Understanding Social Impact

Social impact is about the effect that programs and campaigns have on people, organizations and communities. The goal is positive change. Despite good intentions, these campaigns often backfire, producing unintended consequences.

#Justdont is a campaign from the UK designed to stop street harassment against women and girls. It’s raw and graphic, depicting quite terrifying scenarios of street harassment. These campaigns are often applauded for giving voice to a very real problem. But here’s the bad news: they are associated with increased incidents.

Why Campaigns Backfire

Backfire effects happen when messages aren’t received or interpreted as intended, leading to negative outcomes. Many campaigns focus on raising awareness of social problems. In the process, they can accidentally normalize the behaviours they seek to reduce.

Fertilizing the Weeds

Campaign designers pour their energy into creating impactful messages, genuinely aiming for positive change. However, they often don’t realize their campaigns can unintentionally fertilize the weeds they’re trying to destroy. By showcasing certain behaviour as commonplace, these campaigns make the behaviour seem more acceptable, increasing the likelihood of it being modelled by others. Rather than promoting behaviour change, these messages are more likely exacerbating the problem.

The Role of Social Learning

Social learning plays a crucial role in shaping behaviour. We learn by observing others, and campaigns can inadvertently activate and amplify negative behaviours by normalizing them. A recurring point in the literature is that men lack positive male role models. Showcasing men engaging in undesirable behaviour inadvertently turns them into negative role models. That’s why it’s better to show men doing the right thing.

The Dichotomy: Likes and Clicks vs. Social Change

Social campaigns often strive for high engagement, measured by likes and clicks. While these metrics may spell success in terms of reach and visibility, they do not translate into meaningful social change. The true measure of success lies in the campaign's ability to drive behavior change and address the underlying issues.

As online activism has become a powerful tool for amplifying messages, making sure the right messages get amplified is critical. Campaigns that solely focus on generating online engagement may fail to address the real-world complexities of social issues, leading to negative impact.

Strategies for Effective Social Impact

How can you create campaigns that drive meaningful social change without doing harm? Here are some strategies to consider:

1. Research and Audience Analysis

Identify the people you’re trying to reach. A well designed campaign understands and reflects the underlying values and natural motivators of the target audience. In this case, the more influential audience is likely bystanders. Understanding their perspectives, values, motivators, and potential reactions can help shape campaign messages that will help them do what they likely already want to do — be part of the solution.

2. Collaborative Approach

Engaging representatives from affected communities can provide valuable insights that will inform campaign design. By involving diverse voices, the campaign can better address the nuanced complexities of social issues.

3. Go beyond awareness

One of the biggest mistakes designers make is assuming that education and awareness lead to behaviour change. But using strategies like positive message framing and role modelling are more effective at promoting behaviour change. Positive emotions also help people build the skills required to change.

4. Evaluation and Adaptation

Continuous evaluation and adaptation are essential for effective social impact. Evaluation helps measure attitudinal and behaviour change. Monitoring progress, listening to feedback, and making necessary pivots help grow and maintain engagement and support and ensure that the campaign remains aligned with its goals.

Conclusion

Social impact campaigns require thoughtful planning, research, and collaboration. By adopting strategies that prioritize long-term behaviour change and address the underlying issues, social campaigns can avoid negative outcomes and help people and communities thrive.