5 Steps to Help Catholics Stop Failing at Online Activism (and Start Winning)
You read me right: Catholics are failing at online activism.
Sure, if you’re reading this, you probably know a heck of a lot more than your average Catholic about online activism, but still, when it comes to this subject in general, we Catholics are way behind.
The reason Catholics need to start winning at online activism isn’t about numbers on a scoreboard. Social media activism is a new major force which influences the outcome of battles we care about.
Consider the recent controversy over Susan G. Komen cutting ties with Planned Parenthood. Manynews agencies have pointed out that Susan G. Komen felt intense pressure to reverse its decision because of the massive social media campaign waged against it. Planned Parenthood and left-wing social media won the battle to dominate the messaging war, mostly because they’ve invested time in training their supporters to be online activists.
I could name more examples but it’s enough just to trust me — Catholics are not well represented when it comes to online social activism. And many of us who are engaged are not well trained or intentional about how we do it. We can make huge strides by a) recruiting more social media activists and b) training them to be more effective.
Because, as it stand now, even though our forces fight valiantly, we are outnumbered and outgunned online, and when we lose online, it is far harder to win at all. period.
I don’t know about you, but I don’t enjoy losing — especially when losing is completely avoidable.
So let me suggest some steps we can all take to stop failing at online social activism and start winning instead.
While it is true that blogs still play a vital role when it comes to articulating and arguing the truth of our positions, the impact of Facebook, Twitter and online petitions is more immediate when it comes toinfluencing perception, creating momentum, and showing strength in numbers.
And that’s the essential point to get: when it comes to influencing public opinion and winning the online war, it’s not enough to be right, we must also stand up for what is right, and in great numbers.
So here are 5 steps Catholics can take right now to stop failing (and start winning) at social media activism right away — I’m sure there are other good tips, and I’m happy to see more suggestions in the comments — but I know these 5 Steps work.
I’m going to use the example in all these cases of the Dump Starbucks Campaign. For background on this campaign, see here. But basically, it is a campaign urging people to promise they will dump Starbucks coffee for as long as the organization continues to commit itself to lobbying on behalf of gay marriage and other anti-marriage/anti-family causes.
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1. Acknowledge the Impact of Social Media
The most common excuse I run into when I talk about social media activism is people saying that it doesn’t actually influence the public debate or the outcome of important battles. (Not being a part of social media activism, how would they know?) But it does — trust me. Otherwise why does every left-wing activist group, not to mention businesses and politicians, invest so much time and money into developing a social media network?
The second most common excuse I get is that personal interactions matter more. Sure, they do. But you can help the culture in more than one way, and unless you are constantly helping the culture in other ways, why not add social media to your arsenal? I can think of few more effective ways to make a positive impact for the time and effort invested.
2. Join the Network
If you haven’t already, join Facebook and Twitter and get familiar with using them. Get to know the lingo. Next, like (or follow, if we’re talking Twitter) causes, organizations and people who fight for the Catholic values you believe in and start passing on what they are talking about and the actions they are promoting to your social network. Good places to start are CatholicVote on Facebook and Twitter and AmericanPapist on Facebookand Twitter.
Why?
If you are on the sidelines right now — in other words, if you are not doing social media — this is exactly where our enemies want you to be. They are filling the internet and social media –the modern marketplace of ideas– with their message, and you are silent because you are not there. If you are not speaking up for the things we Catholics believe in, everywhere that message needs to be heard, and especially online, who will?
3. Be a Social Media Creator, Not Just a Consumer
Do you follow people on Twitter? Do you have a Facebook page? Great! Now let’s put them to use for the causes you believe in.
The best thing you can do on Twitter is to re-tweet important action alerts and to help trend hashtags on twitter. Right now @DumpStarbucks is working to trend #dumpstarbucks (during the Susan G. Komen foundation we worked to trend #IStandWithKomen). On Facebook one of the best things you can do is use the “Share” button to share causes you believe in on your timeline and “Invite” friends to join. Folks doing these two actions have helped grow the Dump Starbucks facebook page past 6,000 fans.
Why?
Because we all have networks of friends and family who watch what we do and what we support and promote. What we do privately matters, but what we do publicly matters even more when it comes to providing a concrete witness to others.
Are you worried about scandalizing your friends and family by what you support? What you should be worried about is that you are missing an opportunity to stand up for the truths you believe in… which leads to:
4. Stand Up and Be Counted
Sign petitions you believe in. Most only take a few minutes to complete. If you are worried about keeping your email address private, create a secondary email address to use for when you sign petitions. Right now, almost 20,000 people have signed the Dump Starbucks pledge. There’s no reason at all that pledge shouldn’t be well past 100,000 signers by now, and with your help, it can be.
Why?
Because people really notice of these petitions. Corporations and politicians can ignore viewpoints they disagree with when only a few people are speaking up. But when thousands and tens of thousands say the same thing, they are forced to pay attention and listen. Make no mistake, the CEO of Starbucks will know how many people have signed the pledge at DumpStarbucks.com. He will know if only 20,000 people care about the institution of marriage, or if 500,000 people care enough to do something about it.
5. Make It Part of Your Routine
Doing something good once is good. Making something good a habit is excellent. We have to make social activism a habit, like sorting our mail and responding to text messages. Consider how much time you spend doing social media or surfing the internet and how much more you would have to show for it –how much more you could be proud of it– if you spent a portion of that time engaging in social media activism.
Taking action, and speaking up for the truth and for causes you believe in, isn’t just something you can do, it’s something we all must do if we believe these truths are worth defending and promoting.
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If we can successfully create an online culture of vibrant Catholic activism and active social media participation, we will have come a long way from failing and be solidly on the path to winning!
Here’s one brief example to show you the potential power of my personal Catholic network: currently I have roughly 10,000 people following me on Twitter and almost 7,000 Facebook fans. That’s something, but if every one of my followers chose to pass on something I wrote or an action item I promoted that message could potentially reach over 200,000 accounts on Twitter 750,000 people on Facebook! Almost a million souls, with only a couple clicks and maybe a few keyboard strokes.
This little scenario gives you a sense of the power of the Catholic Online Network, if it is utilized to its maximum capacity.
The great blessing of social media is that, at the end of the day, the power of a message is based on how many people care enough to relay that message. So how much do you care about the fundamental messages inspired by our Catholic faith?
I mean for this to be the first of several more posts on the topic of how to improve Catholic Online activism. I welcome reactions and additional tips in the comments, but I believe the real measure of the success of this post will be how many of you commit to following the five steps.
At the bottom of every CatholicVote post is a social media bar offering ways to promote that post on social media. It is there because you are there!