Influencing Legislators through PR and Strategic Communications
Legislators and politicians are very busy people with an extremely important job to do. Whether it’s local politicians in a certain city or region, state legislators making decisions that impact millions of people or even national politicians making decisions about our whole country, one thing is always scarce— their time. So communicating and raising awareness for specific issues with legislators is tough, but not impossible. Here’s how to rise above the fold, and their busy schedules, to raise awareness for a cause:
- Help solve issues important to them and their constituents. Collaborate with charitable organizations in the legislator’s district or hometown on issues that are important to that legislator. Consider providing a donation or sponsorship of a relevant cause-related event. This way the legislator, and their constituents, see you as a partner in solving key issues.
- Partner with them on key issues. Invite legislators and politicians to donation events on behalf of your organization and give them credit for the solution to key issues. This will not only elevate their goodwill within the community, but it will boost their overall appearance and they’ll appreciate you for making it happen.
- Secure local media coverage. Whenever possible, work to secure local media coverage for your business or cause in the legislator’s hometown and in the place that they work, whether it’s D.C., in their hometown or in their state’s capitol. Legislators might be busy, but you can bet they’re keeping up with the latest news stories.
- Help charitable partners raise the voice for your cause. Having partners speak through social media or traditional media, such as OpEds, interviews or even retweets about your company is a great way to provide third party validation to legislators.
- Get social. Put your thinking caps on and find a way to create a social media presence for a key leader within your organization. Have them share all of the great things your organization is doing through social media, regularly engage with other business leaders and important influencers and get them to follow relevant legislators. Through this presence, the legislators have a direct communication line to important people behind your organization and cause.
- Communicate directly to them. It’s not always easy to get a legislators ears, but you can sometimes get their eyes. Since legislators are constantly bombarded with information, grab their attention more effectively with easy to digest content, such as an Infographic your lobbyist can share with them.
By communicating with elected officials and other stakeholders that could ultimately influence the fate of your business or cause, you can make a big impact today and for years to come.
