Documentary storytellers, impact producers, and engagement strategists were affected in countless ways, compelling new strategy lessons and approaches to their work. Documentaries with social impact goals were challenged to move beyond the legacy of physical screenings and community-based events to find audiences, spur dialogue, create partnerships, and forge movements in the virtual world. Given the constraints of the moment, questions about digital engagement were given fresh urgency and importance, such as: how might digital strategic communications best practices enrich the world of documentary storytelling for social change? When it comes to the virtual world of communications and public engagement, what can the documentary sector learn from leaders across disparate fields of entertainment, social movements, and public relations and marketing?

The Digital Power series, an 8-part masterclass webinar series (September to November 2020), aimed to address these questions by inviting leading communication and marketing strategists to join in conversation with documentary impact strategists and makers around the world. Each week during a 90-minute interactive session, top-level digital and social media strategic communication professionals shared their best practices, tips, and tools for how to use digital strategies to build social justice power. Facilitated and hosted by the Center for Media & Social Impact (CMSI), based in the United States, and Together Films, based in the US and UK, Digital Power provided tips and tools of the trade—from social movements to entertainment TV—to the documentary community.

As some of the most widely recognized and respected leaders in their field, the speakers draw from a cross-section of diverse experiences, goals, and fields of expertise within media impact and storytelling— extending across film, documentary and TV production, strategic communication, narrative change, social media/content, advocacy, social justice, journalism, and digital marketing.

This report provides an overview of the Digital Power webinar presentations and highlights some of the key lessons and top tips shared by its speakers, including:

  • how social, digital media and other communications strategies can support powerful movements for social change;
  • why it’s important to understand a communication strategist’s role in a community;
  • how social analytics can help you identify the best platforms and approaches for your engagementactivities;
  • how to prepare for and host digital events (including specific strategies that can be used to keepaudiences engaged);
  • how to plan your social media campaign, create successful calls to action, make campaigns easyfor people to interact with, and inject humor into your digital presence;
  • how to use Twitter chats and podcasts in digital campaigns;
  • how to conduct narrative power analysis to help you tell complete stories that fight harmfulnarratives, create narrative equity, and change dominant culture;
  • how to create clear communication strategies that reflect the urgency of the climate crisis andenvironmental challenges;
  • how to decide if an event is worth responding to and what engagement steps can be taken forrapid response and mobilization that can ultimately turn presence into power.

In this report, brief highlight summaries of each presentation are grouped around three themes that emerged organically throughout the series:

  1. Using Digital Communication/Media Strategies to Support Powerful Social Movements
  2. Being Prepared and Understanding the Power of the Digital Tools and Narratives You Use
  3. How to Use Social Media Tools, Campaigns and Analytics for Social Impact

A full list of the tools and resources of the speakers are provided at the end of this report. The full masterclass webinar presentations can be found and replayed at CMSImpact.org.

Digital Power strategy & producing team:

Caty Borum Chattoo, Executive Director of CMSI and Sarah Mosses, Founder & CEO of Together Films, led the project with support from Alana Jeffery (Impact Strategy and Development Manager, Together Films) and Varsha Ramani (Communications & Program Manager, CMSI). Sahar Driver— documentary impact strategist, researcher and educator—served as the Consulting Producer. Jordana Jason produced the series. This report was prepared by Caty Borum Chattoo, David Conrad-Pérez, Alya Aziz-Zaman, and Camille Pipino.