Why Advocacy Should Be Prioritised In Any Content Strategy

Perception

Even as so many of us acknowledge personal notions of purpose and worthy aspiration, it can be very easy to put these aside when faced with the pressures of corporate, or institutional, demands to improve the bottom line and beat the nearest competitor.

It’s naive of course - certainly in business - to claim the fundamentals of these aims lack merit.

As long as Capitalism continues to be expounded as an effective means of production and social stability they will be embraced.

However, the crux of such endeavour should, I believe, always be cloaked in the authentic guise of ethical purpose; internal and external communal benefit; and improvement for the greater good.

This isn’t about the desire for airy-fairy paths to rose-coloured spectacle futures. On the contrary, it’s about achieving societal cohesion - regardless of sector or specialisation - which in turn, will lead to the sort of business and community stability where effective service/product provision and innovation can thrive.

Advocacy vs Marketing

Do I need to say there is a significant place within commerce for marketing? 

“There is a significant place within commerce for marketing”. 

Now that’s out of the way …

But, too often, soulless marketing has been presented in the form of unauthentic Mission Statements or shallow ‘ethos based’ declarations.

Clients, users, staff - do feel free to identify as appropriate - are not easily duped by fake messaging or empty assumptions of their needs.

Actions and Tools

Each and every organisation that wishes to connect with its customer or user base (internal or external) needs to be aware of the level of advocacy it is willing and able to offer.

And it needs to have protocols and practises in place that can deliver that advocacy - while building in the ability to pivot where needed - through a raft of engagement tools.

These tools include some form of optimally structured and targeted Educational Hub; progressive modules, and forums that deliver the sort of insights which can reposition an organisation as a leader in its field.

Mentoring

Mentoring of staff: of stakeholders and of clients; as well as community group users and aspiring entrepreneurs, is both an emotionally intelligent and genuinely altruistic path to take - in order to demonstrate a willingness to acknowledge the needs of the wider community in which that organisation rests and operates.

A Meaningful Brand

The strength of Brand doesn’t depend on the size of an organisation’s marketing budget - again contrary to belief - but rather on its ability to affect change through its product and/or service.

Its strength of Brand is often predicated on its demonstrable and visible efforts to affect positive change for individuals, and groups, working towards similar societal aims.

Ingrid Smith is a UK based senior content strategist, storyteller & mentor