How do you create a website that's not just beautiful but built for action? That's the focus of our Architect Spotlight Series, featuring insights from certified NationBuilder Architects. This week we hear from cStreet Campaigns of Toronto.
1) What are the most important elements of an awesome digital campaign?
People! As the old organizing idiom goes, “the question isn’t ‘What are our issues?’ it’s ‘Who are our people?’”. Compelling digital campaigns inspire, excite, and compel people to take action by honestly and transparently making the connection between the actions that people take and the change the campaign wants to see in the world.
This is as true when you’re trying to get someone elected as it is when you’re trying to end bullying. I’ll give you two examples; when we worked on Olivia Chow’s Campaign for Mayor of Toronto we created an experience where our online presence brought in thousands of supporters from across the city who were then encouraged to join neighborhood-based teams (using a snowflake-model), but for folks who preferred to take action online, they were presented with an evolving dashboard of activities they could undertake that would help Olivia win. As they took each action they were reminded (through NationBuilder flash notifications) about the role they were playing in helping to elect a Mayor they believed in.
With The Bully Project we opened up the ladder of engagement in a way that supporters could take a look and see where on the ladder they currently stood - and what they could do to move up. If a campaign is going to have a ladder they might as well tell their supporters what they need to do to be successful in the campaign.
2) What is one question you ask your clients when starting a new project that everyone should think about?
We have a few that we always ask, but the most important is probably:
“If overnight 100,000 people signed up on your site, what’s the next thing you’d ask them to do?”
The question is powerful because it forces people to think beyond list growth and acquisition into how you turn a single touch point into a meaningful relationship that builds the campaign. It also helps us map out what value supporters might get from engaging with the campaign. The first scenario (100,000 people sign up) is what the campaign wants from their supporters. The second part of the question (what is the next thing you would ask them to do?) is usually what the supporters are hoping to get from the campaign.
3) What are three tips for promoting digital engagement?
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Develop a compelling bulk email program. Email is still the queen of digital engagement and your program should include at a minimum: basic targeting, a personal and interesting voice, and no more grab-bag newsletters.
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Give people a reason to join. “Get more email” is not a reason to join an email list. No one wants more email. “Join a peaceful revolution” or “New members get a tote bag” are examples of different approaches that appeal to different audience.
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Set a ‘Jack Bauer Rule’ (like the RNC did in the 2014 election cycle). Create systems to make sure that new supporters (or volunteers/donors) get a personal touch from your campaign with 24 hours of signup.
4) Share a site you’re proud of. What was your approach and how is it incentivizing action?
Nearly a year in the making, Change the Course is a hugely ambitious project being undertaken by our client Rainforest Action Network (RAN). It’s a crowdsourced attempt to develop a shared vision of how we can stabilize the climate crisis by 2050.
The outcome is a platform for visioning and action that we developed with RAN that starts with one of the hardest possible ‘asks’ that could be made: a 15-20 minute up-front commitment to take a visioning quest to imagine a climate stable future. We’re hopeful that the immersive experience of taking the visioning (it requires the supporter to close their eyes, listen, and follow along while you are being narrated to conjure an image of the future) will inspire a deep level of commitment and involvement from supporters.
5) Is there any “inspiration” your team uses to stimulate creativity? Music, environment, art, etc.?
We use Slack to communicate in office and we are obsessed with sending gifs and emoticons. It keeps us laughing and having fun while we’re busting our butts. Every client we work with has a board on our Pinterest account where we pin websites, art, design, typography, and photographs that give a personality to the project we’re working on. We work in arguably the most stimulating neighborhood in Toronto - at Queen and Palmerston - so we people watch all day and take breaks to sit on the patio at the best coffee shops in the city.