The Importance of Advocacy and Power Building in the Summer

Steve Anderson

Jun 11, 2024

The summer is always a pivotal time for digital advocacy and power building.

This period offers a unique opportunity for advocates to engage with lawmakers, build relationships, and set the stage for impactful advocacy in the next legislative session.

Yes, this is still true for those gearing up for an election this fall.

However, it's important to align your tactics to ensure they are as powerful as possible while legislators are back home in their communities.

Why Summer?

During the summer, politicians are more likely to be in their constituencies, attend local events, and interact with constituents.

The summer is also an important time to build momentum for the upcoming legislative session and electoral work.

The fall legislative session is incredibly important, and studies have found that engaging your supporters in multi-tactic advocacy campaigns during this time can improve their propensity to vote by 50%.

Recency of previous engagement is amongst the strongest (and perhaps most controllable) factors shaping the success of future calls to action.

In short, if you give people meaningful actions to take in the coming months, they are more likely to show up when the pressure is on this fall.

Typical targeted advocacy tactics like Email Your Representative and Patch Through Calling can be more effective when politicians are paying extra attention to their constituents.

That said, here are a few tactics that are particularly powerful in the summer:

1. Have Supporters Meet Local Representatives: Politicians are often more accessible in the summer, and this is a great time to facilitate a meeting with your supporters. We've seen some of NewMode's subscribers use our Email Your Representative or Click to Call features to help supporters set up meetings with their local representatives.

2. Shape local media content: Politicians always pay close attention to local media, and that's even more true in the summer. Get your supporters to submit letters for publication in local papers, or have your supporters email or call local media outlets to request they cover your issue or campaign—the summer is usually slower for news and a great time to get on their radar. Be sure to use a Patch Through Calling tool (don't just list a phone number) if you have supporters call media outlets.

Letter-to-The-Editor tools can be a great asset to help supports get letters published in local papers.

3. Show up where politicians show up: Figure out the community events that local politicians will attend and mobilize your supporters using New/Mode Message Supporters feature or those found from other services. Organize or participate in local events and amplify them through digital channels. This combination of physical presence and digital reach can be very effective.

What Shouldn't You Do?

Do not engage supporters in fake or symbolic petitions. These tactics generally do not work and the summer is no exception to that rule.

Do not stop engaging your community in meaningful tactics during the summer. Supporter relationships are like all relationships—they deteriorate without regular engagement.

Try to communicate with your supporters every week or two, and don't let more than three weeks pass without sharing a meaningful call to action.

Politicians are keenly aware of their home community's sentiments, especially with upcoming or recent elections. By demonstrating local support for an issue, advocates can significantly influence a politician's stance.

The summer provides a strategic opportunity to engage in advocacy and power building.

Don’t let this valuable time go to waste.

*Give New/Mode's advocacy and power building platform a try for free if your mobilizing your supporters this summer.

Or, talk a New/Mode Campaign Advisor if you want to explore how we can help.

Written by

Steve Anderson

Steve Anderson is the co-founder and chief strategist for New/Mode — a values-based platform that provides targeted online engagement tools. https://NewMode.net

Steve Anderson is the co-founder and chief strategist…

The Importance of Advocacy and Power Building in the Summer

Steve Anderson

Steve Anderson is the co-founder and chief strategist for New/Mode — a values-based platform that provides targeted online engagement tools. https://NewMode.net

More From New/Mode Blog

More on V2 from New/Mode Blog

More on V2 from New/Mode Blog

From Slacktivism to Real-World Impact: How New/Mode Turns Clicks into Change

More on V2 from New/Mode Blog

More on V2 from New/Mode Blog

Authoritarians taking power: Tips and Resources for Riding the Wave of Emotions

More on V2 from New/Mode Blog

More on V2 from New/Mode Blog

New/Mode is Shutting Down Our Twitter/X Advocacy Tool