional district is one of the rising stars of the Democratic Party. Her Insta feed is chalked full of beautiful Hawaiian landscapes as well as behind the scenes photos of her duties as a Congresswoman for the Aloha state.  A fitness enthusiast, the Congresswoman’s account has photos of her many physical activities such as running, hiking, sking, and yoga.

At the start of 2014, these are the top ten politicians on Instagram.  As social media continues to become more and more visual, we expect more politicians to adopt Instagram as a necessary part of their social media efforts. Who are your favorite politicians on Instagram? Let us know!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Filed Under: Campaigns and Elections, Government, Public Affairs, Social Media Audits and Listening analyses, Social Media Relations, Uncategorized Tagged With: BuzzFeed, Chris Christie, Congresman Kevin McCarthy, Cory Booker, Facebook, Gabby Giffords, George W. Bush, Instagram, Instagram and Politics, John Boehner, Michael Bloomberg, Mitt Romney, President Barack Obama, Social Media and Elections, Social Media and Politics, Throwback Thursday, Tulsi Gabbard

Arc 3 Founder Patrick Burns Quoted in Hartford Courant Story Regarding Election 2014

January 26, 2014 By Patrick L. Burns Leave a Comment

Arc 3’s Founder Patrick Burns was recently quoted in a recent Hartford Courant story regarding the ramping up of social media, digital and technology efforts by the respective political parties in the upcoming Gubernatorial election in Connecticut. The article discusses how the aggressive use of technology pioneered by the Obama campaign nationally is now moving to the state level. Below is the quote from the article:

“The president and his team did a masterful job using Facebook as a big megaphone to reach voters,” said Patrick Burns, president of Arc 3 Communications, an Atlanta firm that advises right-of-center candidates and political parties, as well as local governments and trade groups, on how to use social media to spread their messages.

But unlike the attack tweets, news conferences and Facebook likes, some aspects of modern politics occur behind the scenes, through sophisticated data-mining strategies and the micro-targeting of voters. “On the consumer side, companies have been doing this for a few years now,” Burns said. “The political parties are catching up.”

For the full story, please click here.

Filed Under: Campaign Management, Campaigns and Elections, Civic Innovation/Gov. 2.0, Digital Marketing, Public Affairs, Social Media Audits and Listening analyses, Social Media Relations, Uncategorized Tagged With: Election 2012, Election 2014, Facebook, Social Media and Elections, Social Media and Political Campaigns, Twitter

The Top Ten Most Social Media Savvy State Parties in America

November 11, 2013 By Patrick L. Burns Leave a Comment

With the 2014 election approaching, the role of state party organizations will become increasingly important as the primary election season ends and the general election season begins. Most of the primary election season wraps up by June with the majority of states concluding their primaries.

In the 2012 election, the Obama campaign skillfully used social media to target key constituency groups, amplify its message and get out the vote. It was commonly acknowledged that a “geek gap” existed between a more tech savvy Democratic Party and the Republican Party. The Republican Party conducted a months’ long review of the 2012 election that resulted in a report entitled “The Growth and Opportunity Project”.

How have the parties across the country done at the state level socially in 2013? Does the “geek gap” still exist? Arc 3 looks at the top ten most social media savvy state party organizations. The list was compiled analyzing the Klout scores and number of Twitter and Facebook followers for all of the state party organizations for all 50 states.

1. Michigan Republican Party (Klout score 66) Led by Chairman Robert Schostak, the party has over the years been a leader in innovation and recently held its 30th Biennial Mackinac Republican Leadership Conference where insightful technology panels were held. The Michigan GOP is the most social media savvy state party in the country with over 8K followers on Twitter and 11K likes on Facebook.

2. Texas Democratic Party (Klout score 65) Led by Chairman Gilberto Hinojosa, the party’s social media prowess was on display nationally with the ascendency of State Representative Wendy Davis’ filibuster into the national spotlight through the Twitter-verse. The Texas Democratic Party is at the social media forefront with over 14K followers on Twitter and 51K likes on Facebook.

3. Florida Democratic Party (Klout score 64) Led by Chairman Allison Tant, the Democratic party of Florida operates in a state that has long been on the national radar, especially since the 2000 Presidential election where the state decided the Presidency. With 24K likes on Facebook and over 17K followers on Twitter, the Florida Democratic Party shows that it is innovative in its use of social media.

4. Florida Republican Party (Klout Score 64) Led by Chairman Lenny Curry, the Florida Republican Party is tied with its competitor, the Florida Democratic Party, in the area of social media strength and innovation. The Florida GOP has over 15K followers on Twitter and 15K likes on Facebook and will need to utilize its social media strength in what is shaping up to be a competitive election year.

5. Georgia Democratic Party (Klout Score 61) Led by new Chairman DuBose Porter, the Georgia Democratic party has been wrought with internal controversy that led to the resignation of its most recent Chairman, Michael Berlon. Despite serious financial woes, the Democratic Party of Georgia has a strong social media presence with over 10K followers on Twitter and 12K likes on Facebook.

6. Virginia Democratic Party (Klout Score 61) Led by Party Chair Charniele Herring, the Virginia Democratic Party is coming off a successful election year in 2013 with the election of Democrats to Governor and Lt. Governor. With over 7K followers on Twitter and 10K likes on Facebook, the Virginia Democratic Party’s effective utilization of social media was a part of their victories in 2013.

7. California Republican Party (Klout Score 61) Led by Chairman Jim Brulte, the California Republican Party has a rich GOP tradition, but in recent modern times, California has been a blue state.  With over 13K followers on Twitter and over 9K likes on Facebook, the California Republican Party has in place the channels to begin to get its message out and rebuild.

8. North Carolina Republican Party (Klout Score 61) Led by Chairman Claude Pope, the North Carolina GOP operates in a red state whose influx of new residents and changing demographics has resulted in some success for the Democrats at the state-wide level, though not consistently. The NC GOP has a strong social media presence with over 10K followers on Twitter and over 10K likes on Facebook.

9. Republican Party of Virginia (Klout Score 60) Led by Chairman Pat Mullins, the Republican Party of Virginia has faced challenges in recent elections. Once a reliably red state, Virginia has become a purple state. With over 5K followers on Twitter and 8K likes on Facebook, the Republican Party of Virginia is one of the most social media savvy state parties in the country despite its recent losses.

10. Missouri Republican Party (Klout Score 60) Led by Chairman Ed Martin, the Missouri Republican Party has the advantage of a state that has been growing Republican over the years. With over 5K Twitter followers and 5K Facebook likes, the Missouri GOP effectively and consistently publishes content that results in the ability to recruit volunteers, donors and supporters.

At the near the end of 2013, these are the top ten most social media savvy state party organizations in the U.S. The list reflects gains by Republican state party organizations that have strengthened their social media presence for what will be a very competitive upcoming election year. America remains an evenly split country as far as party identification. No one party dominates. However the state parties that leverage the power of social media for message amplification, get out the vote and targeting efforts can do much to move the needle in their respective state.

Filed Under: Campaigns and Elections, Data Analysis, Government, Public Affairs, Social Media Audits and Listening analyses, Social Media Relations, Uncategorized Tagged With: California Republican Party, Facebook, Florida Democratic Party, Florida Republican Party, Georgia Democratic Party, Growth and Opportunity Project, Klout, Michigan Republican Party, Missouri Republican Party, North Carolina Repubilcan Party, Obama-Biden 2012, Republican Party of Virginia, Social Media and Campaigns, Social Media and Election 2012, Social Media and Election 2013, Social Media and Election 2014, Social Media and Elections, Social Media and Politics, Texas Democratic Party, Twitter, Virginia Democratic Party

Newsletter

Want to receive the latest news in digital and public affairs? Sign up to receive our updates.

Recent Posts

  • Arc 3 Communications Celebrates 11-year Business Anniversary
  • Announcing New Account Executive for Public Affairs, Gabrielle Deliz
  • How to Secure Your Association’s Place as a Thought Leader with Your Content
  • Top 4 Tips to Best Represent Your Association at In-Person Events
  • What is Public Affairs? (Infographic)

About Our Founder

Husband, Father of 5, Founder of Arc 3 Communications - a public affairs agency. Over 30 years in politics and public affairs. Follow me on twitter and instagram at @patricklburns. I live, work and play in the community I grew up in. Read More…

Our Location

We’re located in historic downtown Marietta just off of the Square.

145 Church Street, Suite 290 Marietta Georgia 30060

Let’s Work Together

How can we help? We’d love to hear about your next  project. Contact us here.

 

Connect with Us

Want to keep up with the latest digital and public affairs trends? Follow us across our social networks.

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • Twitter

Copyright © 2023 Arc 3 Communications, LLC