Josh Klemons 💪💙💪

across social media. They shared their findings, recs for orgs looking to ramp up their relational organizing programs, how they think about walled gardens and more.

Find the ep, links, transcript and more at HelloMergeTag.com. You can also find it wherever you stream podcasts or on YouTube.

But so few campaigns are even thinking about them at all, much less developing strategies around them.

I hosted Amanda Brink of Empower Project and Tudor Mihailescu of SoSha to tell us about a Community Mobilizer program they ran that collectively earned 80 million organic impressions...

The platform generating the most clicks online probably isn't the one you'd expect. Or at least, it wasn't the one I expected!

WhatsApp, and other walled gardens, are doing a lot of heavy lifting in the digital organizing space. >>>

Her understanding of digital is thoughtful, strategic, and refreshingly real. I LOVED checking in with her on the pod.

🎧 Listen or 📺 watch now at HelloMergeTag.com

What do Mission Impossible, black-ish, and Stacey Abrams have in common?

They all turned to Garima Verma to help craft a digital strategy.

Garima’s experience is wild—in Hollywood, in politics, and now in consulting.

I’m Francesca Hong, a single mom, service worker, and State Rep—now running for Governor of Wisconsin.

This campaign won’t be funded by billionaires or corporate PACs. It’s powered by working people.

If you’re ready to take back our state, chip in today:
secure.actblue.com/donate/fran-...

Regardless your thoughts on AI—in our industry or in the world—Maya shared some really interesting perspective on the progressive movement's approach to digital ads that are well worth your time (imho).

Check out our conversation at HelloMergeTag.com, on YouTube or wherever you stream podcasts.

So when I saw Maya Hutchinson posting on a similar topic, I had to reach out and invite her on the pod.

Maya is the founder of BattlegroundAI, a platform that "instantly create high-impact, platform-ready digital ads." >>>

If you know me and my work, you know I have a very different approach to Facebook Ads than most people in our industry.

I just gave a virtual session at Netroots called "We're Thinking About Facebook Ads Wrong." >>>

Forget about the garbage take. What is going on with this screenshot from Scott Walker?!

You’re Not a Superhero... You’re a Megaphone: Why Zohran’s videos work — and Cuomo’s don’t Video wasn’t the genius of the Zohran campaign. Video was simply the vehicle — the genius was using it to give voice to the people.

Then there’s Andrew Cuomo. His videos? All about him. And here’s the thing: no one cares about him.

I dig deeper into this on my blog if you want to read more.

joshklemons.com/zohran-v-cuo...

Yes, he was a viral hit machine. But the real genius was using that medium to give voice to everyday New Yorkers — their stories, fears, and priorities. He wasn’t the hero. He was the guide. >>>

Everyone’s talking about Zohran Mamdani’s campaign. With good reason — he’s a generational talent and his run has been phenomenal. But too many people flatten his success to one thing: video. >>>

You’re not a superhero, you’re a megaphone.

That’s the message I give every campaign I work with. It’s a hard truth for some to hear: no one cares about you — they care about themselves. >>>

How Zohran Mamdami Engaged A Grassroots Army Using Automation with Gabbi Zutrau, the campaign's Chatbot Wizard “You don't want to be caught in that high volume moment and not have a way to capture people, not have a way or a plan to funnel people from Instagram onto your owned list.”

joshklemons.com/hmt-gabbi-zu...

If you want to know how to meet people where they live—inside the DMs—and turn that attention into organizing power, this one’s essential listening.
🎧 Tune in at HelloMergeTag . com or wherever you stream podcasts.
📺 Full episode also on YouTube via the site.

In this episode, she walks us through how automation built ladders of engagement, turned comments and DMs into thousands of email sign‑ups, and drove real organizing—all for under $0.03 per action.

“You don’t want to be caught in that high‑volume moment and not have a way to capture people…”

That’s exactly what Gabbi Zutrau built with the Zohran Mamdani campaign.

I keep getting new followers on this platform, but my content has almost no engagement. Just me? Very bizarre.

If that’s your jam, come hang out.

And if you’ll be in NOLA for Netroots, I’ll also be a session there on Free Digital Tools—a topic near and dear to my heart. Hope to see you at one (or both!).

We’re Thinking About Facebook Ads Wrong.

I’m doing a virtual session with @netrootsnation.bsky.social about how campaigns can get smarter—and more strategic—using Meta ads.

I’ve used FB ads to help some great candidates win their elections, and I’ll be sharing some of the lessons I’ve learned alon

Living Your Values: Content Creation in Complicated Times with Jess Zander from You Can Do It Gardening “It’s a business decision, but it’s also just a values decision… I don’t feel that this is the time to be silent. Silence is complicit.”

Catch the full convo joshklemons.com/hmt-jess-zander/ or wherever you stream podcasts (yes, it’s on YouTube too).

On deciding between speaking out and the bottom line, she says: “It’s a business decision, but it’s also a values decision… I don’t feel that this is the time to be silent. Silence is complicit.”

Jess may not be a household name, but she is exactly the kind of creator Democrats should be working with to meet people where they are.

Which is why I was pumped to have Jess Zander of You Can Do It Gardening on the pod. Jess isn't a political creator, she's focused on helping people better tend to their gardens.

But she lives her values — every day — even if it sometimes costs her followers.

Forget chasing a “Joe Rogan of the left.” It’s a distraction. What our party really needs is to connect with people already building large audiences—and living their values.

SIRI: Define irony deficiency.

It would be the funniest thing that ever happened if Trump vetoes this bill.

Just saying.

Social Media and Protest Used to Go Together. Not Anymore. Progressive activists were once synonymous with places like Twitter. The L.A. demonstrations show how much has changed.

— are more clearly identified with, or even as, the enemy."

nymag.com/intelligence...

"No reasonable progressive activist would have suggested, at any point, that these massive companies were genuine friends or allies. But now, the social networks — and the broader tech industry that has enabled more than a decade of American mass movements ...