Advocacy Tip: Going Hybrid Works

Let’s face it: COVID forever changed how we all do advocacy, from taking things entirely to Zoom to harnessing the power of social media to drive grassroots activism.

Despite the world slowly relaxing restrictions and in-person events becoming more normal, there are still advantages to maintaining a strong digital presence.

One way those advantages can be reaped is a hybrid in-person + digital advocacy day.

While we encourage as many grassroots advocates to come and participate in Capitol Hill Days as possible, there will always be folks who can’t make it; after all, one of the hardest yet most important things for advocates to do on Lobby Days is simply having the ability to show up in person. Whether it be taking time off work or securing childcare, dealing with exams or arranging travel, finding a way to Washington, D.C. or a state capitol for an entire day (plus travel) can involve a prohibitive amount of stress. That’s where the hybrid approach comes in… 

Sometimes we like to think of communicating with legislators as a bit of a prehistoric hunt: the trick is to come at them from all angles. While you’ve got boots on the ground in Harrisburg to visit legislators in their offices, you can harness the power of your advocates back at home to leverage social media, email, and phone banking in order to get your call to action out there. That way, when the legislator sits down at their desk, your message will be there; when they check their voicemail, your message will be there; when they go to monitor social media, your message will be there; and when they look at their email inbox, your message will be there.

We’ve heard from legislators themselves that they respond best to persistent, personalized messaging from constituents — so why not use the power of an in-person AND digital strategy  to do just that?

Though many are transitioning out of COVID-era practices like online events, we believe you can truly maximize your reach, audience participation, and influence by maintaining some elements of a hybrid model, like our in-person and digital advocacy days. If you’re interested in learning more about how we can help you or your organization manage a hybrid in-person and digital capitol advocacy day,schedule a 30-minute discovery chat with us here.