Views of Online Advocacy

JJ Dawson

Comm 551

Online campaigns have become an effective way for non-profits and companies to connect, engage, and lobby for their respective causes. They have shown the potential to double response rates through online fundraising and advocacy initiatives. Recent studies indicate that donors are seven-times more likely to donate through online campaigns compared to traditional fundraising methods. In today’s difficult economic climate, it is important that nonprofits and organizations use effective messaging that motivates followers— and potential followers—to get involved and donate. It is equally critical to implement best online practices to ensure the highest possible response rate to your advocacy appeal. In the last decade, the number of organizations that pursued online advocacy methods exponentially increased. Organizations are using three primary channels to communicate to and engage their followers: advocacy centers, email and social media.

            First, advocacy centers provide constituents a space to learn about and discuss topics and provides an opportunity to directly get involved. Traditionally, organizations will use an online platform and/or advocacy center as a basis to reach out and communicate to their followers. Advocacy centers also provide a centralized communication location and serve as a hub for followers to get involved and ask questions. Advocacy centers are a place where actions such as publishing petitions, holding press conferences with elected officials, and information gathering take place. This past summer, I worked at an advocacy center for Environment America in Washington D.C. At the center, we brainstormed effective ways to reach new members and ways to educate the public on environmental policies. The advocacy center also served as a hub for canvassers and political activist to meet and strategize. The advocacy center was important because it served as a central location for all advocacy needs.

Another way in which organizations often communicate to their followers is through email. Email serves as an efficient way to grab the attention and motivate inactive followers to get involved. It is also a way to highlight and remind active followers why they should do more. Usually, advocacy through email has an option to donate to the campaign. For many people, this is an easy way to indirectly get involved in a cause. Giving to campaigns is crucial because the more money that is garnered, the more influence and credibility the organization will have. Supporters’ being able to donate large amounts of money from the convenience of their homes stimulates indirect activism. In fact, this idea runs closely to the concept of “clicktvism”, which leads to my third and final point.

The use of social media has gown exponentially and its use has been very effective. Users of Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and other social media platforms often “like” and “follow” organizations that they feel connected to. This serves as a way for organizations to strategically communicate to their audience. However, to maximize the effective of the message, it is important to understand your audience. The audience that is on Tumblr is a lot different than the audience on Twitter, and the same follows for other social media platforms.  The use of social media has promoted the idea of clicktivism by which supports are able to engage with and support their organization by simply clicking “like” or “share”, which then shares the content with potentially thousands of other users. If strategized correctly, like the Ice Bucket Challenge, it could capture the attention of millions around the world, which almost always results in profits for the organization.