It’s the end of the year – which means every advocacy vendor is regurgitating the same “one-size-fits-all” 2024 checklist to match their one-size-fits-all offerings.
At Speak4, we wanted to get specific with our advice for your upcoming grassroots advocacy campaigns. So, instead of throwing out a tray of cookie-cutter recommendations, we paused and asked ourselves the following questions:
- How have advocates and their behavior changed in 2023?
- What does this change mean for organizations (like yours) in 2024?
We took to our platform for the answers, sifting through millions of advocate actions to identify these data-driven trends.
Here’s what we discovered:
1. WHERE advocates take action is just as important as WHAT they take action about.
Any “looking ahead” report will tell you that hot-button issues at present include healthcare, the economy and the upcoming presidential election.
But going into the political toss-up of 2024, we know that priorities can shift quickly.
We filtered through millions of advocate actions from 2023 to identify the top five topics on which Speak4 advocates mobilized. These were consistent with legislative priorities in 2023 (hi, healthcare) – but we also took a deeper look at the top five mediums on which advocates took action.
As you consider your advocacy campaigns for next year, it’s important to not only understand what lawmakers and advocates are interested in, but where they are most likely to activate. For example, if your current digital advocacy tool has a bunch of action alert bells and whistles but a busted Facebook Lead Form integration, you are already behind.
Make sure your grassroots advocacy tech has the ability to integrate wherever your supporters are, and your campaign is much more likely to thrive.
2. Advocates are hungry to take action – and they’re willing to do it multiple times.
We live in an activist-oriented world. Our 2023 data highlights how advocates are rarely “one-and-done” action-takers:
If your current digital advocacy tool focuses on only single-action takers: frankly, you’re missing out.
Speak4’s functionality optimizes for Advocate Lifetime Value (ALV) – maximizing the number of actions one of your supporters takes over their lifetime.
With industry-first features like Send+ (which automatically doubles your impact) to Message Scheduling and StoryTeller Mode, you can achieve both quality and quantity with your campaign.
In sum: don’t settle for one-hit-wonders in 2024. Your advocates have longevity. Maximize it.
3. The “wow” factor still counts when it comes to getting advocates’ attention.
Advocates are busy and inundated with competing information, with some studies estimating that the average American sees 5,000 ads per day.
So it’s no surprise to learn advocates spend very little time on a page before their attention is pulled away – in fact, our data shows advocates spend only 34 seconds on a page before either taking action or exiting altogether.
So – how can you maximize time spent on your landing pages and motivate audiences to action while you have them?
Gamification is a promising pathway. Gamified ads outperform non-gamified ads on critical metrics like brand recognition and recall, hooking your supporters into your effort and engaging them beyond a cursory glance.
Our 2023 data backs this up:
- Speak4’s Progress Bar, which highlights the delta between your total advocate goal and current advocate total, boosted conversions by 14%.
- Speak4’s Countdown Clock, which drives action before a set deadline, increased conversions by 13%.
Boring pages aren’t cutting it anymore. Speak4’s gamification features, combined with extensive personalization capabilities help you draw in your supporters beyond a simple form.
TL;DR
You deserve better than a ‘one-size-fits-all’ approach to advocacy in 2024. Break the mold with these data-informed opportunities + a powerful tool geared to deliver results in our modern advocacy world (hint: a tool like Speak4).
Interested in seeing how Speak4 can help transform your digital advocacy in 2024? Schedule a demo now.