How can you use peer-to-peer outreach to strengthen your coalition?

1 Why peer-to-peer outreach?

Peer-to-peer outreach is based on the principle of relational organizing, which recognizes that people are more likely to trust, listen to, and join a cause that is endorsed by someone they know and respect. By tapping into the existing relationships and social capital of your coalition members, you can amplify your reach, influence, and impact, and create a sense of ownership and responsibility among your supporters. Peer-to-peer outreach can also help you overcome some of the barriers and limitations of traditional outreach methods, such as cost, time, access, and credibility.

2 How to plan peer-to-peer outreach?

Before you launch your peer-to-peer outreach campaign, you need to have a clear goal, target audience, message, and timeline. You also need to identify and train your peer leaders, who are the people who will lead and coordinate the outreach efforts within their own circles. Peer leaders should be passionate, committed, and knowledgeable about your cause, and have strong communication and interpersonal skills. You should provide them with the tools, resources, and guidance they need to conduct effective outreach, such as scripts, flyers, social media posts, and feedback forms.

4 How to monitor and evaluate peer-to-peer outreach?

To measure the effectiveness and impact of your peer-to-peer outreach campaign, you need to track and analyze the data and feedback from your peer leaders and their contacts. You can use tools such as spreadsheets, surveys, or apps to collect and organize the information, such as the number of contacts reached, the number of new coalition members recruited, the number of actions taken, and the level of satisfaction and engagement. You should also communicate regularly with your peer leaders and provide them with recognition, support, and feedback.

5 How to overcome challenges of peer-to-peer outreach?

Peer-to-peer outreach is a powerful tool for strengthening your coalition and advancing your community organizing goals. However, there are certain challenges and risks associated with it, such as resistance or rejection from contacts, burnout of peer leaders, inconsistency or inaccuracy of the message, and ethical or legal issues. To overcome these difficulties, you should prepare your peer leaders for possible scenarios, appreciate and motivate them, provide clear and consistent guidelines, and follow best practices and regulations for data protection, privacy, and consent. With peer-to-peer outreach, you can increase your reach, influence, and impact while creating a sense of ownership among your supporters. Give it a try and observe the difference it can make for your cause.

6 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?