Armenia: Political communication on the web

The one-week workshop looking at political online communication brought together twelve Armenian journalists and politicians to the country's capital. Commissioned by the German Konrad Adenauer Stitftung, the workshop held in October focused primarily on familiarizing participants with various online platforms and how best to use them for political and journalistic goals. Julia Bayer, a DW Akademie trainer specializing in social media, looks at the essentials of online communication and reflects on the participants' expectations of one another.

What were some of the practical aspects of the workshop?
It got underway with participants looking at various online tools and platforms, and how they differ from each other. The journalists and politicians also used current examples to look at ways to apply social media in their own work. A major component was how to use Facebook as a platform for dialogue and how to use Twitter for researching topics and finding interview partners.

Together, the journalists and politicians came up with ideas for making social media part of a local election campaign and also learned how to deal with "difficult" web users as well as the role that netiquette plays. The workshop wrapped up looking at ways to verify social media content and techniques for mobile reporting.

Although this was primarily a social media workshop there was also room for dialogue. Do the politicians and journalists have difficulties in communicating with each other?
Actually, they got on very well during the workshop and were very constructive together. Still, they did tell me that that was an exception, that in real life they had very little respect for one another.

How does one best develop a social media strategy for an election campaign?

Online and TV journalists took part in the workshop together with local politicians from Yerevan's city council

Before using Facebook or other social media, you need to think through a number of aspects. You need to consider which platforms can best reach which goals, know what it is you’re trying to achieve, know how to find your target group, and whether your content is relevant or suitable. It's also important to combine offline and online approaches, for example by using online discussions as part of an offline event.

Does one need a special form of "media literacy" in order to communicate effectively on the web?
Netiquette is crucial. The participants were concerned about a negative atmosphere on some platforms, especially in terms of hate speech. That's why it's important that website administrators set rules for communicating online, for the type of content that's acceptable and the overall tone. Participants learned about how to constrain or ban difficult users from a website, and how to react to controversy. We also discussed at length whether it's appropriate to delete a comment - because as long as it's not insulting, politicians need to accept criticism in order to retain credibility.

What do journalists and politicians still need to be aware of?
They tend to just look at their own social media performance, and when it comes to their own Facebook pages, politicians often mix personal and political posts. However it's important that they keep them separate.

Still, the priority is to really think through what they are trying to achieve with various social media platforms, and at the same time be willing to experiment with them. After all, Facebook and other platforms offer creative approaches for election campaigns and online political communication.