Using the internet
The internet offers a quick, cheap and easy way to promote your issue to a massive audience. Social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter have made it easier than ever before to connect with people to share ideas and content.
But with more people than ever before ‘joining the conversation’ it can be difficult to get noticed. Increasingly online campaigners are having to use more and more creative ways to get their message across.
Digital campaigning
So how can you channel your creativity and put it to good use throughout your campaign?
Listen - Begin by identifying where relevant conversations are taking place. Identify the influencers in these conversations – who is everyone listening to? What are the techniques that they use to drive the conversation, how do they engage people in order to generate actions and reactions?
Participate - Get involved, make connections with like-minded people and the influencers you identified who can help spread the word about your campaign. Don’t wait for the conversation to come to you – take your issue out there – become the influencer!
Inspire - Now they are listening and responding, hit them with some inspiring content about your campaign and give them easy ways to help. Content could be text, photographs, videos sent from your mobile phone or why not try your hand at an audio feed or podcast?
- Don’t forget to tell us about your campaign by emailing campaigns@scope.org.uk so we can promote it our website.
Using social networks
Social networking sites are a quick, reliable and cost-effective way to get your message across to a large number of people. Creating a free page about your campaign on Facebook or Twitter can be an effective way of making people aware of your campaign and help you find supporters to boost the reach of your campaign.
Remember, the more creative you are, the more likely you are to grab people’s attention and to create a buzz surrounding your campaign! Some of the very best campaigns are those that try new things and grab the attention of their audience.
To help you maximize the power of social networking sites we have put together some tips on how you could use Facebook and Twitter creatively to gather support and to spark interest in your campaign. And what’s great is you don’t need a degree in computer technology to be able to make the most of these simple online campaign tips.
- Social networking tips
- Join Scope on Facebook and Twitter
Using email
You should not send out emails to individuals unless you have permission to do so. You can obtain permission in lots of ways when you collect data. For example, if you were to ask an individual to complete a pledge as part of your campaign, you could ask for their email address. Remember, personal data can only be used for the purpose for which it was provided.
If you intend to run more than one campaign you could use a statement such as: "I am happy to receive emails about [Your Group Name] campaigns" in order to inform people about your work generally. You must always ensure that every email you send offers the opportunity for the recipient to ‘opt-out’ of receiving further emails from you and if you receive an unsubscribe request, you must not email that person again.
If you are sending a group email, be careful not to accidentally give out personal email addresses without permission – use the 'BCC' field to keep email addresses confidential. You have a responsibility to store data with care.
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