SMART sheet metal workers are no strangers to change. Over the years, the sheet metal industry has transformed drastically — what was once a trade of snips and hammers now features computer-aided drafting, sophisticated 3-D mapping, artificial intelligence and much more.
The same goes for the ways that SMART members interact with each other and the world, with social media and digital communication largely taking the place of the media channels that existed for most of our union’s history. For that reason, SMART local officers gathered in St. Louis, Missouri, from June 23-26, to build the skills and strategies needed to engage current and future members — from the jobsite, to the union hall, to social media.
The class, titled Communication Strategies for Membership Engagement & Retention, was a collaboration between the SMART Education and Communications Departments. Course material covered a variety of topics: creating effective talking points, taking photos and videos using your phone, graphic design 101, how to measure engagement in digital communications and much more.
Local officers and staff learned hands-on tips and tricks from Education and Communications Department instructors about everything from creating effective social media videos to distilling complex topics into simple messages. Then, each day, they broke into groups tasked with putting those lessons into practice: filming and editing videos, creating draft social media flyers and strategizing on the most effective ways to reach target audiences.
“There are countless tools and platforms that people use, every day, to interact with each other, to share their passions, to engage with the world around them,” said SMART Director of Communications Paul Pimentel. “By helping local union officers equip themselves to engage with those tools and platforms, we can make sure we’re meeting members where they are and helping them get involved in their union.”
Groups were evaluated by their peers throughout the week, with points awarded for each exercise. Group 1 was awarded by fellow classmates as the top group in the class, with Jeremy Snyder (Local 36), Sam Hem (Local 66) and Jeremy Waugh (Local 110) — with an honorable mention for Stu Wilson of Local 18 — earning the highest score.
The work didn’t end with the conclusion of the class: Attendees went back to their home locals with a two-week communications plan, detailing concrete steps to implement their new communications skills and strategies.
“We design these classes so that local officers can go back to their unions, take what they’ve been practicing throughout the week, and start working to benefit their local union and their members,” said SMART International Instructor Andre Mayes. “We’re already seeing some of our attendees create new, engaging content on their local platforms, and we hope to see more as we work to engage members across North America.”
