Your organization does a great deal to advocate for industry issues—petitioning local and federal-level politicians to garner support for association-backed programs. Member advocates are the backbone of your campaigns and the heart of your advocacy program.
Read on to discover how to advance your advocacy program’s efforts and better engage your member advocates online.
Three Tips to Elevate Your Association’s Online Advocacy Efforts
Follow these strategies to address any pain points in your organization’s advocacy program and virtually shout out your advocates’ ongoing efforts:
1. Get Social
Equip your advocates with the tools they need to be successful in their social media presence. Provide association-branded social media assets to ensure your advocates are prepared to post on your program’s behalf. Some examples of social media assets can include images, videos, photos, hashtags, and thought leadership topic ideas.
As you train your advocates, consider including a section on social media and how you expect them to utilize it to advance advocacy efforts. For example, perhaps once a month, you want advocates to take over your social media channels to update your members on your latest advocacy efforts.
2. Leverage Your Online Community
Set up your advocates in your online community platform with a dedicated advocacy sub-group. Within the subgroup, encourage your members to discuss current policies or share essential documents to increase member engagement.
Consider creating another group in your online community to post updates about your advocacy program efforts. Shout out your advocates so all members can be aware of their work and ongoing efforts. Highlight any upcoming policies your advocates are working on.
Make Online Expectations Clear
As you train your advocates, ensure they understand the expectations your association has for online engagement. Map out advocate roles and responsibilities so they know their place in the program. Consider discussing the type of advocacy the member will be engaging in, such as events, webinars, online advocacy, peer-to-peer outreach, or legislative efforts.
Creating online advocate guidelines can be helpful as you train your recruits and provide a vital reference for long-time advocates in your program. Advocates can return to your guidelines if they have any questions or encounter new situations.
