HOW TO: HELP CREATORS MAKE Issue-based CONTENT THAT WORKS FOR THEIR AUDIENCE

Created and led in partnership with Incite Studios

Once you have creators interested in the work, how do you support them through the process of talking about key issues online? Our fellowship program, called The Better Internet Initiative and run in partnership with Fellow Americans,,funds and works hand-in-hand with content creators across Youtube, Instagram & TIkTok to integrate fact-based policy information directly into their content.

Just some of the highlights of what we’ve learned

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  Consistency Is Key: Monthly education, action, and capacity-building over the course of a year is a simple recipe for creators to learn about systems change.
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  Creators Want to Learn, Then Let Free to Create: The fellows are very open to hearing about impact storytelling best practices, and fusing that knowledge together with their own style, but they don't want to be told how the content should look. You may know the facts, but they know their audiences.
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  Enthusiasm Happens In Community: Creators are hungry to meet each other, whether virtually or in person. That community energy, in turn, further fuels the motivation to keep creating for good.

HOW TO: EMPOWER IMPACT CAMPAIGNERS TO better partner with creatives

Produced in partnership with Ashoka

What do impact campaigners and marketers need to know about creators in order to work together effectively? We led a series of focus groups across the creator, academic, and non-profit/philanthropy worlds to find out. Collaboratively, we created a toolkit of step-by-step practical advice to help impact campaigners bring their first creator campaign to life. But, this is just the tip of the iceberg.

Just some of the highlights of what we’ve learned

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  Think Big Picture First: The more a campaigner can articulate upfront about their main campaign goal, the better. Get clarity internally before bringing in outside collaborators.
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  Curate The Right Creators: The most successful campaign might be fronted by a surprising face. Studies show that people like learning alongside others who are learning–meaning that the right creator might not appear as an “activist.”
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  Look At Things From Their Perspective: As with every work situation, it’s easier to work together when you understand someone else’s point of view. The power dynamics with a creator are unique, and it helps to learn a bit about the industry.

HOW TO: IDENTIFY AND EMPOWER CREATORS AS DE FACTO CITIZEN JOURNALISTS

In progress now

Content creators are reframing our understanding of citizen journalism. It is imperative that, during this massive media disruption, we answer the following questions to help nurture and safeguard their evolving role in society.…

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  What are these redefined cultural roles that content creators are stepping into/or being forced into–and why is this important to acknowledge?
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  How do we cultivate a healthy ecosystem for the content creation industry so that creators can navigate vested interests, diverse sources, data analysis, communication choices, and the fostering of debate?
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  What are the key storytelling elements that encourage authentic responses (from both creators and their audiences)? Which messages inspire hope about the positive trajectory of systemic change?
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  How do we challenge the negative inevitability that often fosters on social media? How do we replace those narratives with imaginative alternative futures?
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  In what ways can we measure a content creator’s qualitative contribution towards systemic change? How do we translate that into an industry standard practice?
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  How do we nurture environments for content creators that safeguard mental wellbeing and authentic community learning alongside the responsibility of being a trusted resource for data, analysis and critique?