1. HOW TO BE THE BEST CANDIDATE YOU CAN BE

2. 12.30 How the Union Works
12.45 Candidate Information
1.15 Creative Campaigning
1.45 Social Media Tips and Trends
2.15 GOATing and Public Speaking
2.45 Manifesto Advice
Banner Making in Room 2 (next door)

3. What is the Students’ Union?
Title
What is the Students’ Union?
We are a student-led organisation and registered charity established in 1908, representing all students at the University of Manchester.
As the largest students’ union in the UK, we are a community at the heart of student life, providing representation, advice, welfare, campaigns, clubs and societies, volunteering and training, along with all of our commercial activities which supports our work.

4. The Students’ Union Advice Service can only advise on academic issues
TRUE
FALSE

6. You need at least 10 people to start a Student Society
TRUE
FALSE

8. There is a PGR Representative for each Faculty
TRUE
FALSE

10. How we make decisions

11. Elections Briefing 2017 Title This presentation will cover:
Election Oversight
Key dates
Rules
The Candidate Hub
Submitting your information
Manifestos
Printing
Candidate Liaisons

12. Oversight Peter Robertson (NUS) William Carey/ Emmet Cleaver
Freya, Lisa, Amanda, Natalie…
William Carey/ Emmet Cleaver
Peter Robertson
(NUS)
Returning Officer
Deputy Returning Officer/ Administrator
Candidate Liaisons
You will receive an from your Candidate Liaison on Monday

13. Elections Briefing 2017 Title
Standing opened: Sunday 8th 12noon
Standing closed: Friday 17th 5pm
Candidate Training: Saturday 18th 12-4pm
Manifesto deadline: Friday 24th 5pm
Voting opens: Friday 3rd
Voting closes: Thursday 9th 5pm
Results: Thursday 9th 9pm – Club Academy

14. The Rules… Know the rules
Only do what all other candidates have an equal opportunity to do
Don’t spend any more than £30 – which we will reimburse you for
Slates and joint campaigning is allowed but don’t pool resources to gain deals
Groups can endorse you but this must be done democratically

15. The (Big) Don’ts… Bribery Negative campaigning
Threatening behaviour or harassment
Preventing a free and confidential vote
Interfering with the integrity of the election
Overspending
Using mobile devices
Unauthorised use of resources

16. Bribery You must not swap money or things for votes
Giving someone a sweet while you talk to them about your ideas is ok
Don’t give students things at the point of voting

17. “Don’t vote for Colin, he’s got no mates”
Negative Campaigning
Want elections to be positive
Campaign on politics, not personalities
Use your ideas as the centre of your campaign
Voters respond more to positive campaigning
“Don’t vote for Colin, he’s got no mates”

18. Privacy / Harassment
Every voter has the right to a free and confidential vote
No means no
Mobile devices are banned
Direct people to MyManchester/ /polling stations

19. Campaigners You can have campaigners! This is a good thing!
You are responsible for them!
Their mistakes are your problems!

20. Expenditure You can spend up to £30
We can give this in advance in some cases
You can spend this on almost anything
Free campaigning material – banners, paint, string, blu-tac
You must declare your expenditure by 1 hour after voting
Pre-owned material must be costed
Costs will be charged at a publicly available rate

21. Societies and Groups Student groups can campaign for you
Some have a neutrality policy
Cannot spend money on your campaign
No conflicts of interest
Endorsement must be done in accordance with Society’s usual processes

22. Slates (Team Campaigns)
Slates are OK!
Joint publicity is OK!
No combined spending
No pooled items
No bulk discounts more than an individual could get

23. Names You can specify your name on the ballot paper
You can also write a slogan
Must not be misleading or offensive
Must have a first name and a surname
Name
Is it OK?
Charles 
Charles Barry 
Chaz R. Barry
Dolly Parton

24. Publicity in the SU building
Perfectly fine – the more the better
Not on:
Mirrors
Windows (and windows in doors)
Stairwells
Existing publicity
Important signs (e.g. fire exit this way)
No stickers
Use blu-tac not sellotape

25. Staff members Must be neutral
No undue promotion by Union communications
Student staff and Exec Team can campaign in spare time
Candidate Liaisons
They are here to help!
Feel free to come in and speak to us

26. Complaints Can’t count votes until dealt with all complaints
Must be in writing and online – submit via Candidate Hub
CANNOT accept complaints in person – you will be told to go away and write it online
Complaints against staff – separate process
Complaints must be timely and in good faith
Deadline for complaints: one hour after the close of voting

27. Questions on Rules?

28. Deadline: 5pm Friday 24th February
Ballot Papers
Name
Slogan
100 words - summary of you and your ideas
Manifesto:
Why should students vote for you?
Your plan if you get elected
Why the role matters to you
Experience
Colour and creativity
Top 3 priorities – what are your 3 main reasons for standing for election?
Photos – head and shoulders
Deadline: 5pm Friday 24th February

29. Ballot Papers

30. Candidate Hub

31. Voting
Voting takes place online via MyManchester (usually the My Union tab)
Students will also get a personalised link to vote sent to their University – do not share these
We will run polling stations as much as possible:
Inside/outside library
Outside SU
Inside University Place
Halls

32. Voting The Students’ Union uses voting by preference
Voters rank their candidates
If I can’t have Jane (#1), I’ll have Tom (#2), if neither then Alan (#3)
A first preference is #1, a second is #2 and so on
Sometimes called Single Transferable Vote (STV) or Alternative Transferable Vote (ATV)

33. Voting You are successful when you meet “quota”
“Quota” is valid votes / positions to be elected +1 (so in a one position race just over half of all votes)
First preferences (#1) counted
If no-one reaches quota, then lowest excluded and their #2’s counted…
…and so on!
Tip for campaigning is to explain the system and get #2’s if they gave a first preference to someone else

34. Voting

35. Voting Does it ever happen?
When Luke Newton stood for Education Officer in 2012 he almost didn’t win…

36. No one met quota reallocate Mai, Sinan, Paul Jamie & RON
Voting
Round 1
Quota:
No one met quota reallocate Mai, Sinan, Paul Jamie & RON
244
1035
1021 50
284
325
Re-Open Nominations: 40

37. Voting
Round 2
Luke is elected
1133
1136
Re-Open Nominations: 40

38. Results Count can only commence when all complaints are resolved
Where complaints have lead to penalties…
Results will not be announced until all appeals have been resolved
Disqualified candidates will be informed first
Results will be announced in private around 8.30pm in Student Voice office – top secret
Results party takes place in Council Chambers Thursday evening – fun awards, kids corner, drinks reception

39. Complaints & Appeals Complaints submitted via Candidate Hub Appeals
Appeals must be submitted using the online appeals form by 12 noon the day following a decision that you wish to appeal against
You can only appeal against a decision where you were personally penalised
Appeals will be heard by three independent people who would be eligible to be appointed as the Returning Officer – e.g. neutral

40. Free Printing You need to use the Candidate Hub to order printing
You can order printing before 12noon on one working day to pick up at 12noon on the following working day from the Student Voice Office
This is processed by your Candidate Liaison
You can see the status of your jobs on the Candidate Hub
We will only print on black and white up to A3
Please pick up your print jobs
You can start submitting print jobs on Monday 27th

41. Candidate Liaisons First point of contact – please be nice to them
You’ll get their details on Monday
They will reply to you ASAP
Pop in any time
Complaints etc. go to Elections Administrator

42. Good luck!
Any questions…?

43. Creative Campaigning

44. Why do students vote? I saw one of their posters
I read a post of theirs on social media
They came and spoke to me
I read their manifesto
A society I’m a member of asked me to vote for them
They spoke in my lecture
I read one of their flyers
A friend of mine asked me to vote for them
A saw one of their banners
Ask groups to discuss and decide what they think is the most and least important, then get them to feedback.

45. Why did people vote last year?54 51 25 20 21 19 20 19 18 19 16 14 14 11 11 11 8 4 4
Explain what the data shows – manifestos and talking are most important, social media isn’t very important.
Ask if they are surprised etc.

46. Creating a brand & creative campaigning: Logos, puns and silly costumes
Talk about how these are one good way of ensuring your name and campaign sticks in people’s mind.
Ask what brands people can remember from previous years.

47. Brand: simple, consistent Creative tactic: Flash mob
Discuss this example of a simple brand, and creative campaigning technique: flash mob.
(Click on bottom left image for a video).
Brand: simple, consistent Creative tactic: Flash mob

48. Brand: fun, interesting, consistent
Creative tactic: Props and tagged photo albums
Talk about another example of good branding and creative campaigning: facebook album/tags with props.

49. Brand: simple, gimmick-free, policy driven, consistent
Talk about a third example of a good strong brand, this time a very gimick-free campaign focused on policies.
Brand: simple, gimmick-free, policy driven, consistent
Creative tactic: Campaign video and individually tweeted students.

50. Brand: broke all the rules, inconsistent, paperless campaign
Talk about a fourth campaign that broke all the rules-no consistent branding/slogan/no paper campaigning-just a well made gimicky video that went viral.
Ask what people think of the 4 campaign examples.
Brand: broke all the rules, inconsistent, paperless campaign
Creative tactic: Well made, funny, viral video

51. What do you think works?

52. Standing out from the crowd
3 minutes to look through the posters and decide your favourites
Cover backing boards at the back of the room with old posters/manifestos/flyers, ask the candidates to go and look for a few minutes, then come back down and discuss what worked, what stuck in people’s minds, what didn’t work.

53. The Paper Campaign Poster (A4 and A3) Flyer (A5 and A6)
Showing off your name, face and position
Double sided
How do people vote?
Use the things from your poster…or use your poster
When can they vote?
Keep it brief and clear
Social Media links
Top 3 points at least!
Vote #1
Longer Reading Time
Logos
MAX 2 minutes reading time
Explain the differences between a poster and a flyer.

54. Building a campaign team
VOTE
The Keen Bean
The Poster-er
The Chatty One
The Artist
The Chef
Explain the different roles people could take and how to manage them.
The one who lives in a really good place and can put posters in windows and a banner outside their house
Social Media Addict
Computer Whizz
The Parent

55. But….. Having a million of friends isn’t the key to winning
Think of peoples strengths and weaknesses
Candidates can campaign together!

56. Webcredible How to stand out on Social Media

57. What is your call to action?
What is it you’re asking your audience to do?
A piece of content intended to induce a viewer, reader, or listener to peform a specific act, typically taking the form of an instruction or directive.
Use the Bit.Ly link on EVERY post, don’t use long and messy links and ALWAYS include an image or video.

58. Effective visual content.
When it comes to capturing your audience’s attention, take full advantage of every chance to communicate your message in a way that they’ll engage with!
The best way to gain and keep your audience’s interest is by using effective visual content.
Use the Bit.Ly link on EVERY post, don’t use long and messy links and ALWAYS include an image or video.
You don’t need to be Picasso, so here’s are some tips on how to capture the attention of your audience:
Photos are undoubtedly the most popular type of social media image. So when do photos work best? When the image is unique, unusual or powerful (i.e. when the image can tell its own story).
Collages allow you to use a collection of images to tell a story or showcase items.
Text over a plain background (such as Inspirational quotes)
Behind-the-scene photos: Your followers want to see your face! Social followers want to know the people behind your campaign.

59. Video is now the portal into anyone’s reality…
By 2019, online video will be responsible for 80% of global Internet traffic.
Take some time to check out some videos from past candidates.
Brian Alcorn ran for Lincoln Student Union President and won - his viral campaign video was featured on the Scott Mills Radio 1 show

60. Deliver Content Consistently.
One of the best ways to grow your following and increase engagement on social media is to be there consistently.
You can schedule some of your posts in advance to save you time. Hootsuite is a great cross platform scheduling tool.

61. Being Human on social media…
Social media at its core is social. It’s about real relationships with real people.
Scheduling posts is a great way to save you time, but live posts are equally as important. Be real and take your followers to a reality they couldn’t reach without you.

62. Time does matter!

63. FACEBOOK
Facebook

64. TWITTER

65. INSTAGRAM

66. #Use #Hashtags #Strategically
If you want to be successful with your social media, stop random acts of hashtagging and use a good hashtag to tie all of the pieces of your campaign together.
#FutureU #VOTE

67. What else?
Try to reference your manifesto points along the way. Manifestos allow you to be clear and open about your priorities, enabling voters to identify with you in an open and transparent way.

68. What else?
Consider running a ‘Like and Share’ competition to build awareness of your campaign. Whilst in the business world such competitions may be harmful to your brand, you have just one week to get your voice heard as widely as possible.
Tell your friends
Show your appreciation
The emoji trend is undeniable
Emphasize part of your tweet
Get your friends, housemates and those on your course to like, share and promote your campaign.

69. What else? Show your appreciation to your supporters!
The emoji trend is undeniable, try emphasizing part of your post to draw attention to your call to action, or replacing words with emojis, particularly when tweeting this will save characters.

70. What else? Get ahead of the game! Plan your content for the week.
Try coschedule.com for a free 14 day trial or a simple Excel spreadsheet.

71. What else?
Bitly gives you the option to customise your links with the characters of your choice.
vs.
bit.ly/VoteRachaelForGenSec

72. What else?
Here at the Students’ Union we have a bank of assets available so please do feel free to use these.
We also have the largest following of students on Facebook in the UK (45,358), so take advantage of this; it’s there for everyone to utilise.

74. Going Out And Talking to Students

75. What’s the worst that could happen?
Ask what candidate’s worries and concerns about GOATing are.
Thinking you need to be brilliant or perfect to succeed
(you don't).
Thinking you’re going to bore everyone
(you won’t - make sure you know why you are presenting, and keep it short)
Not being as good as someone else
(be yourself – it’s easier than trying to be someone else)
Thinking you’ll forget something
(you might – but the audience will never know )
Thinking your audience will be as critical of your performance as you are (they won’t – they are on your side!)
Sometimes stakes are higher, but they still want you to get through it !

76. Public Speaking Examples
Think about:
Who was the best?
Any good techniques they used?
Who looked confident and comfortable speaking and why?
Play the video, candidates discuss in groups who was good, who was most memorable/convincing? Feedback to whole group.

77. Captives Union and Uni Lovers
Know your Audience
Passers By
Captives
Who are you Speaking to?
All too often speakers fail to think about the audience- who they are, what they want and what takes and interest to them.
Your audience will usually be of three types:
Passers –by ; Mainly interested in something other than you - going to the shop, queuing at the bank, eating in a café etc you need to say or do something really sensational to grab their attention.
Captives - People who are gathered for a common purpose but not directly to listen to you – a seminar or a lecture, for example you don’t need to grab their attention but you need to maintain their interest.
Volunteers – People who want to come to meet because they have common interests e.g. meeting if club or society or a group of campaign activists. they are interested to begin with. You need to maintain interest but you can go into more detail in your topic.
Union and Uni Lovers

78. Lecture Shout Outs Hello, my name is Lisa. I am running for Education.
Tell them the 3 things you want to do.
Tell them why you want to do this
Link to their interests if you can
Vote for me Lisa Tighe, Education Officer.

79. 1-1 Conversations Ask them a question.
Do you like your course? Do you feel safe in Manchester? What societies are you in?
2) Find out what they care about and maybe offer them a freebie.
3)Tailor your response to them.

80. Manifestos: The Rules! Manifesto deadline Friday 24th Feb @ 12noon
Maximum of 2 sides of A4
Upload as a PDF to Candidate Hub
Be careful about logos and copyright - we don’t check
Nothing offensive or negative campaigning
Explain

81. Manifestos: Tips! Simple Specific
‘I’m going to do more for Postgraduate students.’ – but what?
Structured
Ambitious but realistic
‘I’m going to give every students free laptops vs. there will be laptops to loan for students.’
Do your research - read the SU website
‘I’m going to create a festival that runs 3 times a year’
Fun and engaging
Don’t stress too much – get out there!
Advise/Discuss the top tips for manifesto writing.

82. Manifesto task!
You are running for Mayor of Manchester, if you win you’ll have a budget of £1 million to improve Manchester.
Create a manifesto for your campaign and think of a 60 second elevator pitch to convince your group to vote for you.

83. Manifesto task!
Decide in your groups which manifesto you think is the best, and pin it on the board below your table number. You have 15 minutes to convince others that your tables manifesto is the best. Learn the speech and go!