How to find supporters for your campaign
Find Others provides you with the all the tools you need to start a campaign. But we can’t run the whole course for you; your job is to share, send, and beam your story out to pick up as many followers as possible.
This article will tell you everything you need to know about how to attract as many supporters as possible to your campaign.
Making and distributing a press release
An effective way of delivering your message to the masses is to issue a press release.
A press release is an official statement about your campaign that is issued to media outlets. It helps you target specific media sites and newspapers, which significantly increases the exposure of your issue and boosts your number of supporters.
Writing an official statement to send to publications can initially sound daunting. But, we have a guide to help you with this. Our guidance article breaks down a press release into each composite part, so we’ve got you covered every step of the way.
Share on social media
Potential supporters are only a few clicks away, so it’s possible that your campaign could go viral.
You’ve centralised all your resources and created your online hub for all campaign activity by making a campaign on Find Others. As you begin to share and send out your message, you’ll begin to gain a following in no time.
Use all available social channels to spread the word and get your campaign seen by as many people as possible. Nowadays, most of us probably tap into to these social media platforms daily, and even opt-in for notifications to instantly appear on our phone’s home screen. You should use this to your advantage. Write a status on Facebook, post on Twitter, share a story on Instagram. Leave no virtual space unfilled - share your campaign everywhere you can!
Social media checklist
There are a few ways to spread your message on Facebook. You could start by writing a status, but this will most likely only reach your current friends.
Alternatively, you could consider posting on a group page that relates to your issue. For example, if you have a grievance with how mega-farms exploit animals on a mass scale, you may want to post this to the “compassion in world farming” group, which has nearly 150,000 supporters.
Here, you have access to the personal account of every politician, celebrity, and activist. If someone with a large following posts a tweet, they will inevitably receive a huge number of likes and retweets within the space of a few minutes. Use this to your advantage and reply to the tweets of popular accounts so everyone can see your campaign.
If Boris Johnson tweets from his official account, it will reach 3.5 million people. It’s no surprise that each time he does, it is bombarded by criticism. If you manage to come up with a witty, well-worded reply, you could hit the jackpot and see your tweet being retweeted by thousands of people.
TikTok
One of the most popular social platforms at the moment is TikTok. There’s a lot of scope to hop on existing trends on this platform in particular. You can quickly and easily turn into a short filmmaker and bring more attention to your issue in a creative, engaging way.
If possible, film yourself and portray your message in a personal way to persuade people watching to buy-in to your cause. Use speech, articulate yourself clearly, and get straight to the point of your issue. The virtual world is your oyster - use any video footage, music or wording you see fit.
Depending on the nature of your issue, you may find it appropriate to use humour and satire in your videos to win your audience over. But if your issue is very serious and the use of humour is not appropriate for your videos, consider making your videos educational and emotive, but avoid any content that may be too sensitive for some viewers. Anything remotely offensive or overly-graphic will most likely be removed by TikTok.
In any case, you need to push out your message by playing on current TikTok trends or putting out content that you think would attract your potential target audience.
You should also use relevant hashtags in your posts. For example, if the aim of your campaign is to end factory farming, you should aim to use hashtags such as #vegan, #veganism, #vegetarianism, #meatindustry, #animalrights. In doing so, based on algorithms, your video will probably show up on the For You Pages of vegans, vegetarians, and anyone who feels passionate about protecting the welfare of animals. This kind of audience will be more likely to engage with and share your content.
Pictures are a simple way of fitting a powerful message into a short space on the internet. Some striking images have helped sky-rocket campaigns into popularity. Think about the heart-wrenching images of suffering children that UNICEF and other organisations use to drive home their message. If you choose to post vivid and evocative images, people will take notice and remember your campaign.
Now you have your emotive, striking imagery, it’s time to share it to as many people as possible. First, start by making an account dedicated to your issue and post relevant, hard-hitting images. But do take into consideration that some images may be upsetting to viewers, so stray from using anything overly-graphic.
Comment on pages with large followings to get noticed. If you commented on an RSPCA upload, perchance, your comment could be seen by up to 130,000 people. For National Geographic, some 174 Million followers may notice your comment. Make your comment emotional, concise, and clear. You may begin to garner followers and likes.
Be wary of algorithms
Algorithms are ways in which social media sites are set up, so certain content is shown on people’s homepages, and some isn’t. They differ for each social medium, and are often difficult to break and hard to understand. In order for your message to have a wide reach, you must do all you can to bypass these pesky blockers.
How do I make sure my upload will have a wide reach?
Use hashtags
On instagram, you can expect the widest reach if you fill your description out with relevant, popular hashtags. This helps you connect with those who follow the hashtags you add, which will most likely be people interested in the topic of your campaign.
Try to avoid using banned hashtags — this puts your content to the back of the queue. Find a list of those to dodge here.
Keep in mind that algorithms for all social media platforms are constantly being updated. They change rapidly and unpredictably, so if you’re serious about getting your campaign traction, be sure to stay ahead of the algorithm curve.
Use precise, appealing language
This is perhaps easier said than done, but Find Others helps you through every stage of the process. Using our tools, we can help boost your campaign to unexpected heights.
The public won’t get on board with a dull campaign that they can’t relate to on any level. Although your issue may be specific, always use precise but simple language to make your campaign page snappy, emotional, and relatable.
Never use over-complicated language or jargon that people might not be able to understand. You want your campaign to appeal to everyone, regardless of age and educational status, so don’t use language that may exclude certain groups of people. Say things as they are - you don’t need to fluff anything up.
Keep it concise
In a world of audio bites, buzzwords, and quick-clicks, people are far more likely to connect with a campaign if the title is short and simple. For example, one of the most popular petitions on the government website was called “Do not prorogue parliament.” Notice the language here. Short, sweet, direct. No wonder over 1,300,000 people decided to pledge their support. Try to make the title as short as possible, using exciting and dramatic language. You want it to be the first thing to capture the attention of your potential supporters.
Try to evoke emotion
Empathy is one of the strongest emotions humans can experience. If you elicit this response from someone reading your campaign description, they are very likely to want to join you in your endeavour.
If you want people to support your campaign, you need to make it relatable. This may be difficult, as some issues are specific to certain groups or do not hit close to home with a lot of people. But, this doesn’t mean you can’t reel readers in. By using emotive language and being direct about the issue, people will step into the shoes of those affected and imagine what it would be like to endure the same suffering. This arouses sympathy, which will make people more inclined to help.
Now you know exactly what a campaign requires to compel others to join you on your mission, visit Find Others and create your own campaign for free.