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How Associations Use Advocacy Software to Mobilize their Members

Bree Benn |

Associations nationwide rely on advocacy software for rapid response, long-term strategic growth, and membership engagement. Your advocacy program may vary depending on whether your sole focus is advocacy amongst your members or engaging in public issue advocacy.

That’s why organizations need a platform that meets both of those needs.

Grow your Association's Membership

Tactic #1: Find New Members with Opinion Surveys

What You Need:
  • A survey campaign page with a direct integration to your CRM
  • A place to share the link with potential members (ad campaign, social media, in-person events with a QR code, your website)

Surveys or polls successfully bring high-value targets into your organization's CRM while automatically identifying their location, elected officials, age, company, and interest in your organization.

Tip: While petitions bring in more volume, surveys guarantee an audience member’s interest in your organization and make them more open to personal outreach and further engagement.

Survey powered by AdvocacyAI from a Healthcare Association

Tactic #2: Find New Members with Testimonial Gathering

What You Need:
  • A written or video story campaign
  • A place to share the link with potential members (ad campaign, social media, in-person events with a QR code, your website)

Chances are, your potential members have a story or two related to your association's services. Give this audience a platform to share this information and move them up the ladder of engagement with tools like automated email workflows. Flag targeted individuals for your advocacy team who need a high-quality touchpoint to convert.

Tip: Use their content on your Facebook, Instagram, or LinkedIn to gather even more stories or sign-ups.

AdvocacyAI Product Photo showing a Video Story recorded by advocate

 

Tactic #3: Find New Members with Rapid Response Advocacy Campaigns 

What You Need:
  • An email campaign, “patch-thru call” or click-to-call campaign, or social campaign in your advocacy platform
  • A place to share the link with potential members (ad campaign, social media, in-person events with a QR code, your website, or blog)
While you may be busy during newsworthy moments, this is the best time to recruit new members, especially if you bring something relevant and urgent to their attention.

Tip:  You can prepare assets ahead of time for rapid response moments.


Increase Member Engagement and Retention

Tactic #1: Welcome Each New Supporter with an Automated Workflow

What You Need:
  • The ability to send our communications from your advocacy tool or have it integrated with your CRM
  • The ability to automate communication workflows from your advocacy data)

An automated welcome journey can be triggered once someone takes any action – from participating in a mobilization campaign, to taking a survey, or just signing up to learn more.

Tell your members or supporters who you are, focusing on what you provide: your mission, how you help members, where they can connect with other members, and how they can reach you.

Tip: The best welcome automations ask members how often they'd like to hear from you. That way, you can tag them accordingly (and ensure they click on a link in your first email, which helps ensure your emails never go to spam).

Tactic #2: Use Automation to Identify Your Most Engaged (and unengaged) Members 

What You Need:
  • The ability to send our communications from your advocacy tool or have it integrated with your CRM
  • The ability to automate communication workflows from your advocacy data
Associations with the most engaged members rarely send a general email to their entire list. Now more than ever, people expect to be treated with the same level of personalization as their favorite shoe brand or their Spotify playlists. Create automated email workflows that take members on a journey according to their individual behavior, whether that’s clicks, unopens, campaign activity, or even hyper-specific activity like “just took part in their third campaign.”

Tip: Don’t be intimidated by the setup. The AdvocacyAI team is here to help!


Tactic #3: Celebrate Wins!

What You Need:
  • An email mobilization campaign
AdvocacyAI is the only advocacy platform that measures whether advocacy emails are being opened in state legislator offices. When advocates learn that a specific number of their emails were opened (say 70%), it reduces the mystery of their contribution and makes them more likely to participate again next time.

Tip: Send an email specifically to advocates whose emails weren’t opened with the news and ask them if they’re willing to submit again, emphasizing the importance of their actions.



Tactic #4: Identify Your Current Members' Lawmakers

What You Need:
  • Upload existing lists to your advocacy platform for District Matching
When you know your members' locations and lawmakers, you can form more impactful cohorts for mobilization where and when needed. Your members don’t have to take action for them to be matched to their federal, state, and local lawmakers. Simply upload a list with email, name, zip code, or address to a platform like AdvocacyAI to see their district and legislators, age, demographics, vote history, party, and more.

Tip: If you don’t have current member’s emails, reach out to help@advocacyai.com or your AdvocacyAI account Manager to ask about advanced data appends.

Map of US West Coast from AdvocacyAI showing number of advocates in different cities

Tactic #5: Get the Attention of Lawmakers 

What You Need:
  • The ability to send hand-signed letter
Generic form emails no longer cut it. In fact, legislators email systems are sophisticated enough that they might not even see them in their inbox. Strategic advocacy organizations are now breaking through the noise by automating the signing and sending of physical letters through their digital programs. With AdvocacyAI's hand-signed letter feature, your supporters can turn their submissions into physical letters signed and mailed to your advocacy targets. 

AdvocacyAI's Letter Signing Product Demo Graphic

All of these tactics are available on AdvocacyAI, the only grassroots tool that works hand-in-hand with your advocacy program to build custom integrations, enhance your data, and help you mobilize members throughout their advocacy journey.


Grow your membership advocacy with AdvocayAI

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