Giving Compass' Take:

• Michael Marker urges philanthropic leaders to take effective action and advance their missions in the months leading up to the presidential election. 

• Why is it important to advocate for your issues in the current political climate? What are you doing right now to effectively attract attention to the issues you're passionate about? How can you support organizations that are doing the same?

• Learn about the use of certain social media platforms in effective philanthropy.

In the coming weeks, leaders at private and corporate foundations, NGOs, and nonprofits will have an opportunity to leverage the presidential election cycle to raise awareness of — and drive engagement with — their issues. From the debates and primaries still to come to the party conventions and the election itself, the moment is ripe for action.

For social-sector leaders inclined to act, there are five key elements to effective issues advocacy:

  1. Knowing what conversations are happening around the issue you care about most;
  2. Identifying the audiences you want to reach and deciding what you want them to do;
  3. Creating messages and content that attracts attention and achieves desired objectives;
  4. Selecting the best platforms for content delivery and re-targeting opportunities; and
  5. Ensuring that everything you do is authentic and supportive of your mission.

Of course, if you really want to understand what conversations are happening — and how you can engage with them — social media listening is an essential tool. If it isn't already, your organization should be using social analytics to identify key trends across Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Reddit, and other platforms, unearthing insights that can inform its communications strategy and message development. For better resourced organizations, data science applied to demographic, behavioral, and geographic characteristics can be invaluable in terms of identifying and precisely targeting the audiences that matter most to your mission.

Armed with these data-driven insights, organizations can then create message maps and start developing the kind of content — videos, GIFs, op-eds, social ads — that build on the conversations already taking place. This is where behavioral  research, good design, and strategic storytelling can help you connect with your key audiences and nudge them to engage with your content and share it with others.

Read the full article about why the time is now for philanthropic leaders to take action by Michael Marker at Philanthropy News Digest.