Tobacco

NATO Alliance Deploys Social Media

NLAA business partners launch outreach effort on legislative alerts
Photograph: Shutterstock

LAKEVILLE, Minn. Over the past several weeks, NATO has been proud to participate in the launch a variety of efforts designed to improve the ability of retail businesses to effectively communicate with one another and local governments across the country. We’re excited to add social mediaFacebook and Twitterto that mix of tools.

First, we announced our partnership with more than 60 national and state trade associations as part of the National Response Network (NRN). We are on pace to soon achieve our goal of having retail association participation from all 50 states. Monitoring and responding to local legislation is difficult if not impossible to do on one’s own. But, by combining our efforts and voices through NRN, we are already learning that the value of this coalition is greater than the sum of its parts.

Next, we announced the launch of the related National Local Advocacy Alliance (NLAA) website that equips NRN coalition members with a suite of important information and services designed to educate, inform and constructively engage retail businesses on pending local legislation. On proposals that can affect the bottom lines of retailers, NLAA both educates about the substance of laws and proposals and activates outreach to local officials. Already, we’re seeing retailers access the growing NLAA databaseand provide important information to local officials that can inform them about key issues that impact our businesses.

And finally, we are proud to announce that NLAA has expanded to social media to add tools designed to foster communication between our members and, as important, with the larger public policy universe. If you are a retail business owner or manager, an employee or maybe just an adult consumer with interest in legislation and regulation related to tobacco, nicotine or vapor issues, we strongly encourage you to “like” the NLAA Facebook page and “follow” the NLAA Twitter account. Both are important tools necessary to communicate in today’s modern world. For those of you unable to use the hyperlinks above, you can access the Facebook account here at https://www.facebook.com/nationallocaladvocacyalliance/ and the Twitter account here at https://twitter.com/nlaalliance.

The Facebook and Twitter social media platforms will allow NLAA to do two important things. First, it allows NLAA to create a substantive and meaningful organizational brand. When vested interests learn of a new organization, many of them will research NLAA. Through the use of both social media platforms, we will work to let public officials, the media and the public know that we are a coalition of responsible retailers selling legal products to age-verified adults. Second, we will also constructively and responsibly share important policy and related information through those platforms. It is of critical importance not only that our retail members engage with local officials to share our perspectives but also that our messaging be consistent and designed to have maximum effect.

Monitoring local legislation across the 50 states is no easy task. Providing a mechanism by which organizations and their members can easily and effectively communicate with decision makers, policy leaders, the media and the public presents even more of a challenge. The new NLAA social media platforms help present our NLAA brand to the wider world. It is only through member engagement that the NLAA Facebook page and NLAA Twitter account will achieve our long-term goals. Organic growth and influence will grow only to the extent that coalition members engage.

So please, check out both platforms and liberally “like,” “follow,” “share” and “retweet” NLAA content today.

Members help make our journalism possible. Become a CSP member today and unlock exclusive benefits, including unlimited access to all of our content. Sign up here.

Multimedia

Exclusive Content

Foodservice

A Reminder That Ease and Convenience Usually Win

As a recent study on third-party delivery demonstrates, convenience and ease will drive sales, even during a difficult environment

Beverages

C-Stores Get Ready: Beverage Competition With QSRs Is Heating Up

Technomic Principal Donna Hood Crecca says convenience stores need to update their beverage offerings

Trending

More from our partners