Why death threats don’t motivate the normals

From ‘A new model for media measurement’, the stages a message travels through (or not) and how you can measure its effectiveness.

Stage 1 – Exposure

Often, we think because our message is an important one, that by sharing it we’re changing peoples thoughts and behaviour. We put our message in big letters; we’re killing 200,000 pets every year in Australia! They’re killed unnecessarily! If you don’t do something RIGHT now, they’ll DIE!

But Exposure is just that, exposure – a one way broadcast that people can either listen to, or ignore. So without knowledge of what motivates the people you want to affect, your message will simply be lost amongst the millions of other messages bombarding people each day.

Stage 2 – Engagement

Engagement comes when we start a tailor our message to speak to the audience we’re trying to reach and give them a chance to begin a discussion with us. This includes the recognition that the things that motivate us don’t necessarily motivate others and that ‘lectures’ or berating people rarely makes them feel engaged or connected.

People in the Engagement stage might request more information, sign up for your updates or click on your links. They’re interested, but you’ve not necessarily convinced them change their thoughts or behaviour.

Stage 3 – Influence

In order for our message to bring about a change in behaviour or beliefs, we must aim to Influence people. Just because people have heard our message, doesn’t mean we have affected them. And until we have Influenced them, we’re no closer to Stage 4 – Action.

Stop! Or the dog gets it…

So if an effective message is one that inspires people to take action, have a look at this feedback from a member of the public when they were subjected to a ‘death row’ style campaign;

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“I have recently adopted a rescue puppy and she is amazing and when we move into our new place we will be looking to adopt a companion for her so I still regularly scan the pages. I am finding though that I am becoming increasingly reluctant to look at the dogs available now since people are posting puppies who have been put to sleep since no-one adopted them.  I know everyone has their own opinions but I just find it really upsetting and so don’t look on here as often.  If I feel that way, I am sure there are probably others who feel the same and this then decreases the number of people you can potentially reach. As I say I don’t mean to criticise as you are all doing an amazing job but there is nothing anyone can do if the poor little dogs have already been euthanised and it is quite distressing.

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Now, most people won’t take the time to write you a message like this to tell you that you’ve turned them off. And while these  ‘death row’ style campaigns are often done with the best intentions (lets expose the truth and people will change) they simply don’t work to move your message through the stages of  effective Media Measurement.

Beating people over the heads with our message, while paying little attention to how our message is making people FEEL, leaves us stuck in a one way discussion (Exposure). What’s more, if you’re trying to give people a message in a way they’re not receptive to, the overwhelming majority won’t stick around to hear it. And they certainly won’t feel inspired to take action.

Often the thing that often keeps us from being in a position to influence is that people don’t look forward to hearing from us, thanks to clumsy, heavy handed or unpleasant interactions. When we using ‘death row threats’ we’re using the worst case scenario, the thing that motivates us rescuers most; but not what necessarily what motivates the public (or as I like to call them, ‘the normals’) to action.

Just as you wouldn’t look forward to a visit from a relative who habitually says hurtful things, if your tactic is to upset your public with bad news, they won’t be receptive to your messages. They might help you, but they won’t feel good about it, they won’t look forward to hearing from you again and their support will fizzle. After all, what’s the point in trying when everythings so awful?

So how do we take people from Exposure > Engagement > Influence … to Action?

Influence on people’s thoughts and behaviour can only come if you’ve built enough trust, that they listen to your message and act on it. Positive messages with explicit detail on how supporters can help keep people motivated toward change. Use any unpleasant imagery like salt as a garnish; sparingly and with knowledge that too much is bad for the health of your relationship with your public.