In this article, you will learn how to formulate your message effectively by analysing your stakeholders and targets.
Having the greatest and most convincing campaign for stopping climate change isn't worth anything if there is nobody who is willing to listen to it. That's where the importance of identifying possible stakeholders comes into play. Just like in marketing a new product it is important to identify some sort of target audience you want your product, or in our case your campaign (or similar things) to reach. Campaigning with a clear audience in mind, makes topics way more specific and better received. But to be able to do this you not only have to identify or create your audience but also adjust your content based on the behaviour or interests of your stakeholders.
In this article, we discuss:
Based on the issue that has made you want to take action, there are several ways or steps in defining the objectives of your campaign and the best stakeholders to engage with. This should be reflected in your communications:
It might seem like these steps aren’t linked to communications directly, yet these steps are necessary in your message being correctly appreciated. If the objectives and key stakeholders of the campaign aren’t correctly identified and reflected in your campaign’s communications, your message will be poorly understood.
Improve this section and talk about:
Reaching your goal can have multiple paths
And its very important to reach out and cooperate with as many different institutions, organisations and groups that you can
And the limit to who you can cooperate with is only set by imagination
Every institution that specialises on a subject or field can help you in their way
And this is often overlooked because some connections arent immediately obvious
A perfect example would be Serbian organisation "ORSP" working to stop construction of mini hydroelectric power plants on certain rivers, that would destroy ecosystems and surrounding villages that get their water supply from those rivers.
They cooperated with Faculty for Architecture in Belgrade to revive those affected villages and bring more value to them, therefore making the projects that would destroy them, less likely to happen
You can also reach out to different stakeholders, that are maybe not directly affected by the issue and find a way to show them how your goal would help them gain or stop a loss in their field
A polluted river in one area of country will lead to local fishermen loosing bussines, while others will gain from exporting to that area
But what if disturbing that balance of each area having local product leads to some other issues, that no one is aware of
Such a connection can bring an ally to your goal, that would otherwise be indifferent or even against it.
-"The opposite of love is not hate, it's indifference. The opposite of art is not ugliness, it's indifference. The opposite of faith is not heresy, it's indifference. And the opposite of life is not death, it's indifference."
-Elie Wiesel
You can bet that those who are not already fighting alongside you or against you are indifferent. And that has always been the reason activist movements struggle. If they dont stand to gain or loose from something, people, organisations, goverments and bussinesses Will Not Care.
It is up to you to make them care
To find a subject, a goal, an angle, that will give them a reason to be your supporter.
Recently in my workplace we have finally recieved recycling bins for cardboard and glass, of which there is a lot. And the motivator was simple, money. The city public utility offered to pay for all the material my workplace recycles, and even tho its a really small amount of money that they will recieve from it, it was enough of a push to change them from indifferent to recyclers and to provide both place and organisation around it.
https://effectiveactivist.com/movements/recruitment/
https://www.pnas.org/content/108/31/12653
https://wagingnonviolence.org/2018/01/engaging-new-activists-long-haul/