Although news of a potential government shutdown made headlines over the past few weeks, a poll showed that a staggering 39 percent of the public said they were not concerned. Despite the potential far-reaching implications, from federal jobs and services stopping or slowing down and military personnel working without pay, to WIC and SNAP recipients losing their benefits and much more, it hardly received a warranted response. It’s an interesting reflection on the challenges faced by communication professionals today: how do you make a seemingly distant issue resonate with your audience?
In the nonprofit world, making the public care and take action is a daily challenge. Organizations constantly work to bring attention to pressing issues that might seem abstract or remote to some yet have profound implications for other individuals and society as a whole. Let’s look at this through the lens of some large-scale issues facing us today —food insecurity, climate change, and the mental health crisis — and explore tactics to communicate them effectively.
- Food Insecurity: Humanize the Issue. Telling the story of one individual or family facing hunger can often be more compelling than just spouting statistics. By presenting the struggles, dreams, and aspirations of someone impacted by food insecurity, nonprofits can make the issue relatable and tangible. Through heartfelt anecdotes, audiences can connect emotionally, seeing the face of hunger rather than just the numbers.
Action Step: Identify a family or individual who is comfortable sharing their story through the media to amplify their perspective and experience to a larger audience. Encourage supporters to share these stories on social media to extend this impact.
- Climate Change: Localize the Impact. The global scale of climate change can feel overwhelming. To make it more relatable, focus on its local implications. Highlighting the direct impact on local ecosystems, economies, or ways of life can make a vast issue more personal and pressing.
Action Step: Place stories in your regional and hyperlocal media that communicate the effects of the climate crisis on your community. Nonprofit organizations that are addressing this issue can communicate the ways in which their solutions and initiatives are positively mitigating the problems or affecting change in the community.
- Mental Health Crisis: Normalize the Conversation. Stigma can be a huge barrier preventing those who are suffering from seeking the help they need. By fostering an environment where mental health discussions are as commonplace as any other health topic, we can break down barriers that stand in the way of treatment. Sharing relatable stories of those who have faced mental health challenges and overcame them can inspire hope and action.
Action Step: Launch a mental health initiative on social media where individuals share their mental health experiences and educate others. Seeing these stories will make those in pain understand they are not alone. Increase awareness about the ways in which nonprofit organizations that work in the mental health space support individuals who are struggling.
The potential government shutdown serves as a reminder that even critical issues can sometimes struggle to capture the public’s attention. However, utilizing effective traditional and social media strategies that humanize, localize, and normalize crises, nonprofits can make abstract concerns hit home. As communicators, our role is not just to inform but to inspire action and change. By framing issues in a way that resonates personally with our audience, we can move from indifference to action, ensuring that the crises we care about don’t just make headlines but make a difference.
