Believe it or not, there may be some still unconvinced that digital media can be a key part of your overall advocacy strategy.
And, while digital media is no magical solution, it does provide an effective way to directly engage many who can affect policy.
Digital media has evolved from a value-added communications medium to an essential component for the growth of your business and success with advocacy engagement.
Successful online strategy will:
- expand reach to target audiences
- improve brand affinity
- forge new relationships with key influencers, including:
- bloggers
- reporters
- thought leaders
- decision makers
- policymakers
- increase advocacy success
It is no longer enough to simply have a digital media presence. It has evolved and become part of a larger machine that enhances all aspects of communication and advocacy. Your organization needs to have a strategic digital media purpose and performance.
Specifically, social media has solidified its role in today’s advocacy campaigns. Social media platforms ranging from Facebook and Instagram to Snapchat and Twitter are creating communities for direct engagement with stakeholders. Elected officials, advocacy groups, nonprofits, and businesses are all in the game and are even considered behind the times if they don’t have a Twitter account.
Experimentation is the name of the game when it comes to social media platforms to reach audiences with an advocacy message.
What content motivates your audiences? What do they share? What do they click on? What persuades them to take a more concrete action like signing a petition or calling a congressional office? Conversational content is key with social media, particularly visual content, and smart organizations keep careful watch over which posts perform well for a particular audience segment and advocacy engagement. Successful engagement grows when you do more of what is performing well—in essence, giving audiences more of what they like and want.
You can download a free chapter of my book on successful advocacy, “Behind the Red Door: Unlock Your Advocacy Influence and Success,” and learn more about how to implement a successful digital strategy at http://karenbmoore.com/about-the-book/