Get ready for UHC Day 2024! Step 1: Know your audience
Raising public support through advocacy is critical to making universal health coverage (UHC) a reality. So, what is the most important element when it comes to advocacy? You! From rallying political support and generating grassroots demand, to defining success and nurturing partnerships, your voice is key to making meaningful change. But to be a strong advocate, you need the right tools. Over the coming weeks, we will be sharing tips, tricks and gems to help you up your advocacy game.
Step 1: Know your audience
One of the crucial foundations of advocacy is knowing your audience. Deciding who you would like to target with your messages and really understanding this demographic can help you define and achieve ambitious and effective goals. Start by asking yourself who the key players are – from individuals to institutions. Who has the power to create the change you would like to see?
There are two types of players:
Players who hold direct power: These are often members of government or international organisations who can develop guiding policies and create, sponsor and pass binding legislation to develop stronger health systems. Depending on your immediate objective, think strategically about who is best suited to help you and whether they sit at the global, national or regional level.
Players who hold indirect power: From high-level influencers to large groups of constituents, there are many groups and people out there who can create an enabling environment to encourage, or pressure, those with direct power to pursue your goals.
Once you have decided who your main audiences will be, it’s time to get to know them. Here are five ways you can better understand your audience:
Understand the demographic. This can help to establish common attitudes and beliefs. It can also give insights into how this audience might respond to situations, and what might spur them into action.
Make a profile of your audience. Using the information you have gathered, start to paint a picture of your target audience – what do they do, what do they like, what are their goals, what matters to them? This will help to determine which messages could hit home.
Find out what has worked successfully for your audience in the past. Sometimes tried and true methods can be most effective. If you find a strategy or messages that have motivated your audience in the past, take note and build on those.
Listen! If you are a long-term advocate, you have the benefit of learning about your audience as you go and adapting to their preferences. Meet with them in person if possible, ask questions, send letters and surveys. Find ways to let your audience tell you what is going to inspire them to act.
Advocacy letter template
Once you’ve identified your main audiences, start reaching out right away. Writing to your decision makers and government officials is an effective way to share your views and accelerate action on UHC. We have the power and responsibility to influence them and take an active role in shaping our country and communities!
Remind your decision makers that nobody should have to choose between being healthy or becoming poor. Use the advocacy letter template to make the case for UHC and the need to protect people from impoverishing health costs. The template comes with simple, step-by-step instructions and a user-friendly data table to help you customize and send the letter to your target audience.
For additional support, join us on 17 October for a youth-focused letter-writing workshop.