Six Ways to Keep Your Content F.R.E.S.H.

I recently buzzed over to an Advocacy Leaders Network event to speak about messaging for tricky, complicated, or repetitive issues. In this post, I'll share with you six tips for tackling that third category. You know, the ones on your organization's advocacy agenda* year after year after year after year after... you get the idea.

Before we dive into the six tips, let's remember that the heart of advocacy is communication. To be an effective advocate, you must persuasively communicate your message to the people who have the power to make the change you want to see made. Let's call those people with power your "targets."

Unless you have the channels and influence to single-handedly convince your targets to take your desired action, you need a network of supporters. Those supporters need to care enough about an issue to take enough action to cut through myriad other issues out there long enough to capture the targets' attention and, in turn, make the targets care enough to make the desired change.

Advocacy comes down to doing enough to make a difference.

If you're asking those supporters to take action on the same issue for the same reasons to the same targets over and over and over, both your supporters and your targets eventually may cry:

"Enough!"

and lose interest.

Unless you keep it fresh.

As no presentation is complete without at least one memorable acronym (and because I recently finished an insightful book that repeatedly references the Fresh Prince), here's an easy one for keeping your content fresh: F.R.E.S.H.

1) FUTURE IMPACT

Focusing on future impact in your messaging means ensuring that your supporters understand the positive impact their advocacy should have if they succeed. That impact can be a general improvement or, even better, be brought to life by tangible examples for real people:

Why are you asking supporters to call their lawmakers to vote "yes" on "Sample Bill 123?"

Because when Sample Bill 123 is enacted into law _______ [insert your list of benefits here] - e.g., businesses in your small town will thrive; electricity will be more affordable; Mr. McPherson, who is currently paying two-thirds of his income on prescriptions, will more easily afford health care.

Provide your supporters a vision of how their effort will make a difference in the future and they'll keep making that effort.

2) REVIEW PAST SUCCESS(ES)

If you've ever needed to mobilize supporters on an issue tied to the annual appropriations process, you know what it's like to work on a repetitive issue. Every year, you must lace up your shoes for the advocacy marathon. A new year can mean new faces in Congress, but for you, your supporters, and targets who haven't left, it's the. same. issue. year. after. year.

We ran the annual appropriations race during my tenure at Habitat for Humanity where, for every year in the more than two decades since the creation of the Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS) (think NCCC and AmeriCorps), we called on members of Congress to fund the programs that help Habitat serve more people across the country. Lining back up at the advocacy starting line when it feels like just moments since you crossed the finish can be challenging - unless you realize that what you're doing every year is working.

We summed up several years of past impact in a press release and a single year in the Facebook post above.

Help maintain enthusiasm among your supporters by looking back at earlier successes. If your supporters know their past effort has paid off, they'll keep making that effort.

3) ENTHUSIASM

At regular intervals during your advocacy efforts, take a moment to assess enthusiasm levels. In my experience, you'll often find higher levels among your newer supporters and targets.

Don't get me wrong - there's incredible value in having experienced advocates who know the ins and outs of your issue, the interests of your targets, and the preferred approach of your organization. But more palpable excitement is likely to be found in the people who have begun to support your issue more recently.

Find out why people care enough about your issue to get involved. Then share their reasons and their story with other supporters. Enthusiasm can be highly contagious, so do your best to spread it.

4) EXIGENCY

Were you wondering how I'd get to six when there are only five letters in "FRESH?" Mystery solved: there's a BONUS E!

So far, my tips have been upbeat, encouraging you to focus on positivity in the future, in the past, and in the present. But your advocacy messaging needn't - and shouldn't - always be sunshine and rosé all day.

Sometimes you need to create a sense of urgency by ensuring your supporters understand what could happen if they don't take action. If you've been successful in your advocacy year after year after year, your supporters might forget that failure is an option. (Sorry, NASA.)

Ensure your supporters understand the damage that could occur if they don't make an effort and they'll keep making that effort.

Use this technique with caution, however. You don't want to be the little boy who cried wolf, scare (or discourage) your supporters off, then have no one there when you really need them.

5) STATISTICS

If you've attended my presentations on the value of storytelling, you might be surprised to hear me recommend using numbers in your advocacy. But did you notice how many numbers there were in Tip 2? Sometimes numbers and statistics can be particularly eye-opening. Or perhaps comparing data over the years of your advocacy tells a story.

Look for those attention-grabbing numbers and put them to use. (Just be sure to use social math when needed.)

6) HOME

Finally, in keeping your messaging fresh, consider how to "bring the issue home" for both your supporters and your targets. To stay engaged year after year, people need to feel the issue personally, not just understand its importance conceptually.

Sure, Descartes, " Cogito, ergo sum."

But I feel, ergo I advocate.

Some issues naturally lend themselves to a personal connection (e.g., advocating for research into a disease that claimed the life of a loved one) while others feel removed (e.g., protection of civilians in conflict zones half a world away).

But you don't have to go beyond the Tidal Basin in Washington, DC, to know that all issues can be felt close to home:

Identify and foster your supporters' personal connections to the issue and they will keep making the effort to impact it.

And that is how to keep your content fresh. Ok, ok, with the bonus "e" it's "FREESH," but are you really going to complain that you now have yet another option in your advocacy toolkit? I didn't think so.

(*If your organization advocates but doesn't have an advocacy agenda, drop a note in the comments. I'm happy to provide insights on why you should have one - and how to develop it - in a future post.)

Thoughts? Questions?

Have inspiring examples of keeping your content F.R.E.E.S.H.?

Share in the comments below!

(I focused on here on the third aspect of my presentation - repetitive issues - based on enthusiastic feedback. Interested in the first two? Let me know and I'll address them in future posts. And, yes, I'll even create more acronyms.)