Introduction
Learn how the ECDA team used Sosha, a social media engagement tool, in this year’s EU elections, and how your organization or political party can also use organic social media to win.
This article has been adapted from the original with consent which was published on SoSha by Areti Livanos, Email Communications Lead at SoSha.
Using SoSha to build Toolkits
Ahead of the 2024 European Union elections, ECDA set out to support progressive organizations across Europe to engage their communities and mobilize support for critical issues such as women’s rights, environmental protection, workers’ rights, and the rights of refugees.
Shifting algorithms make it difficult for followers to see much of the content produced from their connections, let alone attract new supporters. Additionally, legislation in many countries protects private data, complicating the generation of new email lists.The ECDA team used SoSha to build toolkits, collections of ready-made posts, for anyone on the internet to share on their own accounts with their followers. These toolkits were instrumental in petition and fundraising efforts leading up to the EU elections in early June.
The tool was used by eleven progressive organizations, including trade unions, political parties and non-profits in countries all across the European Union, such as Hungary, Germany, and Spain. Between the 48 toolkits built by these orgs at the time, they garnered an estimated 7.5 million social impressions.
Social media toolkits were used by eleven progressive organizations, including trade unions, political parties and non-profits in countries all across the European Union, such as Hungary, Germany, and Spain. Between the 48 toolkits built by these orgs at the time, they garnered an estimated 7.5 million views.
The following are a few takeaways from members of our team, Dominik Kubik and David Csepregi who supported these eleven organizations.
More than ever, people worldwide are passionate and eager to find ways to use their voice online to get involved with causes in the political and advocacy space.
According to Colin Delany, a leading expert on internet advocacy and online communications, the key for progressive organizations is to “understand this enthusiasm and channel it toward positive ends.”
By building a social media toolkit, you’re providing your community another opportunity to get the word out about causes that they are passionate about.< A really powerful way to organize is to give people the opportunity and the tools to be the trusted messengers of the issue in their own communities – their friends, their family, their neighborhood, noted David.
ECDA found that for every hundred shares by those who had already signed a petition, around 32 new signatures were generated. In high performing campaigns, this number increased to as much as one new signature for every two shares.
The power of trusted messengers is clear as 58-75% of signatures from organically shared posts came from people who were not previously on an email list.
Organic social sharing allows individuals to become “mini-influencers”, advocating for causes within their communities and bringing in new supporters. These individuals act as trusted messengers who are more likely to resonate with individuals than the traditional methods of online advertising.
We saw that for every 100 clicks/visits generated for a petition resulted in 51 conversions on average, or a 51% conversion rate. – Dominik
These numbers are orders of magnitude higher than conversions resulting from paid advertising. For instance, sponsored visits on Change.org only result in a mere 3.5% conversion rate. This approach proves significantly more impactful in driving not only engagement but tangible results.
List Growth Acquisition
ECDA also found that these toolkits were incredibly effective for gaining new email supporters, when used alongside ads. It is especially challenging for organizations in Europe to build new supporter email lists due to General Data Protection Regulations.
This looked like embedded ready-made social media kits in emails or in post signature and donation pages.“Unlike organizational posts that often have limited reach, posts shared by supporters on their own profiles appeared on many friends’ pages, greatly expanding visibility,” explained Dominik.
Posts coming from individuals rather than the organization itself added authenticity to the cause and since the text was crafted by the organization, it included well-argued points, essential details, and action links, ensuring that the shared information was comprehensive and impactful.
The toolkits effectively generate new email subscribers by encouraging your organization’s followers to reach out to their like-minded peers, as opposed to solely relying on curating the organization’s own social media profile.
Increased Donations
While clicks are helpful indicators, the real impact lies in conversions.
For example, the ECDA team ran a campaign with Confederación Sindical de Comisiones Obreras, Spain’s largest trade union, and embedded posts on their post donation page for an important local campaign. Out of the 327 shares generated from 549 donors, they received 17 direct donations, which was 10% of the total amount of donations raised. Remarkably, in this campaign we saw one direct conversion for every 10 organic visits to a donation page, driven by organic social shares.
Final Thoughts
“Progressives need to fight on two frontiers now: protecting rights we already have and fought for, and also standing up against new injustices” emphasized David. “This can only be achieved if we have a deep understanding on how people think of social change and how they see themselves as agents in it.”
Organic social media not only is free but it can reinvigorate your audience, providing more opportunities to act for causes they care about. Moreover, organic sharing also taps into new circles, generating tangible results like new supporters and donations.