Crafting a Digital Strategy for Practical Political …...Crafting a Digital Strategy for Practical...
31
Crafting a Digital Strategy for Practical Political Advocacy Tactics without strategy is the noise before defeat - Sun Tzu
Transcript of Crafting a Digital Strategy for Practical Political …...Crafting a Digital Strategy for Practical...
Crafting a Digital Strategy for Practical Political Advocacy
Tactics without strategy is the noise before defeat - Sun Tzu
Colin Delany
● Former political staffer (Texas)
● Founder/editor Epolitics.com
● Online communications consultant
● Political advocate
What I Do
Communications strategy planning, including social media, email campaigns, online fundraising, influencer outreach & more
Audits of organization websites, social media properties, email campaigns & online fundraising
Technology planning & project management
Planning and implementation for specific online comms projects & advocacy campaigns
Training on digital advocacy & politics topics, including email campaigns, Facebook, Twitter, communicating with Congress, fundraising & more
The Essentials
What IS online advocacy?
The Essentials
What does effective online advocacy look like?
● Examples
● Rules of thumb:
-- relationships -- content
The Essentials
Where online advocacy fits in a communications strategy
● Amplifier ● Force-multiplier ● Key aspect: integration
Key resource involved: time
The Essentials
The Essentials
The Essentials
The Essentials
Typical structure of an online advocacy campaign:
● Online hub (website, Fb page)
● Ongoing communications with supporters (email, social media, SMS)
● Outreach (recruiting, influencing the conversation)
The Essentials
Rule #1: Know your goals
The Essentials
Typical Goals:
● Long-term agenda-setting
● Short-term policy opportunity/threat
● Recruiting
● Supporter mobilization (ex: voter turnout)
The Tools
The Tools
Choosing the right tools:
Rule #2: Base the tools you choose on your goals and capabilities
The Tools
The Tools
The Tools
The secret tool: databases
The Tools● Website (persuasion/recruiting hub)
● Petitions (outreach, recruiting, engagement)
● Email (sustained contact/mobilization)
● CRM (enables email, sometimes social media)
● Social media (persuasion/recruiting outreach + sustained contact/mobilization)
● Advertising (persuasion/recruiting outreach)
● Direct contact (blogger/influencer outreach)
Strategy
Strategy
Strategy
Creating an online strategy in a fast-moving political/policy environment
● Identify pressure points
● Identify channels
● Identify resources
Strategy
Strategy
More rules of thumb:
● Leverage existing narrative/conversations (media outreach, hashtags, memes, infographics)
● Integrate your communications – be relentless in your messaging
● Keep up the pressure – keep your advocates busy
StrategyGood content matters!
StrategyGood content matters!
Strategy
Relationships matter!
Strategy
Relationships matter!
● Direct outreach
● CRM/email
● Social media
Strategy
Managing supporters
● Regular contact (but don't overdo it)
● Ladder of engagement
● Tiered actions
● Super-volunteers
Strategy
What's next in digital advocacy?
What's next for your organization?
Thank You
Colin Delany
Epolitics.com
@epolitics
+1 202 422 4682
