KEY TRENDS IN GOVERNMENT RELATIONS/PUBLIC AFFAIRS
Submitted by christian on Sat, 08/26/2017 - 11:15
- Public affairs is a multi-faceted function where lobbyists, grassroots advocacy specialists, policy experts, political involvement specialists and communications professionals coordinate their activities to achieve advocacy success. And today, organizations who want to increase their effectiveness are focusing their efforts on digital public affairs and digital advocacy, an arena where online tools and digital communications are used to build grassroots support or influence policy. Conveying one’s public affairs and policy messages can be difficult in an age of short attention spans and a segmented media landscape. However, successful use of visual storytelling can help an organization break through the noise in a crowded public policy environment. The use of compelling videos, infographics, images or data visualization can greatly improve one’s chances of being heard and of one’s message sticking with the intended audience. Increasingly, organizations find that overworked policy staffers and inundated policymakers remember their policy issues better long after a fly-in or lobbyist visit when visuals are used. Often, public affairs professionals are wedded to and want to control every aspect of their message, but if they can overcome this challenge and can create engaging social content, they can help their organization reach influential audiences, such as policymakers, reporters, grassroots supporters and other online stakeholders. Many organizations also use social media to elevate their policy expertise around an issue as to be seen as thought leaders on a particular topic. Organizations are building out their online social influence to ensure that reporters, academics and policymakers reach out to them first when working with policy issues important to the organization.
- Social media is allowing elected officials to engage with constituents without the traditional formalities that once guided constituent communications. On the flip side, social media also provides an instant way for concerned citizens to contact their elected officials. There is a steady use of social media as citizens express their opinions and send messages to legislators through different platforms. Increasingly offices of elected officials will look to develop broader protocol to handle the influx of messages and ensure their constituents’ voices are heard.
- More and more lobbying firms are experimenting with social media and other technological tools to leverage their efforts. Many, are on Twitter and tweet regularly. Some are creating Twitter or Facebook campaigns for lawmakers to utilize to promote their goals. Lobbying firms are also regularly implementing other technologies in their daily work. For instance, many are utilizing a legislative tracking systemto take the legwork out of basic administrative and research functions, leaving them more time to influence legislation and craft strategy.
- Online civic engagement tools are here to stay. There is a steady increase in the number of companies offering digital political advocacy services. There is also a surge in the demand for these types of engagement tools as organizations grow their advocacy programs in light of the changing political environment In a world where time-strapped professionals are looking to make an impact, online advocacy is the remedy. Furthermore, mobile usage will also be changing how online advocacy is accessed by supporters. Advocacy campaigns receive high engagement from supporters who check their emails on their smartphones, thereby taking action with a few taps of their finger.
- Data-Driven Advocacy: As online tools and programs become integrated into political advocacy programs, analytics are becoming more and more useful to those who conduct the campaigns. Mission-oriented organizations are taking a data-drive approach to advocacy and producing more targeted advocacy campaigns. Analytics are becoming a fundamental component to executing a successful advocacy campaign. Some online services now use data to predict how a legislator will vote and some programs can even determine how many supporters an organization has in a certain district. As online software develops and technology capabilities grow, new ways to interpret and use data will emerge. These days, professionals in nearly every industry know the term “big data,” but using data to inform one’s government affairs, communications and grassroots engagement strategies is not a fad — it is a necessity. Data-driven communications and advocacy campaigns are slowly becoming the standard for many organizations. Data helps target organizations’ advocacy efforts and can greatly improve key performance metrics, a combination which, ultimately, increases the likelihood of an advocacy win. Organizations use data to find potential advocates, increase advocacy action rates, target particular lawmakers and help move their advocates up the engagement ladder. These practices will continue to increase in importance as organizations collect more digital data and as software platforms become more sophisticated at automatically optimizing tasks based on data collected. This might include email A/B testing of subject lines or even more advanced optimization techniques that adjust email send times based on individual preference.
- Bigger isn’t always better: Smaller GR shops are on the rise. Often, these smaller firms have the flexibility to work only with the clients they choose, they offer opportunity for non-lawyers to rise to the top management, and more flexible payment strategies than the billable hour. Smaller firms offer depth of expertise, often in a single area, and they can provide a high level of personalized service.
- Lobbying and PR work together: Many firms are taking a dual approach to influence, recognizing that both traditional lobbyists and public relations professionals have a role to play To offer their clients the full spectrum of services, some firms combine lobbying and PR to create campaigns that cover parliament campaigns as well as more traditional marketing targets.
- Political intelligence firms are on the rise: Such firms speak routinely with Parliament staffers to try to figure out likely legislative action, and then they sell those insights to traders, hedge funds, and others who use the information to turn a profit.
- Online Reputation Management: Online reputation is a key component in how almost every single influencer, policymaker, reporter or concerned citizen views an organization. Whether one works for a trade or professional association responsible for protecting an industry’s status or one works for a corporation and is responsible for protecting the corporate image, online reputation management should be a major focus for public affairs professionals. An organization’s online reputation is affected by online news stories that may mention the company, association or policy issue, but also by social media mentions, blogs, Wikipedia pages, consumer review webpages and anything else that will show up in a search engine results page. In times of crisis or after getting negative press, people turn to the Internet for additional information before they form an opinion or take an action. Organizations are responding to this trend by improving their search engine optimization and marketing, building a base of online supporters, and creating a rapid digital response plan. Organizations who do the latter are often actively developing “dark sites” and empowering social media managers to respond to tweets to comments without approval during crises.
- Strategy vs. Contacts: Gone are the times when a good appointment book with names and telephone numbers was the primary (and only) secret of the not always understood activities of a lobbyist. Today, a good network of contacts is important, but not sufficient. Planning, strategy, ability to write good messages and a deep understanding of the functioning of public opinion are more important than a good list of names and telephone numbers. This is perhaps one of the most visible symptoms of professionalizing lobbying, an activity that is peaking now that businesses, employers, NGOs and other organizations are using it more. In a changing environment, the motive should primarily be focused on the fact that having fluid relationships with political power, institutions, the private sector and civil society is more necessary than ever.
- Intelligence for better decision-making: In a world that is changing at breathtaking speed in which the rules of the game are constantly changing, anticipation is key. In order to achieve this, a good lobbyist is an effective analyst who is capable of seeing their area of operations in detail. Having prior information about how a market, sector or legislation may change is the key to success for any organization. In order to achieve this, intelligence, in which political, economic or business information is provided to organizations, is a tool that is increasingly indispensable in current and future lobbying campaigns
- Integrated Campaigns, Effective Campaigns: As a rule, campaigns that are capable of influencing different areas simultaneously (media, legislative power, government, public opinion, social networks, etc.) usually have better outcomes. Identifying the person within an administration who is technically or politically responsible for creating a law project is important, but if this person has read an opinion column with one’s arguments in the media, a rigorously prepared report that supports one’s thesis, attended an event in which one’s position is explained or seen a report on television that presents one’s demands, the meeting with this interlocutor will be much more productive. We live in a hyperconnected world that requires organizations to act within different pathways and spaces, combining actions in both the analog and digital worlds
- Solidarity makes strength: The peak of Third Party Lobbying: Campaigns that are capable of integrating different voices and actors in the defense of a common cause are more effective. A good lobbying strategy knows how to identify and involve those allies who may help give one’s message more force or certainty. Concepts such as “third party lobbying” or “coalition building” are indispensable elements in the strategy these days for any organization that wants to influence public decision making. Quixotes who confront the giant windmills of regulatory processes alone rarely triumph. Faced with this, combined forces are needed in order to defend broader interests.
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