Advocacy groups face a multitude of challenges that are complicated by the need to simultaneously manage stakeholders: clients, lawmakers, and the general public. Moreover, advocacy efforts have become increasingly complex as a result of social media, which continuously shapes public opinion and serves as a platform to amplify competing viewpoints from organizations, individuals, activist groups, and consumers.
“Social media has transformed the political process – advocacy groups need tools to understand and shape public perceptions if they want to remain relevant.”
ENODO combines cutting-edge “Social Listening” tools like Uber surveys, data-driven analysis, and our population-centric approach to create People-Powered Advocacy. ENODO’s process transforms key and trending topics, their associated public sentiment, key influencers, and social network and demographic analysis into actionable insights, which enables advocacy groups to better influence lawmakers and deliver results for their clients. Insights are used to inform the development of comprehensive communications and engagement strategies that shape public sentiment and tracked over time.
Figure 1. PPA In Action
Our approach breaks through the noise by synthesizing online and social media information to produce insights advocacy groups and their clients need most: timely, accurate, reliable intelligence on organizations, industries, and policy positions. These insights go further than typical opinion polls, focus groups, or surveys that capture what people think. ENODO measures public sentiment, to uncover why people have certain beliefs, which informs data-driven communications that actively shape and influence policy decisions.
Phase I: Initial Diagnosis
ENODO conducts an in-depth examination of the information, social, and communication environments to create Social Media and Social Risk Analyses. When combined, the reports create a baseline assessment on key topics for advocacy groups, their clients, and lawmakers.
Social Media Analysis: Analysts collect, filter, and synthesize social media data from national, state, or local levels over a seven to ten (7-10) day period to create a detailed analysis that:
- Maps the information environment (constituents’ online use by platform) for specific geographic areas / electoral districts
- Identifies key individuals or groups influencing online discussions
- Pinpoints key and trending topics discussed by constituents online
- Measures advocacy groups and their clients’ social media reach in terms of saturation and penetration (i.e. ability to engage constituents through online communications)
Constituent Analysis: Analysts conduct a Constituent Analysis at the national, state, or local levels over a seven to ten (7-10) day period to:
- Determine constituent sentiment about key and trending topics, issues, individuals, and events
- Determine and quantify the impact of Social Risk factors
- Uncover the “why” behind public sentiment by identifying the underlying issues and beliefs that produce both positive and negative sentiment
- Measure effectiveness of clients’ existing campaigns through public sentiment to shape public opinion
- Provide recommendations to update and enhance existing efforts
Phase II: Solution Implementation
ENODO creates a customized data collection and analysis platform to conduct real-time Social Media Active Monitoring, which informs the development of a Constituent Action Plan designed to shape public sentiment and perceptions to influence legislation and voting behavior. ENODO personnel actively monitor online and social media to measure effectiveness of the Constituent Action Plan and provide regular updates that can be used to engage legislators.
Social Media Active Monitoring: ENODO analysts actively monitor constituents’ social media use and online discourse to:
- Provide regular updates (e.g. daily, weekly, monthly, or quarterly) that track constituent behavior and sentiment associated with advocacy campaigns
- Identify trends and report deviations from the baseline assessment
- Measure differences in perception / sentiment amongst demographic groups
- Deliver real-time warnings of changes in public sentiment / perceptions towards related issues
- Measure progress of the Constituent Action Plan and on-going activities
- Provide recommendations to modify or enhance communication and engagement activities
Constituent Action Plan: The ENODO team designs a dynamic, comprehensive Communications and Engagement strategy to:
- Develop clear, quantifiable goals based on baseline measurements of Social Risk Factors and client specifications (e.g. reduce negative sentiment by 25%)
- Use data-backed findings to direct resources, focus efforts, and inform targeted engagement activities to improve public sentiment and shape perceptions
- Improve firm and clients’ ability to connect with constituents by increasing social media penetration and leveraging the social reach of key influencers
- Improve understanding of key and trending topics, sentiment, and perceptions to bolster more effective initiatives and provide lawmakers with relevant information
- Positively shape constituents’ sentiment to influence lawmakers’ voting behavior
Bottom Line: To be successful in the current environment, advocacy organizations must put the public at the center of their efforts. ENODO’s advanced Social Listening tools and data-driven approach enable advocacy groups to win the hearts and minds of the public, creating the political will necessary to influence favorable outcomes.