There was a time, not too long ago, when a lobbying campaign consisted of monitoring Congressional legislation and Federal regulations, followed by meeting with Members of Congress and key regulators to influence legislation and regulations that affects clients. Those days are over!
These days, an effective lobbying campaign requires traditional lobbying, as well as effective and strategic public relations, a solid grassroots campaign, social media and, many times, crisis management.
So how does an effective lobbying campaign, using all of those elements really work. It all starts with a problem. An organization is concerned about legislation recently introduced in Congress or a regulation proposed by a Federal agency that affect it or its members. Sometimes, the legislation or regulation helps the organization; other times, the legislation or regulation hurts the organization. In either case, the organization wants to influence key decision makers in Congress or the Federal agencies to pass the legislation or regulation or stop it in its tracks.
Everything starts with a meeting. A successful lobbying campaign starts with meeting the sponsors of the legislation. What was their intent in proposing the legislation (or regulation)? What were they hoping to accomplish? Once you meet with the sponsor of the bill, you can learn what Committee it is in and who else is on the Committee that supports it or opposes that. That information is important. Those are the people you will target with a grassroots campaign.
Another important element of a successful lobbying campaign is a strategic and effective public relations campaign. In the lobbying world, if you don’t get YOUR view, message and position across to the public, your opponent will define the debate for you. A solid public relations campaign includes press releases, ads in strategically relevant newspapers and radio spots. All public relations messages should bring the same message; different messages would lead to confusion.
Once the lobbying and public relations are in place, the next step is a solid grassroots campaign. This involves the immediate stakeholders involved in delivering laser-like messages to the decision makers on Capitol Hill. Grassroots advocacy can include faxes, e-mails, petitions, phone calls and a Lobby Day. Nothing hits home with Members of Congress like hearing from the voters at home. The grassroots message should be direct and personal.
Finally, the effectiveness of social media should not be overlooked. Almost all Members of Congress and Federal regulators use Twitter and Facebook. These tools can be used to not only get your message directly to Members of Congress, but to spread the word about your issue to the general public as well. Another social media tool that is not used as well as it could be is YouTube. Video messages about your issue have a bigger impact than the written word alone.
In conclusion, if you are just lobbying — and nothing else — you are only doing half of a job and doing your organization a big disservice. Lobbying, public relations, grassroots advocacy, and social media brings your message, and lobbying campaign full circle and can help you succeed in Washington.
