By Mark Reilly
By now using the Internet should be part of almost any public affairs campaign. Why? According to Pew Internet and the American Life (
http://www.pewinternet.org/), more than 63% of all Americans use the Internet (12/22/03 Report) and some 43% use it as a primary or
secondary news source (7/8/2004 Report). Since Internet users tend to be more educated and more likely to vote (as well as contribute to political campaigns), not using the
Internet as a component of your public affairs campaign simply doesn't make sense (unless of course you don't want anybody to know about your campaign).
So, now that I've convinced you that Internet must be a part of what you do online, what should you do besides simply build a Web site that gives your side of the story?
Here are five "best practices" to consider using for a successful online campaign:
Use E-mail, Not Just the Web
"If you build it they will come" is a great movie line, but doesn't work online. People simply don't visit public affairs related Web sites because there is simply too much
competition. Remember your site isn't just competing with the other side of your issue, but with Yahoo!, cbssportsline, priceline, and Amazon. If you can't get people to come to
your site easily, bring the content to the people. Most people do spend a lot of time in their e-mail inbox (as compared to surfing the Web). That means that if you want to
reach people with your message using email is more likely to be effective than simply adding a new page to your Web site. (The trick here is how to get people to give you their
email address - see tactics 3 and 4). That being said, your site still needs to have content, be easily navigable and seem credible.
Good example: BellSouth Corporate Information Center Registration - http://bellsouthcorp.com/ register/
Highlight Your Good Works
With the recent beatings that corporate reputations have taken many have companies have started to focus on the "good works" they do as corporate citizens. This is a great
strategy for organizations that may do a wide variety of smaller local campaigns that can be highlighted on the company's Web site -- and in its outbound messages -- but that may
not merit a large amount of traditional media relations. One suggestion: combine the press releases, community relations, investor relations and public policy information under
one umbrella within your Web site so that you can give people a full view of your organization from one place. This ensures that they see community relations work you do even if
it is not in their community.
Good examples: GE's "Citizen Spotlights" (http://www.ge.com/en/commitment/social/index.htm)
and Ford's "Good Works" ( http://www.ford.com/ en/goodWorks/) sections of their respective Web sites.
Personalize Content
A growing number of Web sites are starting to provide content that is personalized. These sites are based on the geographic location of the user by language and/or content, as
well providing ways for visitors to the site to personalize the content of the site based on the user's interests and preferences. Large corporations and organizations are doing
this because catering your content to the user provides a better and more enriching experience for them and hopefully will make them buy more of the goods and services. In the
public affairs realm this same concept applies. Giving users the ability to receive content in their language of choice (Spanish for example) and allowing users to customize the
content they view and receive online makes it more likely that they will provide you with their e-mail address and/or visit your Web site a second time.
Good example: Kaiser Family Foundation - http://www.kff.org (Kaiser Network)
Position Your Organization as a Credible Source for News
Internet users have a wide array of news and information sources to choose from. If your organization publishes only its content, it's unlikely that your Web site will be
viewed as a source for content or as a credible news source. One way to change that is to include newsfeeds on your organization's issues from other news sources, such as
newspapers, magazines and news wires. There are several sources out there that will sell you aggregated content by topic for use on your Web site. The fear most clients have is
that adding content from outside its organization introduces the possibility that a viewpoint other than that espoused by the client could appear on the Web site.
Good example: BlueCross & BlueShield Association's - http://www.bcbshealthissues.com
BLOG outreach for list growth
Want to grow your supporter list quickly, but your issue is not very popular and you have a small budget? Use BlogAds. BlogAds work and they don't cost a lot of money. Blog
ads are small ads placed on Blog (Weblogs) based on the content or audience of the Blog. There is a Blog for almost every topic and/or that appeals to almost any demographic or
interest group and most Blog ads cost about $250 for week or more. With a budget of $5,000 you could target a number of Blogs and easily grow your supporter list by 500-1000
people fairly quickly and be confident that these supporters are true believers who really care about the issue.
For more information on Blog Ads go to http://www.blogads.com
Mark Reilly is Assistant Vice President of Issue Dynamics Inc. (http://www.idi.net). He can be reached at 202.263.2932; [email protected].