With a new legislative session underway in Connecticut, nonprofits and for-profits alike are eager to drive action in support of legislative change. Whether your organization is lobbying for a cost-of-living-adjustment (COLA), supporting proposed legislation, there are significant opportunities to use social media marketing to support legislative advocacy.
Collecting signatures
Are you a member organization encouraging constituents to sign a petition? Do you need clients and colleagues to write the legislature regarding an upcoming vote? Social media marketing can play a key role in helping to achieve these objectives.
Does your organization have a nonprofit or business blog? Draft a post and include compelling reasons to sign the petition or write a legislator. Consider writing a series of blog posts on various aspects of the designated issue and inviting other supporters to contribute guest posts. This will provide readers with a broader understanding of the issue, diversify the voices on your blog and help to generate support for the issue.
Increasing reach
Do you have a dedicated group of core supporters but want to expand your reach? Social media marketing is a valuable tool for bringing your position – and affiliated content – to new audiences. Given the ease with which people can share online content through social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest, spreading the word about a worthy cause has never been easier.
Be sure that any blog posts, whitepapers and media coverage can be easily shared with by those familiar with and new to your cause. The more shares and retweets, the more individuals there are to potentially sign your petition or participate in your rally.
Enhancing organic search rankings
Who doesn’t want to rank favorably on Google? While there are no guarantees, a website that is frequently updated and aligned with an engaged social media community is much more popular with Google than a stagnant website without a thriving social media counterpart.
If the success of your legislative agenda is reliant on engaging supporters and driving action, it is important for people to have easy access to a wealth of accurate information on the subject matter(s) being discussed. By posting this information to an online newsroom, blogging about it, tweeting it and sharing it on Facebook, LinkedIn, etc., you are increasing the opportunities for people to find your information when they search Google for information about the topic. This is a tremendous opportunity to become the media’s go-to source for information and to rally support for your cause.
When lobbying in support of the issues on your legislative agenda, consider how you can leverage your existing and cultivate new social media communities to help spread the word and drive meaningful action.
Eager to use social media to achieve your legislative objectives but unsure where to start? Check our our social media checklist for nonprofit advocacy.
