Ways citizens can influence government officials

First of all, they can indeed protest. In the USA, we have the right to do so, and if enough people can protest, the government can notice and make decisions based on the opinion of the people. Secondly, back in history, people used civil disobedience, but if we're talking about the modern world this doesn't apply that much. We can also utilize the media. Millions use it, and a simple tweet or instagram post can spread the word to countless amounts of people, including the government. In fact, the government does actually use social media, giving citizens who want to speak out about their beliefs a better chance to do so. Hope this helps.