5 Ways To Create A Strong Advocacy Campaign

by Purvi Dalvi Writer

A Michelin star chef plans out the five-course meal. A professor lines up the topics they want to cover for the day. And a digital marketer chalks out the advocacy plan. Before jumping to the steps involved in creating a successful advocacy campaign, what is public advocacy?

It is an activity that an individual or a group of people carries out to support or influence a cause. Advocacy takes place at a public and private level. The different types of advocacy are:

Special interest groups that are commonly found in the political realm
Patient advocates whom you will find in hospitals. These people fight for the patient’s rights
Non-profit groups who work for better consumer experiences. There are special bureaus who deal in marketplace or researches about consumer interest

Businesses may also require advocacy as they reach a wide range of audience for their brand products. Such campaigns are generally taken care of by reputation management firm.

Following are a series of steps to create a successful advocacy campaign:

Set a goal: Planning a public advocacy campaign without a target like a shot in the dark. You might succeed, if lucky. If not, you have wasted plenty of time and energy. Advocacy is meant to bring about change on a large scale. So, you have to follow the ‘SMART’ policy, i.e. be specific, measurable, actionable, realistic, and time-bound. Your goals should include all these aspects especially when you are planning a campaign at the grassroot It involves regular people.

Define message: The message of the advocacy campaign is what unifies the organisation and attracts people. Potential supporters should know what the campaign message is all about. Once you have focused on the message, share it widely. Reach out to people who have supported your brand in the past and also to those who have supported your brand similar to yours.

Build a team: Now that your goal and the defined message is in place, you are likely to have some team members on board. Ensure you have an efficient team in place and represents your campaign needs. Appoint a team leader, authorities, specialists, communication managers, software experts, administrators, and so on.

Map out the timeline: Every campaign runs on a fixed schedule. However, public advocacy does not follow a similar concept, because:

Grassroot campaigns require greater time for action
You are not asking for material donation with an advocacy You are asking for time, energy, and passion.

Develop communications and activities: It comes down to the mediums and channels through which you carry out the steps one to four. You have plenty of opportunities to communicate and host activities, depending on the organisation’s resources.

You could hold a petition, call members of the concerned issue, or host town-hall style meeting. A reputation management firm looks after the success of the campaign, avoiding any negative reviews of the same.