[May 23, 2019]

New Digital Advocacy Research Shows Connections Between Citizens and Policymakers Up 38% in 2018

Citizens are engaging in issue advocacy and reaching out to their lawmakers more than ever before, according to new research from Phone2Action, a digital advocacy platform that connects citizens to lawmakers.

Released today, Phone2Action's first State of Advocacy report reviewed anonymized, aggregated data from hundreds of nonprofit organizations, associations, and companies that use the Phone2Action platform, examining how some of the most successful advocacy movements of the past year were able to build momentum, transform passive supporters into engaged advocates, and ultimately change policy on the local, state and federal level.

"By text, email, calls and social media, citizens are actively engaging with their lawmakers at an unprecedented rate, sparking important conversations and fully engaging in the democratic process," said Jeb Ory, Phone2Action CEO. "Lawmakers want - and need - to hear constituents' stories and opinions and the more we as an industry can do to increase the efficiency of that communication, the better."

The report focuses on insights and data points related to how digital tools like Facebook, SMS campaigns and Twitter (News - Alert) have impacted issue advocacy in recent years.

Key findings include:

• Advocacy engagement continues to rise. The total number of interactions between advocates and decision-makers increased 36% in 2017 and 38% in 2018
• Digital advocacy tools are helping boost the rate of advocate acquisition. Out of all advocates acquired over the past three years, 40% of them were acquired in 2018, compared to 35% in 2017 and 25% in 2016.
• Most organizations acquire advocates via text messaging. 69% of advocates acquired in 2018 were acquired via SMS Keyword campaigns, 20% via Facebook (News - Alert) Lead Ads and 11% via social media (Facebook and Twitter).
• Connections betwen advocates and regulatory agencies (e.g., EPA, FCC) increased 700% between 2016 and 2018. Regulatory bodies interpret how to implement new and existing laws and offer an alternative way for organizations to influence policy.
• Connections between citizens and local lawmakers increased threefold from 2017 to 2018 as organizations hyper-focused on local legislation to have an immediate impact on their communities.
• There was a dramatic increase in patch-through advocacy-related calls following the 2016 election. In 2017, advocates made 542% more patch-through calls to lawmakers than they did in 2016. This number remained fairly steady in 2018.

• SMS is a more effective engagement medium when supporters are being asked to sign a petition than when they are asked to contact their legislator
• SMS digital advocacy campaigns are best executed Tuesday through Thursday

Phone2Action is offering a free webinar that explores its research findings on Thursday, May 23 at 1pm Eastern (register here). To download a free copy of the State of Advocacy report, visit https://phone2action.com/resource/the-state-of-advocacy.

Methodology:

Phone2Action examined anonymized, aggregated advocacy data from nonprofit organizations, associations, and companies that used the Phone2Action platform in 2018 and a sub-sample of 260 organizations that used the platform over the past three years. The usage data originates from organizations' activity within the platform, such as creating campaigns, and from advocates taking action through the platform, such as signing a petition or contacting a legislator.

About Phone2Action

Phone2Action, founded by Ximena Hartsock and Jeb Ory, is a comprehensive digital advocacy and communications platform that directly powers social movements by connecting users to lawmakers via technology. For more information, please visit: www.phone2action.com.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20190523005759/en/

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