Getting an advocate to your action center can be the hardest task. Inboxes are busy and attention spans are short. So how do you make the most of it once you’ve succeeded at getting them there? Consider a multi-action campaign.
What is a multi-action campaign?
A multi-action campaign is a grassroots advocacy campaign that allows advocates to engage legislators in multiple ways within the same workflow. For example, an advocate can write a letter, call their legislator’s office, and send a tweet tagging the legislator, all in the same visit. As one action is completed, another is immediately prompted without having to click “see more actions,” provide an email address, or re-enter any information.
Multi-action campaigns are a feature in advanced grassroots advocacy software platforms such as Quorum Grassroots.
What types of actions should I include in a multi-action campaign?
Different types of advocacy actions serve various purposes. Additionally, different actions take different levels of effort from advocates. Here are some of the actions you can include and why they might be beneficial to consider:
- Write a letter: Letters are long-form, so they allow for storytelling or navigation of complex policy issues. And, your organization can pre-write some or all of the letter, making it one of the easiest actions for advocates to take. A personal letter is better than a form letter, but something is better than nothing.
- Call: Calls from constituents are most likely to get an office’s attention. Staff can’t ignore a call with the phone ringing while they are working, meaning you’re most likely to get a real conversation with someone who can make a difference. But, it can be one of the scariest actions for an advocate to take if they aren’t comfortable speaking about your issue to a legislator or staff member.
- Post on X: Posts on X can also be hard to ignore, especially when the posts tag legislators because other constituents can see whether they reply or not — unlike emails, which can go unanswered with fewer repercussions. Plus, posts on X can drive new advocates to your campaign if they see the link in their feed.
What are some best practices to drive the most engagement from my multi-action campaign?
While the flow of a multi-action campaign reduces the friction in taking action, advocates may still drop off midway through the experience. So, we recommend putting the lowest-hanging fruit campaigns first (like sending a form email) and building up to the more complex (like a phone call where they speak to a legislative staffer).
Then, there are ways you can incentivize your advocates to complete the more complex actions through grassroots gamification. With gamification, you assign points to certain actions — often offering higher earning opportunities for more involved actions. As advocates collect points, they earn rewards — as simple as a new “level” notation within your action center or as significant as a raffle ticket for a trip.
What impact will a multi-action campaign have on my advocacy goals?
There are several key benefits to employing multi-action campaigns.
First, you’ll be more likely to move the needle on policy. With policymakers hearing from your advocates across multiple channels, engaging on your issue will be harder to avoid.
Second, you’ll be able to better nurture your advocates. Advocates who are highly engaged will take more action simply because it’s easy. Newer advocates will also be introduced to new ways to engage and can gradually move up the ladder of engagement.
Finally, with more action from advocates and more movement on your policy issue, it’ll be easier to communicate the ROI of your advocacy program to your organization’s leadership.