What’s all the flutter about the little blue bird?

Twitter, tweet, tweeting, tweeted… What in the world?  Do you follow me, do I follow you?  Are we talking about birds and stalkers here?  No, we’re talking about what 175 million people that have Twitter accounts know.  We’re talking about 1 billion tweets a week.  That’s a lot of tweeting and tweets that have been tweeted!  Folks that tweet have learned the fine art of saying a lot in under 140 letters. The little blue bird icon for Twitter has a lot of folks “singing” their tune in these truncated messages called tweets.  So, what about the stalker… do you follow me or do I follow you?

Follow the message, the idea, the business…

When you “follow” someone on Twitter, it’s not stalking at all.  You can see via “tweets” all of someone’s or some businesses comments about a wide range of topics and posts and issues.  When someone “follows” you, they see all of your comments, posts, and photos.  It’s almost like a one-sided-phone-conversation where you put forth your message and others read them.

Twitter reaches politics and public policy.

Elected officials have mastered the art of using Twitter as a means of keeping voters informed before an election about their position on issues, where they will be speaking, and what their issue of the day might be.  Once elected, these officials continue to use this social media as a means of staying in touch with their voters.  Twitter for public policy is no different.  (As another service for you, let The Echols Group set up and manage your social media!) These same elected officials from the federal, state and local levels, use tweets to gather support for or against an issue.  Twitter has become another medium in forming public opinion.  The question then becomes, why not use Twitter to convey your message to decision makers at the Mississippi Capitol?  The answer:  If 79% of Fortune 500 businesses are using Twitter… what are you waiting on – let customers and decision makers know what’s going on with you and your business.  Or should I say let them “follow” your “tweets!”

Identifying the Problem

Are you surprised by the headline?  Well, ever go home and you want to eat out instead of cook?  You lobby your way into eating out by doing one or more of the following:  1) honey, I’m really tired tonight; 2) they’re having a special on steaks tonight at XYZ restaurant; 3) wouldn’t it be nice not to have to clean up the kitchen; 4) let’s go out to eat at your favorite restaurant tonight; and 5) we’ve both worked really hard this week, so let’s go out instead of cooking at home.

More Examples

YOU just lobbied your way out of your kitchen and straight into your favorite local restaurant for dinner!   Not convinced?  Ever get a group of friends together to go see a movie and y’all can’t decide on what to go see?  You take the lead and talk about what actor is starring in the movie you want to see.  You talk about the critic reviews on the movie.  You might even say that this is the best action movie out in years.  So, you convince your friends to see the movie that you were interested in.  Just another example of how you lobbied your friends about what movie y’all go see.

Putting Strategy to Work for You

Lobbying at the Capitol is no different.  1) You identify your issue (eating out); 2) develop your talking points (tired, sale, clean kitchen); and 3) keep pushing your point about whatever the issue might be.

Whether convincing a friend to see a certain movie, a child to clean their room, or the boss for a raise, we all lobby to get things that we want and need.  Now what restaurant are we going to tonight?

Last week, Lieutenant Governor Tate Reeves, our newly elected leader of the state senate, released the names of key legislative chairmen and Senate committee assignments.  His appointments have received accolades from business leaders, decision makers, lobbyists, media, and others.  He drew upon experience, crossed party lines, and chose committee leaders are from all across Mississippi.  Lt. Gov. Reeves has held true to his campaign comments that he wants everyone to work together to make Mississippi a better place to live and to work.  His top priority is creating good-paying high-quality jobs for Mississippians.  Judging from the great group of folks that he has tapped to lead committees, looks like Lt. Gov. Reeves is off to a great start!  (House is expected to name their chairmen and committee members this week.)  For a link to the Senate committee chairmen and committee members, please click here.