NIMD’s Eastern European Neighborhood Office organized a two-day training session to improve the capacities of Georgian political parties to develop and implement effective social media strategies with the expert support of BKB Campaign Office.

The training, held in Tbilisi, Georgia, on 10-11 April, brought together all the main Georgian political parties. The participants were given an overview of general trends in social media in politics, exploring the essential tools for the development of social media strategies and the methods for effective engagement and voter cultivation via social media.

On the first day of the workshop, BKB introduced the parties to basic campaign rules. The trainers presented the most important social media tools and emerging communication trends, giving multiple examples of online campaigns. The participants also learned about of the role of social media in political campaigns internationally.

The second day saw the participants split up into smaller groups, each representing a mock political party with a clear message and a ten-point party programme. They were asked to work on a first draft of a content strategy, which they then presented to the other participants. This practical exercise provided first-hand insight into the workings of social media campaign creation, and what it means to work in a team to ensure a strong content strategy and visual strategy.

About BKB

BKB is a private company founded in 1999 in the Netherlands, specializing in organizing campaigns for governments, private companies and public organizations on various topics, such as social media, public speaking and negotiating.

With a young staff of about 30 campaigners with various fields of expertise, BKB provides advice on everything from business communication and online strategy, to internal change processes and PR.