4 Easy ways to recruit for your virtual lobby day
If you’re planning a virtual lobby day, you’re probably already thinking about the best ways to make it effective and engaging for your attendees. Before you get too far, don’t forget about a marketing plan! Virtual lobby days may be accessible to more people than in-person events; new supporters may be looking for a lower-barrier way to get involved; and virtual events can help you build the power in numbers that any organization needs for a successful advocacy effort. We’re also seeing data to support the idea that virtual events are here to stay: our friends at Mobilize have found that virtual events still drove the majority of signups (67%!) on the Mobilize platform for the 2022 cycle. In short: there are plenty of reasons supporters may want to get involved in your virtual lobby day—make sure they’re aware of it.
Your technology can help you build a solid virtual turnout by supporting an omni-channel marketing campaign to promote your event—this is an effective strategy for delivering your message to your audience wherever they are. Here’s how to strategically use your organization’s channels before, during, and after the event to market and maximize your virtual lobby day to move your mission forward.
Email is a versatile tool when it comes to virtual lobby days. Before your event, use an email series to give supporters a refresher on the policy issues you’re working on and how they’re impacting the community. Email isn’t just a great tool for sending out your RSVP form and managing other administrative processes for your event, it’s also an effective method of educating and engaging your base so when the day comes, they’re enthusiastic and prepared to take action.
Email is also a great way to engage anyone who can’t make it to your lobby day. Click-to-email (or tweet, or call) tools make it easy for your supporters to contact their legislators or other decision-makers on their own schedule.
Mobile messaging
While email is a powerful tool, it also has its limitations. For reaching supporters instantly with last-minute reminders and other important information, mobile messaging (sometimes referred to as texting or SMS) is especially useful. Mobile messaging is a growing channel for nonprofit communications—M+R’s Benchmarks for the year 2022 found that nonprofits sent an average of 21 text messages per subscriber per year, which was a 28% increase in volume from 2021. While it’s especially useful for the on-the-go nature of in-person events, it can also help keep everyone in the loop with information about your virtual lobby day. It’s not just useful for marketing and managing your events—follow-up texts are a great way to send a quick thank-you note to participants while you craft your full follow-up report.
Social media
Social media platforms, with their ability to swiftly spread communication across networks of supporters, can help generate grassroots momentum for your cause. Your own audiences are one of your biggest marketing assets and their word-of-mouth can share your virtual event to audiences outside of your own list. Using social share tracking can help you identify the supporters most excited to use their social media profiles to promote your actions, so that you can build deeper relationships with the influencers on your list.
Petitions
Looking for an easy way to get people in the door for advocacy work? Petitions are a popular way for nonprofits to generate attention and are a relatively low-effort way for new supporters to get involved. For many people, signing a petition is their first foray into advocacy, but the energy doesn’t need to stop there. Circulate a petition focusing on the issues you’ll be addressing at your lobby day, and follow up with signers asking them to take next steps like sharing the petition with their friends, joining your email list, and attending your virtual event to discuss the issues with their legislators. Providing a low-commitment entry point to your issues can help pique people’s interest and give you a great starting point for moving them up the ladder of engagement.
Planning a virtual event like a lobby day requires planning and care, but with support from the right technology and strategies, your organization can maximize your participant outreach and make a deeper impact together. We’ll be rooting for you!
