Media Advocacy
Reaching out to the media and getting your message out through other methods can be a powerful way to achieve your goals. The media and public pressure can help convince decisionmakers like school district staff or school board members.
Social Media
Choose the social media platforms that make the most sense for the targeted demographics. Make sure you define what your goals are for your social media strategy (reach, video views, engagement, etc.). It is important to understand that social media is a “pay-to-play” platform and that your organization may need to invest in social media ads to reach more people in your district. Find the school district and school board members on each social media platform and direct your messages to them. Encourage your friends and allies to send messages to them as well. For more guidance on social media strategy, check out our full LCAP campaign toolkit and social media samples.
Op Eds/Blogs
An op-ed is an opinion piece (usually in a newspaper) written by local citizens, organization leaders, experts, or others who are knowledgeable about an issue. They can sway public opinion about an important issue. They can run anywhere from 300-700 words, and most often a biographical paragraph or two accompanies the piece.
Blogs are a tool that can help develop an online presence, attract leads, and engage with an audience. Blogs can often have the same purpose as an op-ed, but usually has a smaller audience.
For more guidance on op-ed and blog strategy, check out our full LCAP campaign toolkit and samples.
Press
Reach out to your local newspaper and see if they are interested in running a story. Find out which reporter covers education-related issues by doing a google search and send them a tweet or email. Try to make your pitch as interesting as possible! A sample press release is available here.