05/07/2021

Finding the Right Messenger for Your Message

Trusted messengers are important to the success of any advocacy campaign

We're living in an age of information confusion: Should we eat a plant-based diet? Does our vote really matter? Is social media a force for good? At a time when people find it increasingly hard to know which messages to trust, how do leaders of advocacy campaigns make their ideas stick?

It turns out a big part of breaking through is being intentional with who is sharing your message. If you are building campaigns day to day, you’re likely familiar with the term "trusted messenger." Trusted messengers are people that community members regard as credible sources of information. But what makes them trusted? How do you know which messenger to partner with for your cause and your audience?

As part of this series on the science and practice of social impact campaigns, this article seeks to help readers better understand how to deploy an effective trusted messenger strategy in four different audience contexts. Drawing from our work in film-based advocacy across a range of social movements, we hope to leave you with actionable insights on how to collaborate with the right kind of messenger, and thus help your idea, innovation, or desired behavior take hold.

Please select this link to read the complete article from SSIR.