Being an advocate for people living in urban poverty is now possible with your mobile phone. In this era, only a few people are not using social media because it is accessible to users from different walks of life and economic status.

Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and TikTok are the most common platforms where people can reconnect and share their thoughts. Indeed, social media can be a positive and negative influence. But, if you use it the right way, you can bring a change and inspire social movement.

Most teenagers and adults are now using their phones all day long, scrolling and scrolling until the day’s end, also known as doom scrolling. It can make you feel unproductive because you haven’t done anything fruitful. However, what if you can use social media to advocate for the poor and oppressed?

Yes, with just clicks, shares and likes, you can bring improvement and spread awareness about urban poverty and the vulnerable groups in the community. To use your time wisely, let this article show you how to advocate using social media.

How to Use Social Media for Your Advocacy

Social media is accessible to most people, even those in the poor sector. You can interact with different users by posting and commenting on their pictures or videos. It’s as easy as that. As we all know, scrolling through TikTok is all about entertaining yourself to kill time when you feel bored.

But what if you can use it for your advocacy?

What if you can spread awareness about social inequality in Singapore?

What if you can use it to inspire other people to join your advocacy group?

It seems like social media is full of possibilities! So, take this opportunity and learn how to use social media to improve your community.

1) Have a Passionate Approach for Your Advocacy

It’s easy to post on social media. You only have to upload and create a caption. That’s it, and you can spread your advocacy message. However, a passionate approach to positive change can be lacking in this. Users can determine if you’re genuinely interested in improving your community. Otherwise, they will only call you for clout chasing.

When posting on social media, make sure to find your voice. You can share your strong opinions about educational inequality or perhaps share funny memes to take things in a lighter tone. Nonetheless, it would help to show your online followers that you’re sincere about your actions. Through this, you can also inspire them to join your advocacy.

2) Interact With Your Online Followers

After posting content, don’t leave your followers hanging by going to them in the comment section. It would be best if you interacted with them to let them know that you’re actively listening to the people’s voices. After all, you’re fighting for the vulnerable groups in the community. May it be the racial minority, LGBTQ+ people, and the poor sector, it’s better to read their comments to know their experience.

You can also create a Facebook group to empower the community through your advocacy. See, social media can positively influence society if you use it correctly. Now, be a good influencer and inspire others to do the same.

3) Connect With Journalists, Lawyers, and Leaders

Since social media is all about networking, you can use this to connect with journalists who can help spread the word about your advocacy for urban poverty. You can also follow lawyers who can fight for the rights of people living in poverty. And student or community leaders to lead your organisation. Use social media as an instrument to reconnect people with the same agenda and start a social movement for positive change.

4) Fight Disinformation and Fake News

The vulnerable groups in the community are susceptible to disinformation and fake news because they have no voice to tell their stories. For instance, LGBT people have been the victims of stereotyping because of misconceptions and prejudices. With this, people will have a wrong notion about them, leading to bullying, hatred, or social isolation.

Through social media, you can invite people and let them share their stories by making videos or, like Humans of New York, that gives people an opportunity to share things about their lives. By providing a platform to share their stories, you can break down stereotypes and build a better understanding of people who are stripped from their privileges.

5) Become More Knowledgeable About Your Advocacy

Besides interviewing people, you can also research more about urban poverty and social inequality in Singapore. Learn the root cause of why poverty increases and why there is still a social divide in the community. Researching is the key, and reading more from credible sources to be more knowledgeable about the advocacy you’re fighting for.

With the knowledge you accumulated, you can post well-thought content on social media that can educate people. Remember that social media is a powerful tool to help people learn and shape the way they think, so use it for the betterment of humanity.

6) Recruit More Volunteers

Social media is an excellent way to encourage people to volunteer for your advocacy. You can set up a group and invite users to join and plan for an event like gatherings, peaceful rallies, and donation drives. Since you can find like-minded people, you can use this advantage to build a strong community for people who want to fight for the same thing, like rights for people living in poverty.

As you gather more volunteers, you can quickly spread more awareness and reach it to the national level. The government will have an inspiration to make a change regarding urban poverty and social inequality in Singapore.

7) Maximise All Social Media Accounts

Social media platforms can give different functions to your advocacy. For example, Facebook creates social groups, Twitter for trending the hashtags, and Youtube or TikTok for video content. Make sure to maximise all your social media accounts to spread awareness about your advocacy and eventually help the vulnerable groups in the community.

If you want to join more physical volunteer activities, visit The Best of You and learn how you can help advocate for social inequality in Singapore. Visit their website to register for your participation.