Media KnowHow: Tips and Resources

Effective campaigns differ by subject, scope, audience, location, cultural/political/social relevance, finances, strategies, and tactics (to name a few). There are various models for effective online and offline campaigning, however, whatever you are working all effective and successful campaigns should adhere to these four simple characteristics/rules:

 

  1. Be clear and concise.  The core message—regardless of the media platform you choose—is easy to understand and based on one core idea.
  2. Your campaign needs to be relevant.  When exposed to the campaign, people in the target audience feel that it’s relevant to their them, their surroundings, and things taking place around them.
  3. Your Objectives need to be tangible.  The call to action is clear. This helps people understand what you are asking of them, what action to take, what ways they can support it, and if they want to engage with your campaign and strategy to begin with.
  4. Use Emotion.  In most cases, information (such as reports, statistics, etc) alone are not inherently motivating. Effective campaigns appeal to people’s emotions as much if not more than their rational side.

 

Here are some sources on tricks and tips to help you make the smart decisions about the message, timing, and effectiveness of media coverage towards your cause.

Resources:

How the Media Works

Tell It – A Campaign Guide to Getting your Message out

The Art and Science of Framing an Issue

How to Get Media Coverage for your Campaign

Press Release Tips