Written by Kelvin Morgan

Heard of How to make friends and influence people?

If you've ever tried to influence a policy conversation in Westminster, you'll know it's all about right channel, right message, right time.

As someone who has spent the last decade (wow it’s been ten years) with Madano, who is at the intersection of digital communications and public policy, I’ve seen how the media landscape has shifted. A new study confirms what many of us have thought:

Westminster is now a digital-first, fragmented, and highly partisan information landscape.

Five tips for anyone trying to influence Westminster online

1. Meet your target audience where they are online - 97% of MPs use social media daily, with X and Facebook leading the way. Platforms like LinkedIn and Bluesky are gaining ground fast, especially among newer and Labour MPs
2. Don’t forget print - While daily print readership is falling (17% among the cohort of MPs elected in 2024), Sunday papers still hold space for thought leadership. This remains a valuable channel for longer-form messaging and positioning
3. A single-channel approach will not reach a diverse audience - MPs largely consume content from sources that align with their political beliefs. The Times is the only news outlet with significant cross-party readership
4. Get in Westminster with Out-of-Home (OOH) tactics - 56% of MPs recall seeing political ads at Westminster station.
5. Newsletters and podcasts are still in their infancy in SW1- 39% of MPs don’t subscribe to any newsletters, and 41% don’t listen to podcasts BUT there are specific newsletters read by civil servants and MPs which have a high engagement e.g Politico UK Morning Energy and Climate Newsletter is sent to all DESNZ officials, and has a 60% open rate compared to the standard newsletter benchmark of 18%

What should a brand do next?

For brands operating in science, technology, energy, and infrastructure, this should provide clear direction for your next engagement strategy, which must be multichannel, and politically balanced.

At Madano, we empower change and build campaigns that reflect this complexity. We understand that communications must be grounded in audience insight and that influence doesn’t happen by accident.

See more: Madano wins PRCA Public Affairs Social Media Campaign of the Year

We combine digital specialists with deep policy knowledge to put the right message on the right channel at the right time

Want to speak to a digital policy expert? Contact us now.

Thank you to Troy Aharonian, a Senior Account Director in our Net-Zero Transition team, who posed for our hero image.