Listening to the Global Advocacy Community

Understanding what motivates people to engage in global advocacy was the foundation of this project. I conducted 20 in-depth, remotely moderated interviews via Zoom with a diverse group of users, including students, nonprofit workers, and social justice advocates from various countries and cultural backgrounds.

Key research activities:

• 1:1 user interviews to explore goals, frustrations, and advocacy habits

• Informal usability reviews of the existing site experience

• Data analysis of site analytics to supplement qualitative findings

• Internal stakeholder interviews to uncover organizational goals and pain points

Key insight:
Many users were unclear about how to engage meaningfully beyond surface-level actions (like signing a petition). They needed better guidance, contextual information, and a sense of progression in their advocacy journey.

Deliverables:
User Interview Notes, Persona Development, Journey Maps, Research Debrief Deck

Needs Across the Advocacy Lifecycle

After synthesizing the interview findings, I categorized user motivations and needs into three key stages of engagement: Awareness, Action, and Advocacy. Each stage had distinct informational requirements, content expectations, and emotional drivers.

Core user needs identified:

• Understand where to begin and why the issue matters

• Trust the credibility of the content and cause

• Feel that their actions contribute to real impact

• Stay engaged with timely, motivating next steps

Problem statement:

How might we create a content strategy that guides users through a meaningful advocacy journey—transforming initial awareness into sustained action, while reflecting the diversity of global voices?

Deliverables:
User Needs Framework, Problem Statements, Content Gap Analysis, Advocacy Lifecycle Map

Building a Content Strategy Around Human Behavior

With clearly defined user stages, I facilitated collaborative workshops with content creators, developers, and program staff at Global Citizen. These sessions explored how the new site could better support advocates by providing clearer paths to engagement and stronger emotional connection to causes.

Key concepts generated:

• Dynamic content modules based on a user's level of engagement

• Personalized action calls tied to relevant issues or regions

• Content clusters organized around advocacy stages, not just topics

• "Why it matters" storytelling to deepen emotional investment

We also explored how to bring forward success stories and data transparency to reinforce a sense of progress and impact.

Deliverables:
Content Strategy Brief, Workshop Miro Boards, Storytelling Frameworks, Content Pillars Alignment Deck

Bringing the Strategy into Tangible Form

Rather than visual wireframes, this stage focused on content prototyping—drafting key page types, user pathways, and interaction flows to demonstrate how the strategy could play out on the site. Each prototype was aligned with a user persona and an advocacy stage.

Prototypes included:

• Engagement funnel models mapping CTA entry points to deeper content

• Sample homepage and topic page content templates

• Modular storytelling blocks with action prompts and social shareability

• Messaging hierarchies based on emotional vs. informational needs

These prototypes helped cross-functional teams visualize how strategy would translate into experience.

Deliverables:
Content Flow Prototypes, Messaging Frameworks, CTA Alignment Maps, Sample Page Templates

Item descriptionValidating Strategy with Users and Teams

To validate the content strategy and messaging direction, I conducted a second round of feedback sessions with both internal teams and selected interview participants. These sessions tested draft content, proposed interaction flows, and content comprehension at different advocacy stages.

Feedback insights:

• Users appreciated clearer next steps and progress indicators

• Stakeholders aligned on personalized pathways over generic calls to action

• Advocates valued narrative elements that reinforced impact and connection

• The lifecycle model resonated as a shared mental model across teams

Final outputs were presented in a strategy report and content roadmap used by internal stakeholders to inform site updates and future campaigns.

Deliverables:
Strategy Validation Report, Usability Feedback Summary, Content Roadmap, Editorial Guidelines Outline