Here are some reasons from Rohit Bhargava on why advocacy can be more effective online:
- Overcomes boundaries of distance & national borders
- Makes it easier for “observers” to participate.
- Gives you a destination to place all supporting content and messages to change minds.
- Reduces the necessity for celebrities, politicians and governments to raise issue profile.
- Provides less-intrusive way for people to pass on the message through email.
- Supports word of mouth activity and provides more venues for messages to travel virally.
- Allows individuals to support sensitive/political causes anonymously.
- Encourages “impulse” donations and makes it easier for organizations to manage donations.
I have to agree with all of these reasons. However, it’s easy to forget that relying exclusively on online methods excludes large numbers of potential advocates for your cause. Here are some statistics to keep in mind from a study released in October from the Pew Internet & American Life Center:
Sixty-eight percent of American adults, or about 137 million people, use the internet, up from 63% one year ago. Thirty-two percent of American adults, or about 65 million people, do not go online, and it is not always by choice. Certain groups continue to lag in their internet adoption. For example:
- 26% of Americans age 65 and older go online, compared with 67% of those age 50-64, 80% of those age 30-49, and 84% of those age 18-29.
- 57% of African-Americans go online, compared with 70% of whites.
- 29% of those who have not graduated from high school have access, compared with 61% of high school graduates and 89% of college graduates.
- 60% of American adults who do not have a child living at home go online, compared with 83% of parents of minor children.
Using online advocacy methods only would make it impossible for most seniors and many minority or lower income populations to become involved with your campaign. For an issue that might impact these types of groups disproportionately, that would be a large potential deficit in your reach and effectiveness. Social marketers need to make sure that we don’t forget the basics of community organization when newer and flashier methods tempt us to just go with what’s easiest to implement.
Nedra helps nonprofits and public agencies create positive change on health and social issues through social marketing and transmedia storytelling strategies at Weinreich Communications since founding the company in 1995. She helps organizations make a difference for the populations they serve by strategically designing programs that draw on state-of-the-art behavior change techniques, digital media approaches and the power of stories. 
