1. Changing the Rules Of Engagement
Connecting with Teens and Young
Adults Through Digital Advocacy

2. Who we are...
• Brian Pinero
– Director, loveisrespect
National Dating Abuse Helpline
@darkshambo
• Wade Treichler
– Director of Communications,
National Dating Abuse Helpline
@wadeferd

3. Who We Are...
• National Dating Abuse Helpline
– Peer Advocates provide services at
loveisrespect.org
– All advocates between the ages of 16 & 25
– Receive 40 hours advocate training
– Peer supervisors
– Communications team that also supports two
other organizations (70-80% of total time
allocation for two staff)

4. Audience
– We are serving 13 to 24 year-olds in dating abuse
relationships
– The audience engages on multiple channels and
expects to us as a service provider to meet them
where they are - channels we are sometimes not
ready or able to tackle
– We need to be open to their approach and language
- this is not always easy and sometimes challenges
our core values

5. Highlights of our Services
• Took over 23,000 chats in 2011
• Received over 21,000 calls
• 5,000 + text messages just this year with
limited outreach

6. 1st Quarter Survey Results of Chat
• Find more than 80% of respondents
satisfied with the services they received
• 80% also reported an increase in their
knowledge of abuse

7. THROUGH CROSS-CHANNEL ENGAGEMENT WE PROVIDE THE
OPPORTUNITY FOR SERVICE AT EVERY POTENTIAL INTERACTION.

8. Our First Generation
Services
– Phone Services
– Web Chat

9. Next Generation
Services - SMS/Text
Messaging
– Introduced to offer another entry point
– Low threshold of engagement for texting
– More specific terms and engagement, more to the
point (AIDS.gov)
– Targeting unreached populations
April 1st - 3rd, 2012 San Francisco, CA

10. Next Generation Services –
Social Media
– Social Media - Facebook,
Twitter, Instagram, Spotify,
Flickr and whatever comes
out next...

11. Why is Social Media
Important in Advocacy?
• Average Facbook user has 245
friends
• Their friends have 359
Facebook friends
• A Facebook user can reach
more than 150,000 other
Facebook friends.
Data Source: Pew
Internet, Hampton,
Sessions, Marlow and
Rainie

12. People are more likely to share
information from their strong ties, but
because of their abundance, weak ties
are primarily responsible for the majority
of information spread on Facebook. The
figure above illustrates how a majority of
influence (orange) can be generated by
weak ties, even if strong ties are
individually more influential.
Facebook Data Team : “Rethinking
Information Diversity in Networks

13. Next Generation Services –
Loveisrespect.org Blog
– Robust pop culture content to educate
teens who are savvy on Chris Brown
and Rihanna, but don't understand
dating abuse
– Self-determined levels of engagement -
Lurker concept
– Targeting periphery networks

14. MTV Real World
– Response to an episode of MTV's Real
World that highlighted abusive behaviors
– Pre-screening allowed us to pre-write
posts, pre-record advocate videos in
response to each each segment
– Took videos and posts live on
YouTube in realtime as segments aired
– Staff on the ground responding to comments on YouTube,
Facebook, Twitter, LIR Blog, in realtime
– Important to know your audience, understanding your assigned
channel

15. MTV Liveblog Outcomes
– Large engagement metrics on
multiple channels
– Engaged audience through a
national media event
– Involved advocates staff from
multiple departments
– Further developed a relationship
with MTV

16. • Pop culture issues
• Small investment
• Connects the issue

19. Are Apps
helping you?
When the helpline pushes an
external resource, it pushes a
website. There’s no point (for most
service providers) to link to an app.

20. Return on Investment
= 10,000
Cost vs. Users Reached users reached
Mobile Website
Mobile App
(iPhone only)
Mobile App
(iPhone,Android, BB)
$0 $22,500 $45,000 $67,500 $90,000
Data Source: Mashable – Aaron Maxwell

21. What the heck is responsive web design?
Small + Medium + Large
One site for every Screen…
http://johnpolacek.github.com/scrolldeck.js/decks/responsive/

22. “..the future of business isn’t tied to the
permeation of Facebook, Twitter,
smartphones, tablets or real-time geo-location
check-ins. The future of business comes down
to relevance and the ability to understand how
technology affects decision making and
behavior to the point where the recognition of
new opportunities and the ability to
strategically adapt to them becomes a
competitive advantage.”
Brian Solis

23. What We’ve Learned...
– Have a plan for comments and disclosure
– Content curation is a valuable tool
– Maximize the share-ability
(keep it clever and short)
– Searchable archives to support curation
– Peer Engagements - people like us are too old
– Cross disciplinary staffing is critical to success of content