REALTOR® Party Fast 5: Social Media and the Phone-a-Friend for RPAC Program

Many REALTORS® are integrating social media—namely Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube—into their day-to-day personal and business activities.  But it’s important to know that content related to RPAC (REALTORS® Political Action Committee) is subject to both federal and state election laws.

Have fun now. Talk about it later.
Phone bank participants and volunteers should not post phone bank or RPAC-related content during a phone bank.  Once the event has concluded, you may have more flexibility to post and share pictures, photos and videos of the event.  But you still need to be careful to avoid posting publicly available content that solicits or encourages contributions to RPAC.

Tag… We are all IT!
When posting to or tweeting content on your social media pages, tag the REALTOR® Party using our handles on Facebook (REALTOR® Action Center) and on Twitter (@REALTORAction).  Hashtags, especially #PhoneaFriend and #RPAC, are great ways to join the conversation, organize content and track discussion topics based on those keywords. This is the best way to get noticed.

Go with the basics.
It is okay to make certain Phone-a-Friend for RPAC information available to the public, such as posting meeting and phone bank times and attendance and basic information about RPAC. This includes:

• General information about Phone-a-Friend for RPAC activities, such as a calendar of RPAC events.
• RPAC financial information, such as how much had been contributed or the number of contributors to Phone-a-Friend for RPAC in a given period or after a phone bank.
• A description of the restrictions under which RPAC operates, such as that only members of the solicitable class may contribute to the RPAC or who determines which candidates will receive RPAC support.
• Factual information about RPAC recognition you have received for your investments such as being a Major Investor, but not posts encouraging others to make similar RPAC contributions

Err on the Side of Caution.
If you are not sure whether the photo, video or comment you want to post or tweet will violate the RPAC Social Media Guidelines, don’t post or share it.  You don’t want to risk putting the National Association of REALTORS®, the REALTOR® Party or RPAC in a situation involving unlawful public solicitations for RPAC.

Be proud. Be yourself. Be a REALTOR®.
Lastly, authenticity matters. As a REALTOR® you have a genuine passion for real property ownership and political advocacy and engagement that should be shared.