The social network for trade unionists - a LabourStart project.

UnionBook's Facebook ad campaign suspended

After 10 days, we're suspending our Facebook ad campaign. The ads -- with the tongue-in-cheek headline of 'Facebook is for scabs' -- appeared 4,481,478 times. 1,078 people clicked on them. During those 10 days, 212 people signed up to use UnionBook. The total cost of the campaign was $784.15 -- or £495.70. That's more than £2 per new member. I don't think that's good value for money.

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Comment by Alan L. Maki on September 28, 2010 at 5:59: I think you are wrong to pay for ads; if everyone would be encouraged to spread the word to friends they work with you would get more members. Maybe you should have a "group" dedicated to just building membership in UnionBook.

Also, it would seem to me that UnionBook needs to get people focused on a common project that could be incorporated into ongoing campaigns in many countries... perhaps focusing on the question of peace and how we need to order priorities by redistributing wealth to pay for vital, and specific universal social programs... it would seem to me that UnionBook could help initiate an international struggle for a just minimum wage... this would be important to organized and unorganized workers... but, whatever, some kind of very basic agenda that would be supported by the main and most prevelent ideologies in working class movements around the world (liberal, progressive and left). Advocacy of national public chilcare centers free for workers would be another idea lots of working people could relate to initiating a campaign around. Or, what about building an international movement aimed at ending the U.S. economic blockade of Cuba?

All the other things you are doing would continue; but, have one thing that would be a group project for the long term.

Another thing that might be useful is to have some kind of labor history with a submission by each member about an important even in their country.

No matter... save your money and ask each person to try and get three new members every month. That seems kind of modest yet look how you would increase membership.

You have one heck of a good idea here and you have workers from all over the world already involved.

The other thing you could do is ask each member to accept a country assigned to them from where there are no members and just seek out some blogs and websites from those countries to post some info on UnionBook to. Ask them to try and make contact that would bring in one new member from a new country once every two months. It might help if you listed every country where there are no members. Just have a little blurb that can be copy and pasted.

Comment by jason.gooljar@gmail.com on September 26, 2010 at 3:46: It's probably better to advertise on google with google adwords I'd say. But so far Unionbook is doing rather well.

Comment by Stuart Elliott on September 26, 2010 at 2:47: Americans for Democratic Action is running a Facebook ad that says "Union member?" clicking goes to a membership form geared to union members and offering a special $15 intro membership.

It got me to click, though I didn't (yet) sign up.