Media as anAdvocacy Tool

Jude Thaddues Njikem

Country Coordinator

• Organisation of African Youth - Cameroon

What is Media?• Media used for social interaction• Web-based technologies to turn

communication into an interactive dialogue• Media used to share information such as

radio and TV• Create and exchange content with other

users

Types of Social Media

• Blogs (Wordpress, blogger)

• Microblogging (Twitter)

• Location-based social networking (Four Square and Facebook Places)

• Social Networking (Facebook, LinkedIn)

• Events (Meetup.com, Facebook Events)

• Multimedia (YouTube, Skype, SlideShare)

Social Media = Advocacy Tool

• Policymakers, Media, Business & Industry are on Twitter

• Students, Policymakers, Teachers are using Facebook

• Contact media/policymakers about entrepreneurship and CTE utilizing social media

Research Shows….• A national survey of reporters and editors revealed that

89% use blogs for story research– 65% turn to social media sites such as Facebook

and LinkedIn– 52% utilize microblogging services such as Twitter. – On March 1, The Rockville Central, a community

news site in DC, moved all operations and news coverage to Facebook.

• Most legislators have presences on Twitter and Facebook

Research (continued)

• Twitter users: 47% are between 18 and 34 years old. (53% are female); second-largest group (31%) are 35-49 years old

• Research by Pamorama states “70% of social media users between the ages of 18-34 regularly use Facebook more than other sites such as MySpace, Twitter, and Classmates.com”

Goals for Media Campaign• Goal - Goal setting is an important function that

often can be overlooked by programs as time consuming and contentious. When working with coalitions, it is especially important to set specific goals so that each coalition member has a clear understanding of common ground, especially when those comprising the coalition have diverse positions on other issues.

Goals for Media Campaign contd

• Objectives - Three levels of objectives support the overall goal of any media advocacy initiative. The first is the overall program objective; that is, what will need to happen to reach the program goal? they lived.

Start Your Own SM Advocacy

• Create sample messages– Develop short, direct messages– Alternate data and stories– Use strong but respectful language– Point to links for more information

(shorten links through bit.ly)– Thank people for participating!

Social Media Don’ts

• Don’t forget to re-tweet

• Don’t neglect replies

• Don’t be too formal … or too personal

• Don’t use more outlets than you can manage

Food for Thought..

• If policymakers are using Facebook & Twitter to communicate with you, then we too need to engage as well

• Quick way to educate media/policymakers about events, data and news

• Build relationships with policymakers and the media to increase awareness about issues