The document discusses using various media for advocacy purposes. It defines advocacy as trying to influence policy outcomes and resource allocation to help people. Social media is described as online communications that allow people to easily shift between being an audience and author by posting and sharing content. Effective advocacy requires an integrated strategy using both traditional media like newspapers as well as social media like blogs, wikis and social networks to build awareness and support among partners and policymakers. Different media are assessed in terms of their content strengths and weaknesses for advocacy. An integrated approach is advocated to maximize reach and engagement.

1. Examples of Using Media for Advocacy Tanzania February 2010 Social Media for Advocacy Tanzania – February 2010 http://media4advocacy.wikispaces.com/

2. What is Advocacy? Advocacy is the art of persuasion – Advocacy is about trying to influence outcomes — including public-policy and resource allocation — that directly affect people’s lives.

3. What is Social Media? “ Social media are online communications in which individuals shift fluidly and flexibly between the role of audience and author . To do this, they use social software that enables anyone without knowledge of programming, to post, comment on, share content and to form communities around shared interests.” Source: http://propr.ca

4. Characteristics of Social Media Participation - encourages contributions/feedback; blurs lines between author/audience Openness - open to feedback/participation; encourages comments (no passwords) Conversation - traditional media= “broadcast” – social media = “ conversation” Community - allows communities to form and communicate quickly Connectedness – connects to other sites, resources and people Source: www.icrossing.co.uk

5. Then what does it mean to use social media for advocacy? Using social media for advocacy is about using online communications to inform people, and form communities that try to influence policy and resource allocation outcomes. Effective advocacy requires an integrated advocacy and media strategy. Why an integrated strategy? Why not just use email? Social media uses a “content-centric” approach – more awareness in more people results in a stronger voice (more shared information, stronger links, more donations)

8. newspapers, print products (newsletters, pamphlets, books) Type of content : Text, Pictures Good for : reaching the readers – national newspapers have wide readership Not so good bcos : can only reach literate readers; expensive to print; can be difficult to get opinion pieces into newspapers; distribution expensive and difficult to reach rural areas

9. Community radio – integrates with online strategy Type of content : Audio Good for : reaching wide listenership; especially those who won’t read about your issue elsewhere; combined in strategy with phones, can create good discussions Not so good bcos : need equipment and broadcast capability; although can be integrated into website strategy

10. Website / blog Type of content : Text, Pictures, Audio, Video Good for : blog is a cheap, quick way to establish a web presence, encourage feedback and discussion Challenges : does not reach people who aren’t online, although mobile wordpress now making blogs available on mobile phones

11. online newsletters Type of content : Text, with links to Pictures, Audio, Video Good for : crucial to keep people informed, bring them back to your blog or website Challenges : people overloaded with information may not read your newsletter until they are convinced of value

12. Collaborating on Googledocs Type of content : Text, Good for : collaborating with different people Challenges : need to be online and have access to internet

13. Collaborating on a wiki

14. Social networking - facebook Type of content : Text, Pictures, Audio, Video Good for : building constituency, sharing information, light engagement Challenges : does not reach people who aren’t online, although also available on mobile ; facebook can be heavy to download

15. Social networking - ning

16. Microblogging - twitter Type of content : Short text Good for : sharing bite-sized information; raising awareness about an issue quickly Challenges : only reaches people on twitter; not available via SMS anymore

17. Mapping – Haiti disaster relief Type of content : maps Good for : visual representation of an issue; uses embedded technology that lots of people have access to; allows citizens to contribute to tracking using phones Challenges : data needs to be verified

18. Mapping – Kenya, post elections 2008

19. Idasa’s Mapping

20. Idasa’s Flickr site Type of content : pictures Good for : “a picture is worth 1000 words” – pictures have big impact and can tell your story for you Challenges : need internet access and digital camera or cellphone

21. Human Rights videos on “The Hub” – Share yours too Type of content : videos Good for : big impact with short videos saying much more than long documents; people can tell their stories which provide a very powerful message Challenges : need bandwidth to share them; need to be comfortable with cellphone or video equipment

22. Idasa on Youtube - videos

23. Integrating Phones and video – the power of mobile to tell a story Type of content : text, pictures, audio, video Good for : easiest way to reach the most number of people – many people have access to a phone Challenges : sending anything more than text (SMS) can be expensive; managing databases of mobile numbers

24. Using “chat” on mobile phones to get young people talking - MXIT Type of content : text Good for : reaching young people where they are at Challenges : marketing can be expensive; doesn’t capture many over 35’s

25. Recap of Types of Media for advocacy Media Type of Content Good for … Negative Newspapers Text, pictures Reaching national audience Expensive, can’t always get your story in, only for the literate Print newsletters, books, pamphlets Text, pictures Reaching literate audience Expensive, only for readers Community Radio Audio Reaching wide audience listenership, especially those who can’t read so won’t see it elsewhere Email Text Sharing information easily, cheaply Only for literate Wiki / googledocs text, audio, video Collaboration website/blog text, audio, video, maps Quick, cheap info dissemination Social networks text, audio, video, maps Collaboration, building support Not good for indepth engagement Microblogging e.g. twitter Short Text Quick, reaches donors Maps – googlemaps, ushahidi maps Easy visual representation Video – youtube and others video Making strong impact quickly Can be expensive Pictures – flickr, picasa pictures Showcasing your work Phone, sms Text, audio, video Reach a very wide audience quickly and cheaply Mostly text based sharing

26. These resources are also at http://media4advocacy.wikispaces.com/