Adl Consulting is an advisory, public affairs and institutional communication firm specialized in lobbying activities, advocacy and change management. Since 2012 we have been fostering data-based decision-making and promoting Digital Lobbying methodology within the field.
The “Digital Lobbying Blog” is a digital space where our Team makes available to all sector professionals insights on emerging national and international issues, innovations and best practices.
The process of Digital Lobbying is the digital transformation of the classic phases of the public affairs process.
There are six phases of Digital Lobbying: Monitoring, Analysis, Strategic Evaluation, Positioning, Action, and Evaluation of the Results. Explained by Marialessandra Carro and Claudio Di Mario in “Digital Lobbying. Strategically manage institutional relations through smart data and digital tools,” the digital lobbying process can identify different purposes and chronological activities that make up well-known lobbying and public affairs processes.
The first phase, Monitoring, provides the opportunity to identify forces at play. During this phase, information is rationalized and fact-checked as a variety of sources are monitored, including legislative documents and social media posts.
The Analysis phase revolves around identifying patterns and urgent issues that could impact businesses and their reputations through data mining and Artificial Intelligence. Social Network Analysis and SWOT analysis are both used during this phase.
Strategic Evaluations is when the opportunity for intervention is assessed and expected results are outlined. These expectations are shared with internal actors so that coalitions can be built from external allies holding common interests.
During Positioning, strategic positioning strategies are formed by choosing which stakeholders to involve and how to process content. It is vital that these decisions are made by looking from the listener’s perspective.
Actions is when the interaction strategy is chosen whether that be through direct lobbying (i.e., one-on-one lobbying, round tables, etc.) or indirect lobbying (i.e., social campaigns, microtargeting, events, etc.). Activities should be reported during this phase.
Finally, the Evaluation of Results phase is when data is processed to find trends that will impact Return on Investment (ROI) and Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR).
With each phase adding new data and insights, digital lobbying increases knowledge construction based on the integration between various innovative technologies and the professional operating them. Overall, the Digital Lobbying process allows a wide range of information to be organized quickly so holistic decisions can be made with all the facts present.