There’s a host of tools and resources available to help you get your voice heard and engage people with your campaign. Here’s some ideas and links to get started.

1. Launch a petition.
One of the easiesy ways to get started and involve people. There’s plenty of free tools to help launch a petition – take a look at  Go Petition and PetitionSpot . If you need to lobby the Government, try Number 10 . The PM’s people say; “You can now both create and sign petitions on this website too, giving you the opportunity to reach a potentially wider audience and to deliver your petition directly to Downing Street.”

2. Send out news releases or social media releases.
Releases need to be written in clear language and contain basic information such as the date of any event, the contact name and phone number of the organiser and the aim of the campaign. There’s some good advice in the links on this page as well as a template which can be downloaded. If you are sending a release to MEN Media, the contact details are here .

3. Make a video about the campaign.
Distributing a video clip on youTube is a great way to get your message seen by thousands of people. There’s plenty of information on how to get started in the Help Centre here .

4. Start a Facebook group.
It’s easy to do but there are so many groups that its success will depend on how active you are across your social network. Invite people to join but keep the page updated with regular news, picture., links and other content to keep people engaged. Instructions on how to start the group can be found at the group help page here .

5. Start a blog.
If the campaign is to run for some time, then the easy-to-use format of a blog means you can update news from the campaign and engage in conversation with others about its progression. Popular free blogging platforms include Blogger and Wordpress . If your blog is Greater Manchester based, let the M.E.N’s  Mancunian Way bloggers know about it for maximum exposure.

6. Tell people about it on forums.
Pick appropriate online forums and let people know about your activity, its aims and your initiatives. Posting comments on other people’s blogs and linking to your own blog can keep your campaign topical and may result in others blogging about it too. The M.E.N is host to debates on many topics but there's also a hundreds of local blogs (some of the main ones can be found here ) and other forums including Manchester Live Journal  and Manchester City Centre Residents Forum .

7. Take to the airwaves with Podcasts.
Update people with audio clips or interviews of news which they can download on PCs or mobile devices to keep in touch with your campaign on the move. This tutorial is one of many which takes a step-by-step approach to getting started and there's some very good advice and resources on this page too.

8. Become a photographer.
Keep a record of all your fundraising events, the people who make a difference, the project as it develops and share your pictures at Flickr. Don’t forget to share with the members of the M.E.N’s group here .

9. Learn from the best.
This list of the 59 Smartest Organisations details some best practice. The publishers say: “These are organizations that give their volunteers and members a voice and get out of the way. They're pros at mobilizing awareness online. They're experimentors. Innovators. On a mission. They're fearless.” And if you've found something that works, share it by submitting the links below to help others in the same situtaion.


10. Finally, if your campaign is based in Greater Manchester, don’t forget to involve our Community Campaign Desk. we’ll highlight the campaign on our interactive map and help publicise your activity. Instructions on how to get involved here .