Web Communication of Green Candidates

Internet offers vast opportunities for Green candidates. And not just because web communication is reasonably cost-efficient electoral communication form, but also because green voters preferably use net resources to search for candidates. 

The most important thing about web communication of Green candidates is presence. You need to be visible in the services and platforms that your potential voters use. Choose your communication channels based on your focus groups as well as your skills and invest in them. Do not waist energy on channels that produce minimal benefits.

Web communication requires time, sometimes strength and also knowledge of the web environment. It is a good thing that you can use Internet anytime and anywhere. You should ask all eager supporters to help with your web campaign and develop for example peer support networks with other candidates.

1. Photographing and Using Photos in the Web

Pay attention to the photos you use. The Green visual communication highlights people and joint efforts. We wish to bring matters nearer everyday life in a positive and warm manner. 

Let’s make politics in a new way and break the grey and dull image: politics does not have to be so serious!

Remember these as well:

• Do not put yourself on a pedestal in pictures. Take pictures of yourself amongst the crowd. This creates sense of community and makes you easier to approach. 
• You can also be playful and use humor depending on the situation.
• You do not need to dress merely in greens if it does not come naturally for you.

Copyrights

The best way to avoid copyright issues is to use photos that you yourself have taken. You can also use pictures that people you know have taken after you have made sure that you have a permission to use them as you wish. In these cases, there should not be any problems. Still, it is advisable to be careful when taking pictures for example in public places.

Photos in the Web

The copyrights of photos on the web belong to the people who have taken them. You need a permission to use these photos. You can use photos you have found on the web freely only if the person who has shared the pictures with Creative Commons (CC) or Public Domain (PD) licenses. Different CC-licenses have different terms. Only CC0 (“CC zero”) -license means that the creator of the content has waived all their rights as completely as legally possible. Therefore, anyone can use the photos for example on advertising purposes. You should make sure that the license is clearly marked to the picture. Photos under CC-license are most often of type CC-BY which means that you must give credit to the creator when you use the photos.

Remember that some photos circulating around the web, such as memes, include photo material that can be subject to copyrights. Even if everyone else is using the photos on the web, it does not mean that it is allowed or that you would not become the subject to legal proceedings. So, make sure that all copyright issues are in order when you are using photos.

You can use Google Images to search for photos and limit the results on copyright free photos. Run the Google search and then click Tools -> Usage Rights -> Creative Commons licenses. These photos should be free of copyrights. It is advisable to double check this from the web page in which the photo was originally published. The Google algorithm is never one hundred percent accurate.

Photographing in Public Places

You can photograph in public places when it is not separately forbidden and the photos don’t demean or insult their subject. Public places refer to places into which everyone has access: for example, streets, parks and stations. Note that in many shopping centers, waiting spaces and public transportation vehicles you are not allowed to take photos.

Although you are quite free to take photos, you should pay close attention when publishing them. It is a different matter to photograph for private use than for example for commercial use. A basic rule is to ask for a permission from people recognizable in the photos. It is a good idea to ask if you can take the photo and whether you can use the photos later. Another good idea is to photograph people in a way that they are not recognizable i.e., you cannot see their face. Remember to ALWAYS ask for a permission from the guardian if you take photos of minors. Even if you would have taken a photo in a public place, you cannot use it if you don’t have the permission from the guardian of the minor visible in the photograph.

Photographing for Marketing Purposes

You are not allowed to use photographs of recognizable people for advertising or marketing purposes without their consent. The same rules apply to recorded videos.

2. Web Pages

You should have your own web pages. They add credibility and include all the essential information voters need of you. Structurally they can be very simple and clear. Web pages reinforce your profile as a candidate. Your web communication, including your web pages, is credible when it looks and feels like you. Be honestly yourself. Do not be afraid to highlight your strengths. 

Note that people will most likely visit your web pages with a mobile device. Remember to take this into consideration when you are creating your web pages.

Tips

• Don’t hesitate to ask feedback of your web pages.
• Study your opponents’ web pages and collect good ideas for you to try. You can also do this in reverse: if you find a weakness on somebody’s page, make sure that you don’t make the same mistake. 
• Make sure that the texts and photos reinforce your “story” as a candidate: they emphasize traits and features you wish to emphasize. Be positive and look into the future. Remember your focus themes.
• Your great ideas won’t reach the voters themselves. Spread your message outside your web pages as well. Utilize the social media, various discussion forums, and other digital channels.
• More experienced web users can use for example the free Google Analytics app to monitor how many people visit their web sites. Invest in the most visited parts of your web sites and see how your actions affected the visitor numbers.

3. Social Media

The use of social media has become a part of our everyday life. Most people expect that they can find politicians at least on Facebook which is perceived as the home page of social media. We strongly recommend that you have social media presence; know that if you opt out, you give a head start to your opponents.

Think about the following when you are using social media:

• What is your focus group i.e., to whom you are speaking to?
• What is your message?
• What is your focus group doing on the Internet -> where should you be?
• What interests your focus group? Think about the format and tone of your message. 

You can think about the use of social media as an everyday process. Its purpose is to make you known one message at a time. Long-term patience and regular activity are rewarded.

Try to be current. Comment issues when they are happening, and people are talking about them. Recognize your opponents and follow them. Discuss issues on their profiles and for example on organization pages. Conquer your opponents and their followers. Comment on current topics and reach your focus groups by making your messages spread. On social media, hype creates more hype. It is easier for people to comment on your posts if someone else has already opened the discussion. 

Ask people to help you. You don’t have to do everything by yourself and alone. You can for example gather a group of people to a Facebook group or a WhatsApp/Messenger group that can give you tips, feedback, and support. They can also help to outline your posts if necessary. These people can be your friends or for instance other candidates. Encourage them to spread and comment on your posts as well. You can also ask your friends to photograph events you participate in. Remember to give clear instruction on what kind of photos you want and for what purpose. This way you get good photos for example on social media.

If you wish, you can draw up a social media communication calendar and share it with people who are helping you. You can then come up with good ideas together and ponder about their implementation and development. Mark theme days, events, and other happenings prior to the election on the calendar. The administration of social media channels is nicer and on a more solid ground when you have a plan for it.

Rules of Marketing on Social Media

Note that all communication on the Internet is basically public. Don’t write and publish anything that you would not say to your child, mother, reporter, or opponent. Deleting already posted comments don’t fix the problem nor caused damage. People can take photos of your posts and spread them later. If people have seen the post and you delete it, it usually makes the situation even worse. Everything you say or do on social media becomes a part of your political profile, i.e., your image as a candidate. 

Tips for green communicators:

• Be open and honest.
• Dare to get excited, show your emotions.
• Talk about solutions, not problems.
• Build your confidence.
• Speak in terms that are easy to understand.
• Don’t get provoked even if someone attacks you.
• Own your mistakes, you will be forgiven.
• Be cooperative, don’t act as superior.
• Listen to others.
• Think big, believe in change.

You will most likely get a lot of unpleasant feedback on social media. You cannot control the discussion of others. People will provoke you and twist your words. Try not to take this personally. You should use discretion in answering mean and criticizing feedback. Keep your head cool, never answer feedback in an emotional state. If you notice that you are angry, wait utill the feeling passes and answer then. 

Never hide appropriate criticism on your page. Don’t get scared even if the opponent is provocative and aggravating. Take bravely part in the debate. Open discussion and exchange of thoughts are the most essential part of social media. You can use it to proof your expertise and increase your visibility. Try to make issues argue, not people.

However, remember that your web page is not an open citizen forum. It is your calling card and a campaigning tool. You don’t have to put up with everything. Delete messages that for example include cursing, are racists or discriminatory or that are clearly trying to create a conflict. You can also delete messages that go too far, for instance messages that unfairly comment your appearances. You can block or hide people who send this kind of messages to you. If people would be removed from real life events based on their actions or sayings, block them.

Facebook

Facebook is a significant tool of political communication and it has been one for a long time. For many people, it is the most important social media. About 76% of 15–55-year-old Finns use Facebook regularly (M3 Research & Kurio). The number is growing particularly around 45-year-olds whereas younger people focus posting on newer channels such as Instagram and TikTok. 

Experts say that the impact Facebook has on voting decisions is on the rise. It can for example reach voters that would otherwise be left unreached. It is a good idea to use Facebook as it offers a direct channel to the free time of citizens. The basic use of Facebook is free and advertising in Facebook is an affordable option.

You can post your texts on pages and update your personal profile on Facebook. You can also link outside sources such as blogs or news and your comments to them. Facebook enables publishing of photos, videos, and live broadcasting with commenting options. You can also create events on Facebook.

You should definitely be in Facebook for voters and your opponents are there even if you’re not. Many people also look for information of candidates from Facebook. You can use your Facebook page for communication but also as a calling card and information package of yourself in a similar manner as your home page.

Creating a Facebook Account

In order to use Facebook and create Facebook pages, you need to create a personal Facebook account or Facebook profile in http://www.facebook.com . All you need is a valid email address. Fill in the asked information on the registration form and click Sign Up -button. You will receive a confirmation request to your email. You must click on the confirmation link to complete your registration.

This is your personal Facebook account; you should keep it private. You can use it for example to communicate with your friends and family. For political communication, a good option is to create a Facebook page. The difference between Facebook profiles pages and groups are introduced in the next chapter. And after that, we will tell step by step how to create your own Facebook page.

Profile, Page or Group?

There are many options on how to use Facebook for campaigning. You can use your profile and pages to spread your messages. You can also use groups to plan your campaign or for example as a discussion platform for your stakeholders.

• Pages are platforms for businesses, brands, and organizations to share their stories and connect with people. 
• Groups are like discussion forums in which users are in contact with certain groups of people, such as family, teammates, or coworkers.
• A Facebook profile is your personal account, your profile page.

We recommend that all candidates create Facebook pages for outside communication. You can use your profile for Facebook advertisement and inviting likers. Call yourself bravely as a politician in your Facebook page.

Create a Facebook Page in 10 Easy Steps

When you have created your Facebook profile, you can move to creating your Facebook page. It is a tool for reaching out to your voters. Creating a Facebook page is quick and easy:

1. Sign into your personal Facebook profile and go to https://www.facebook.com/pages/create
2. Fill out the required field “Page name” with your name. Use simply your first and last names, particularly, if you wish to keep using the pages after the election.
3. Fill out the required field “Category” with Politician.
4. Click ”Create Page”.
5. Now you can add more information to your Page.

• Description: write your description and add your web pages or for example blog.
• Profile Photo: add your profile photo. It does not have to be your candidate photo. You can choose more casual and relaxed photo of you in nature or with a city in the background. Your face should be easily recognizable.
• Cover photo: add cover photo.
• Click ”Save”

Facebook now generates the page for you. You will be automatically directed to your new page where you can finalize the page settings.

6. Click “Settings” in the bottom left panel.
7. If you don’t have time to monitor what kind of messages people write on your page, go to “General” -> “Visitor Posts” and choose “Disable posts by other people on the Page”. Save changes.
8. Click ”Profanity Filter” and choose ”Medium”. If you don’t have time to monitor the messages people write to your page, choose ”Strong”. Remember to save changes.
9. Choose ”Page Info” from the panel on the left. You can now add information of yourself to the Page. Everyone can see the added info.
10. The most crucial parts of your Page are now completed, and you are ready to make your first post. You can find more information and guidelines from Facebook Help Center.

What Do I do with my Facebook Page?

You can choose yourself how to use your Facebook page. Just remember to use it in a way that comes naturally to you and that fits your campaign. Take some time to familiarize yourself with it, try it out and find your own style.

How and What Should I Post?

Some of the people who have liked you Page can see you posts directly. When your likers share, like, or comment your posts, their friends will in turn see your posts. This is how your posts can reach their friends and even their friends’ friends.

It is therefore important to increase the number of your likers to get more attention. The sooner you create your Facebook page, actively update it, and advertise your posts, the more likers you will have right before the election. Your posts are not all visible to your likers automatically. Facebook tries to estimate how interesting your posts are and then it shows the posts that have been rated more interesting with greater volume than less interesting ones. The most interesting posts are also the latest ones. You should post when people are most likely in Facebook, at the afternoon or in the evening. Posting can also be timed beforehand. This feature can be used to make your work easier.

Posts circulate from likers to other Facebook users via commenting, sharing, and liking. So, try to create posts that will be commented, shared, and liked. Posts get the most attention and visibility when someone comments them, second most when they are shared and least when they are liked. Try to get people to leave comments to your posts.

If you are using a Facebook page, you can monitor the circulating of your posts from “Insights”. You can keep an eye on how many people visit, like, comment, and share your pages. You can access the information by going to your page and clicking “Insights” on the left menu.

Photos

One way to make your posts more interesting in the eyes of Facebook, is to add photos to them. A photo should be as close to a square as possible as it gets most space as well as visibility therefore catching peoples’ eye in the news feed. A good thing about photos is that their content does not change even if they are shared without accompanying texts. 

Videos

If you want to post your own video on Facebook, download it straight to Facebook’s server. Don’t share links to videos for example from YouTube. Facebook favors the so called “native content” i.e., content that is on its own server and does not take you away from the website. In addition, the video starts playing automatically in the newsfeed if it is on the Facebook server.

Text Updates

Simple text updates can also work well in Facebook. The beginning of the text needs to be interesting and it should have a good hook. The text needs to hold the interest of the reader so that they keep on reading. You also need to think about the ending: does it inspire the reader to react? If so, how? What is the arc of the text?

Links

You can share all kinds of outside links on Facebook. If you have a blog, always remember to share your latest texts. It also a good idea to comment news in a form of a text update and then place a link to the original news in the comments. In this way the opening post is native and does not lead away from the Facebook webpage. Remember, Facebook favors this kind of content. Also remember to share all texts such as opinion pieces you have written on newspapers and other publications. Always share links to news in which you appear in person.

Facebook Live

Facebook Live is a video streaming service that you can use to film live feed for example from your mobile phone straight to your own Facebook page. Your followers can view the broadcast in real-time.  If you wish, you can also record the video to your page for later viewing.

Lastly: It is important to try creating different kinds of content and find the most natural and efficient way for you post content. By following others, you can learn what works and what does not.

Where to find likers?

Likers help to circulate your message. At first, it can be hard to find likers, but their number will increase steadily over time if you remember to be active and keep creating quality content. Don’t limit your actions only to your own pages – comment on current posts on other people’s pages as well. Invite people who have liked your post to like your page. You can do this by opening the list of people who have commented the post and clicking “Invite” next to each name. Make sure that interested people know that you have your own Facebook page. Remember to place a link to your Facebook page on your personal profile and for example on your home page. You can also add the link to your email signature as well as on brochures and advertisements.

Many people gain likers by advertising on Facebook. This is an easy and fast way to create a solid base of likers. Particularly, if you start advertising in good time before the elections. If you start advertising just before the elections, ad prices will rise high.

Twitter

The users of Twitter are mostly experts, spokespersons, politicians, reporters, and other social communicators. However, there are also some abusive accounts. Twitter is not best suited for speaking to large audiences. On the contrary, Twitter can be used to gain visibility among smaller focus groups described above, particularly among reporters. What is special about Twitter compared to Facebook, is that you can have several accounts on Facebook, but on Twitter you usually only have one. This can be used as an advantage: it can be useful to “mix up” your work self and candidate self.

Creating a Twitter Account

Creating a Twitter account is free and all you need is a valid email. You can create a Twitter account here.

The introduction text on your profile is more important on Twitter than on other social media channels. When you take part in discussions, people notice your name and often decide based on your profile whether to follow you or not. Your introduction should then tell briefly and concisely what makes you interesting. Speak directly to the people you wish to follow you. What do you want to talk about and comment on? Do you have expert knowledge gained from working life? Perhaps some surprising skills? Tell at least the following:

• Use couple of words to tell who you are and what you do.
• Tell shorty why you are interesting.
• Mention that you are a Green Candidate if you use Twitter for political communication.
• Connect yourself to communities (for example with election specific identifiers @greens, #municipalelections2021 etc.)
• Make sure that your face is visible in your profile picture – you want people to remember you. You can emphasize for example some interesting trait or feature of you in the cover photo. This photo can be more relaxed.

Posting on Twitter

Twitter is fast-paced and current social media channel in which you communicate with short messages called tweets. These messages are marked with identifiers so that they are linked to suitable conversations and topics. For some Twitter’s short and compact communication style fits, some find it challenging. 

Twitters characterizing feature is the shortness of the posts: the maximum character number is 280. You need to know how to say things compactly – take this as a challenge! The skill to describe large topics concisely is very important trait for a politician. However, nowadays it is possible to create longer tweets by linking several messages together by using + sign on the page/app.

You can also attach photos or links to your tweets. Photos can help you to stand out from the crowd. Twitter shortens links automatically, so even with long links you have space for the message. There are no specific pages or groups on Twitter. Conversations are linked to specific topics with identifiers called hashtags (for example #greens, #parliamerntaryelection or #politics). These identifiers categorize the messages and by clicking the hashtag, you can see all the messages written lately with the same hashtag. Use these identifiers for they increase the visibility of your tweets considerably.

When you are tweeting directly to a person or to a specific thread, mark your tweet with peoples’ profile identifier (@+name). When you are using the response feature of Twitter, this will be added to your tweet automatically. You can also add other people to your conversations by using these identifiers.  

The basic principle of Twitter is that you can take part in other people’s conversations. Do this boldly if you have something to say. When you use @-identifiers at the beginning of your tweets, they go directly to the persons wall even though all tweets are public. If you wish the tweet to appear on your wall as well, start the text with a dot (.). Participate in the conversations but also answer other people’s messages bravely.

Note that Twitter is more about interaction than proclaiming your own message. You can also share or retweet messages that you come across. But remember, if you retweet something people are likely to think that you agree with the message. You can also mark your favorite tweets with a heart symbol. This corresponds with Facebook’s like-feature. 

Twitter etiquette

You can follow anyone on Twitter. Following does not mean that you agree with the person or organization. There are no limits on how many people you can follow. If you wish, you can follow thousands of people. Follow people bravely, they will in turn follow you. This is a common manner to collect followers.

If you want to get followers on Twitter, you need to discuss matters actively. Take part in conversations and comment tweets by using #-identifiers or hashtags.  Remember to advertise your Twitter account for example on your web page.

A threshold to comment other peoples’ messages is very low on Twitter. Electoral candidates can for example write to ministers without hesitation. The tone of the messages should, however, be polite, as if you were writing them an email.

Instagram

There are about two million Instagram users in Finland. Most of them are around 16–29-year-olds. Instagram can be best used to reach young users and voters.  

You can create a personal Instagram profile into which you add photos and videos of yourself as a candidate. Instagram is first and foremost a service for sharing photos and videos – it is strongly a visual social media channel. Nowadays it is also used for private messaging via Instagram Direct. In addition, you can upload photos and videos via Instagram Stories at which time they can be accessed by your followers for the next 24 hours. They disappear after this time period has ended (but you can still upload the photos or videos to Instagram Highlights. They can then be seen upper edge of your profile).

You can add short accompanying texts and identifiers such as hashtags to the photos and videos on your Instagram Feed (photos and videos that are visible on your profile and are stored there). However, the main focus of communication on Instagram is on the photos.

Instagram offers a great opportunity to show what happens behind the scenes in politics and campaigning. You can also open a small window to your personal life. You can easily show people parts of your personal life, your hobbies, family, everyday life, and home which can help your voters to identify with you. You can use Instagram to visually highlight things that are important to you right now. Use for example photos of you in nature to highlight the importance of the environment.

Instagram is used via a simple mobile app. You can go to Instagram web page to look and comment on photos, but you cannot add them from there. People who follow your profile can see your photos and you can follow other peoples’ profiles to see their photos. Photos can be marked with hashtags like in Twitter and you can comment on other’s photos as well.

You need to consider what kind of content could be interesting to your target audience. For example, city council meetings are no doubt important events, but are people really interested in looking at other people in meetings. You can take more interesting photos for instance on a bus trip to the meeting.

Your photos don’t necessarily need to be of political things directly. On the contrary, you can connect anything to politics. You can for example take photos on nature trips and in this way illustrate your relationship with nature. Instagram offers a great opportunity to reveal things behind the scenes, shed some light on different sides of yourself, and your everyday life. Remember to think about the atmosphere of your photos: could they be light, positive, and warm even though they might handle difficult subjects? Do some background work and examine the profiles of successful politicians. Look also what kind of work other respected Instagram users outside of politics have done.

Creating an Instagram Profile

Download the free Instagram mobile phone application from App Store on iPhone and from Play Store on Android. You can also download the app to your mobile via http://Instagram.com/ web page. You can sign in with your Facebook account or create a new Instagram account.

Posting on Instagram

Photos are posted to Instagram with the mobile app. You can take photos and post them immediately or post photos you have taken earlier and then post them. The content of the photos is more important than your technical skills, so be brave to post your photos.

You can use various filters to modify your pictures or simply adjust the brightness or contrast of the photos on Instagram. Use these opportunities to perfect your photos to your own style. You can also modify your photos on your phone with different photo editing programs before posting them.

You can share your photos directly to Facebook as well as you are posting them to Instagram. Do not share every photo, just the best and most insightful ones. Use these in other social media channels as well.

Posting a video to Instagram can be done similarly to posting a photo if the video is less than one minute long. If the video is longer than one minute, you need to upload it via IGTV-feature. IGTV is relatively new and therefore its usage is still finding its form. At the moment, you can add IGTV videos from your computer using the Instagram web page. For more information check here. 

How do I get followers?

You get followers by increasing the visibility of your posts. Take at least these things into consideration when you post photos:

• Tag the people on the photos if they use Instagram.
• Tag the location of the photo.
• Use different #hashtags.
• Allow Instagram to make notifications of your post to Twitter and Facebook.

In addition, you should:

• Follow many other profiles with your account.
• Comment and like other peoples’ photos.
• Add Instagram feed tab to your Facebook profile.
• Experiment with videos.

Other Social Media Channels

New social media channels are launched all the time. Keeping up with the trends and using all the channels can be tiring. It is important to remember that you don’t have to be everywhere. You should not waist time on channels that your target audience or potential voters don’t use. It might also be a bad idea to learn to use completely new channels just before the election.

Snapchat has for example become more and more popular during the last years particularly among under the 24-year-olds. Most users in Finland are not, however, yet in the voting age. If you are trying to reach young voters, this channel may be of some import.

Event Communication in Social Media

Sometimes the most important audience is not the one that is physically present at the event. It is therefore important to communicate about events actively and outwardly. Every time you attend an important event as a candidate, take a moment to think about how to use social media at that precise instance.

• Into which channel should I create content to? Should I tweet or perhaps post a photo on Instagram?
• What kind of content can I post? Who else is attending?
• What about this event would interest outsiders and why?
• Can someone help you to create content or take photos?
• Is someone else creating readymade content you could use?

Photographing in Events

If you know people who are also attending the event, you can ask them beforehand to take photos of you. You can also give instructions on what kind of photos you wish them to take. 

In Finland, you are allowed to take photos in public places, as long as you do not violate or demean the subject of the photo. Still, it is courteous to ask permission to use the photos from the people whose faces can clearly be seen in the photos. You should also carefully consider photographing children, always ask their guardians for a permission or take the photos from an angle that does not show anybody’s face.

4. Blog

Blogs have held their popularity throughout the years. Blogs are web pages that candidates can use to publish their own texts. If you like writing and it comes naturally to you, a blog might be the right channel for you. On the other hand, without ideas and experience, it might not be a good idea to create a blog just for the elections. Particularly, if some other social media channels feel closer to you.

You can post your blog on your own web site or for example on a blog-publishing service, such as Blogger. A candidate can use the blog to bring out their ideas and thoughts as well as comment political discussion. It is important to spread your blog on the social media, for it is unlikely that people will find your writings otherwise.  

The strength but also the weakness of a blog is that they are archived to the Internet. It is something you need to remember. Your writings can be found years later you have written them. This is a good thing per se, as social media posts are easily lost in the endless feed. You should invest on the quality of the blog test, not quantity. It is not a bad thing if the texts are long but try not to ramble. You can post shorter comments directly on social media as people most likely visit the social media channels more frequently than your blog.

There are several ways to write blogs. You can for example emphasize your own experiences, interests, or expertise. Often in political communication the latter is highlighted, but a good blog text can include all three elements. It takes some time to find your own style, but it is a good idea to start writing your blog on time if you do not have any experience yet. A compelling text is well and correctly written, suitably concise, and it encourages people to think. Good texts stir up reactions in the voters. They can think for example that “this is just what I think”, “this was news to me” or “that was well said”. 

Signs of a Good Blog:

• A good blog generates understanding and expertise. The writing rouses feelings of realization in the reader. They realize things that are not known or understood by others. These feelings will make the reader to share the blog to other.
• The blog awakens active feelings, such as excitement, anger, interest and/or happiness, which in turn compel the reader to react.
• The blog is practical: it helps the reader to do something or to take part into something.
• The blog has a compelling story. It can for example ease into the subject via personal experiences.

If you don’t write the blog on your own web sites, you can use blog-publishing services. Many outside blogs are free and only require you to create your own account. In some services you can have impact on the outlook of your blog (for example Blogger), whereas in some all the blogs look alike (for example Uusi Suomi). Choose your profile or cover photo wisely, for you make your first impression as a candidate with it. These photos are also part of creating your image.

Free blog-publishing services:

•  Blogger: http://www.blogger.com/
•  WordPress: https://wordpress.com/